When an Indiana woman was out at lunch at TGI Friday’s she was completely unaware a creepy stranger took a picture of her. To make matters worse, the photo was circulated online by the man, who was hoping to shame the woman for what he saw her do.
It had been three hours since Conner Kendall’s four-month-old son Carter was last fed, so the new mom decided to grab a quick bite with her mother at TGI Friday’s in Terre Haute, Indiana. Without her knowledge, an unnamed man across the dining room snapped a picture while she did double dining duty: eating her lunch and breastfeeding her son.
He then went home and wrote a rant on social media about exposing herself in front of other children present at the restaurant, one being his daughter. The post sparked massive debate online about whether it was appropriate for Conner to breastfeed without covering up more, ultimately backfiring on the shamer when Conner found out and posted a scathing retort to his claim.
Conner only learned about the shaming post when it resurfaced in a local Facebook group for moms according to People Magazine. Many people had already replied to the man’s post with their own two cents about how wrong it is to criticize another mother who is simply fulfilling her baby’s basic needs.
In response, Conner posted an open letter on Facebook that addressed each point of criticism from the man. She explained that she felt no obligation to explain herself but wanted to clarify why she was doing what she was doing, namely because Carter does not take bottles well and he had been screaming due to hunger prior which would have made her “a bad mom for not feeding my hungry child”. She continued by saying: “I do not use a cover because my son fights them… I turned away to latch my son and pulled my shirt back up when he was finished out of respect for others in the restaurant.… You see less while I’m nursing than some people show at Walmart…”
In regards to this incident specifically, TGI Friday’s corporate office provided this statement: “TGI Fridays respects a parent’s right to raise their child in a positive, healthy manner, free from unwarranted criticism. To that end, we fully support our guests in being able to breastfeed in our restaurants. It goes for this situation and all times a mom is breastfeeding her child.”
