TikTok used its power for good to highlight the hypocritical way a baby clothing company denied one of its employee’s request to work remotely while her newborn premature son is being treated in the NICU.
Kyte baby employee Marissa Hughes’ story went viral on TikTok after her sister spoke about her situation during a live stream. She shared that Marissa and her husband Rawley were trying for three years to conceive a child and lost three pregnancies before becoming foster parents and then deciding to turn to adoption. In December, they were called that they were parents and could adopt a son who was nine hours away from their Dallas, Texas home. Their son, Judah, was born at 22 weeks and weighed a little more than a pound.
Marissa contacted her employer, Kyte Baby, to request that she could work remotely until her son was able to leave the NICU, which doctors are estimating would be in March. However, she was told by the CEO that if she did not return to work after the standard two weeks’ leave, she would be terminated.
What is Kyte Baby?
Kyte Baby is a baby clothing brand that is known for its bamboo items. According to the company’s official website, the idea for a bamboo-based came when the CEO’s youngest daughter was dealing with chronic eczema and would have to pull off her pjs at night to cool down to alleviate the symptoms. She then discovered bamboo fabrics, which are cooler than typical cotton and most other fabrics.
Kyte Baby Drama, Explained:
The reason that the drama went viral on TikTok was because the initial story of Marissa’s situation was told by her sister on the platform during a live stream. Then the company’s CEO released two apology videos on the short-form video platform which received over five million views.
“I want to hop on here to sincerely apologize to Marissa for how her parental leave was communicated and handled in the midst of her incredible journey of adopting and starting a family,” the CEO stated.
She claimed that the company “treat biological and non-biological parents equally. Through my personal and professional experiences, I have the utmost respect for babies, families, and the adoption community.” She claimed that they would find Marissa a position when she would return to work after her son leaves the NICU.
After the video was uploaded, users quickly came to Marissa’s defense and were taken aback by the CEO repeatedly saying, “adopted son,” and that the entire monologue was scripted.
The businesswoman then uploaded a second video where she was seemingly speaking without prompt and admitted that her first video “wasn’t sincere.”
“Sincerely, what went wrong is how we treated Marissa and I’m the one who made the decision to veto her request to go remote as she stays in the NICU to take care of her adopted baby. When I think back, that was a terrible decision,” she shared.
The almost five-minute video concluded by calling Marissa a “fantastic woman” with the “biggest heart” and that she did not accommodate her.
Kyte Baby Drama Response:
Days after the viral apology video, Marissa posted a public video to her Facebook account, thanking everyone for the support and prayers for Judah. She revealed that they did watch the apology videos and will not be returning to the company but hopes that this will help current and future employees at the company who could be in a similar position.
Kyte Baby GoFundMe
The GoFundMe page run by Marissa has reached over $80,000 for lost wages while she and her husband support their newborn. The description of the fundraiser shared that they hope to cover agency and legal fees in addition to court fees, birth mother expenses and counseling.
Who is the Kyte Baby CEO?
Ying Liu created the popular baby clothing brand and is a mother of five children.
Watch the Kyte Baby Apology Videos:
The first apology video was uploaded to the official Kyte Baby TikTok account and almost instantaneously received backlash for being insensitive.
The second video was uploaded shortly after she received backlash for her prepared statement that she admitted, she read to the camera.
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