TikToker Whitney Leavitt responds to hate after dancing next to hospitalized son

TikToker Whitney Leavitt has responded to backlash she received after uploading a video of her dancing next to her hospitalized son.

Whitney Leavitt is a TikToker with nearly 500,000 followers on the app, who posts a range of content about her pregnancy and motherhood, gaining hundreds of thousands of views per video.

However, a video she posted in December of her dancing next to her hospitalized son was met with a wave of criticism from across social media.

In the video, she explains via the captions that her baby son was admitted to hospital as a result of low oxygen, and tested positive for the RSV virus. As the captions are playing, she dances in the background next to her son.

The now-deleted clip went viral across Reddit and Twitter, with many slating her actions as “disturbing” and saying the TikTok was in “bad taste.”

Whitney Leavitt responds to hate

In December 19 TikTok video, Whitney addressed the hate she has been receiving over the clip, and clarified her actions.

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“I understand people are upset with the video that I made,” she began. “I just want to be clear, and communicate that that was me just trying to be positive. I think it’s important to not just assume what someone’s going through.”

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She went on to explain why she made the decision to delete the video, and thanked those who were sending messages of support amid the onslaught of backlash.

“Anyways I took the video down cause I could see, you know, where somebody could get the wrong idea, but that honestly was just me just trying to be positive in this situation. But, I do wanna say thank you for people who have reached out to me and my family and I just really appreciate it.”

The response to her follow-up video has been mixed so far, with some defending the mother, and others continuing to criticize her for the original video.