Editor's note: Kara Alaimo is an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her book Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take It Back was recently published by Alcove Press. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook. X. The opinions expressed in this comment are her own. Read more opinions on CNN.
CNN —
On Tuesday's episode of “The Pivot Podcast,” Tom Brady made some comments that didn't pass the sniff test, prompting his appearance on Netflix's “The Greatest Roast of All Time.” He hinted that he did not realize that this would have a negative impact. his child.
Provided by: Kara Alaimo
Kara Alaimo
In an episode of the show that was livestreamed on May 5, Brady was taunted by comedian Kevin Hart and a parade of celebrities and former colleagues. However, many of the jokes referenced his divorce from ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, with whom he shares two children, Benjamin, 14, and Vivian, 11. I thought it was a lot of fun,” Brady said in a podcast interview. “I didn’t like how it affected the kids.”
“That's the bittersweet aspect of doing something thinking it's a one-way street and then suddenly realizing you'll never do it again because it affected the people you care about most in the world. '' Brady also said on the podcast.
Apparently Brady was trying to convince us that he was, in his words, “naive.” On the podcast he said: I will continue to be a better parent because of it. ”
It would be pretty surprising if he really didn't foresee any potential problems here. After all, Brady is a seasoned public figure, and in order to alleviate the PR disaster of how the more personal jokes on “The Greatest Roast” were received after the fact, he was smart enough to do this podcast interview. But during the show, when comedian Jeff Ross made a joke that alluded to the fact that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was once arrested for prostitution (the charges were later dropped), Brady stood up and said, I was prepared to tell him. Ross didn't repeat what he said (in contrast, Brady drank quietly when talk of divorce came up).
After years of parenting and global stardom, Brady never expected that appearing on The Greatest Roast would essentially mean accepting an invitation to skewer his family. It's hard to believe. This is also an excuse that no woman in her right mind would ever make. First of all, it would be implausible in the least for her mother to claim to be so indifferent to anything that might affect her children. Moreover, for a public figure, such a claim could very well be used as a weapon against her, essentially as an admission that she is a bad mother. This is one of the most harmful crimes that can be imposed on women.
Take Catherine, Princess of Wales, for example. When she announced that she had cancer on March 22, amidst questions and speculation about her condition and whereabouts, she and her team were criticized by many for not announcing her diagnosis sooner. received criticism. But it's clear to me, her communications expert and her mother, that she prioritized protecting her children over protecting her own reputation. She waited until the kids were on spring break from school so they wouldn't have to face questions on the playground the next day.
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Brady appears to have done the opposite. He serves as an executive producer on the series “The Greatest Roast,” so it's clear that he stood to benefit from the attention his episodes received. Everyone knows that very few topics are off-limits in a roast, especially the executive producers of this series who roast people. In fact, one of Brady's former teammates, Rob Gronkowski, once took part in a roast of another athlete, David Ortiz, but the joke was so over the top that he didn't even air it on TV. could not.
Parenting is hard work and it's easy to make mistakes. Giving yourself grace and finding ways to do better next time should come with the territory. Parents have a right to be treated that way, even if they are famous, and we know that American society as a whole is far too quick to criticize parents (especially mothers) for their failings. That being said, Brady could have done a lot differently here. Perhaps he did not really understand how much difficulty this would cause his own children. Still, he would set a better example for them by more fully acknowledging his own poor choices and promising that nothing like it would ever happen again.
