YouTube mom Jordan Cheyenne has addressed the backlash over a video she made with her 8-year-old son, where she coached the boy to cry in front of the camera after learning that their family dog might have a terminal illness.
Cheyenne, based in California, told Today that she has deep regrets over what happened and described her behavior as disgusting and inexcusable. As a result of her realization, Cheyenne decided to delete her YouTube channel and said she would focus on being a mom "behind the scenes" and seek therapy. She also said that her son, Christian, will never appear on YouTube again.
The YouTube vlogger, who has more than 500,000 subscribers, said that she remains proud of what she has done in the last eight years despite what happened. She reiterated that there was no pretense or facade to her videos but admitted that many YouTube parents do coach their kids to act out for the clicks.
"Of course, people will have their kids ham it up," Cheyenne said. "It's so wrong and I can't even say how disappointed in myself I am. "
What did Jordan Cheyenne do?
Cheyenne's viral video started with the news that their dog might die, and her son, who was sitting next to her, began to sob. The mother then inched closer to Christian and coached him to "act like you're crying," which was heard in the video. The boy responded to his mother by saying that he was actually in tears, and then Cheyenne proceeded to tell Christian to wail or pout his mouth for the camera.
After Cheyenne uploaded the video, she received a lot of criticisms from her followers. Though she deleted the footage, some of her followers have reuploaded these on other social media platforms, drawing more outrage from the netizens.
The mother then posted an apology video to appease the outrage. She said on her Instagram stories that she has received death threats and other forms of harassment. Amid the controversy, Cheyenne lost 2,000 subscribers on YouTube.
In a statement sent to the Insider after deactivating her accounts, Cheyenne said she has decided to completely go offline to prioritize her child. Reiterating what she told Today, the mom said that she "will regret this moment forever."
Who is Jordan Cheyenne?
Cheyenne established her YouTube channel in 2012, where she shared product finds, lifestyle and fitness tips, and her daily life with Christian. She said that she's a single mother trying to raise a "respectable and loving" son.
The mom has included Christian in her videos from the start of his birth, as Christian had an interesting birth story as a premature baby. This was one of her first videos that gained a lot of viewers.
Soon, Cheyenne started monetizing her YouTube channel and believed she gained followers because she provided value to her viewers. Her other popular videos are on weight loss, and she revealed in a 2018 blog interview on Coffee Break XO that this topic helped her earn a full-time income on the video-sharing site.
Apart from her vlog, Cheyenne used to conduct motivational courses on online monetization. However, her following has slowly waned at the start of 2019, according to the analytics site, SocialBlade.
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