Chris Pratt Blasted for Not Giving an Instagram Shout Out to His Ex on Mother’s Day

While celebs in the spotlight are hardly newsworthy, those who are no longer hitched (or have simply parted ways) are often bathed in a particularly unforgiving light. As if raising kids wasn’t hard enough, no parent needs throngs of strangers wielding opinions (let alone unsolicited advice!)

Enter actor Chris Pratt who—after saluting his current wife, his own mom, and his mother-in-law in a semi-saccharin Mother’s Day Insta post—is catching some major flack for leaving the mother of his son, Anna Faris, out of the online accolades.

Mothers are where it’s at. While our role begins with cultivating life and birthing babies, it continues rather infinitely for as long as our children are alive and we can tend to them. I’d argue it extends beyond which, speaking from experience, I can attest to. (Alas, I digress.)

For any mother who shows up, in particular, those of us going it alone, it is our job to know—deep down inside—the importance of the role we play in our children’s lives, no matter what that looks like. (P.S., stop comparing yourself to other moms; parenting is not a competition!) In short: A mother’s worth is immeasurable. Period.

As one Insta commenter said, “Exceptional Moms don’t require external praise…[and] Anna Faris isn’t waiting around for validation from [her ex].” While this is not a verifiable fact, I hope it is true. Which is why I’d suggest letting Pratt off the proverbial hook (surely he included Faris in his nod to, “all of the other moms in my life, I’m so grateful for all you do- thank you so much. Hope you feel celebrated today”) and changing the paradigm instead.

Let’s collectively ditch the second Sunday-in-May tribute posts and instead choose to support and celebrate the women and mothers in our lives all day. Every. Day. More importantly, if you—like Pratt—are no longer with the mother of your child(ren), sing her praises loudly and fill her life with ease. She will bloom, and your children will reap all the glorious benefits (which means you, by extension, will, too).

One of my favorite bad-ass single mom author “friends” made a recent Insta post of her own that went something like this: “If you love your children, don’t break their mother. She is their primary source of strength and emotional support.”

Bear in mind none of us *really* knows what’s happening between Pratt and Faris behind the scenes, on the other 364 days of the year, so let’s tread gently and get back to the real takeaways:

An Insta post proves no one’s worth. NO ONE’S! If adults start modeling this behavior today, we stand to change the lives of myriad young people in the next generation—which would be a priceless gift for the sake of all our posterity.

While it would not have killed Pratt to mention the mother of his first child by name, it appears we are missing the (very) big picture: When individuals have the kind of co-parenting relationship where not only recognizing and celebrating one another’s strengths but also communicating their respective appreciation (on a visible, social platform no less!) is the norm, the relationship is likely to remain intact, right??

So let’s leave Pratt alone and leave showering mom on this Hallmark holiday—complete with lukewarm coffee in bed, sticky fingerprints, and handmade cards—to her kids.