Following a video that has re-surfaced of them explaining why they canceled adopting a child from Thailand, YouTube influencer couple Nikki and Dan Phillippi are receiving more online backlash.
After revealing that they were putting down their 10-year-old Bull Terrier dog, Bowser because he bit their son and was “too old to rehome,” the lifestyle gurus were already under criticism. Now, in a 26-minute video titled: “We’re not adopting from Thailand anymore,” a video from May 2018 is being reshared.
They said that one of the reasons they weren’t going through with the adoption was that they wouldn’t be able to share images of the child on social media for a year.
The clip was uploaded to Reddit and shows Nikki telling her channel’s viewers and subscribers that she and her husband were hoping to adopt from Thailand. However, she explains that the country has “unique laws” which remain in place for 12 months after the child is adopted.
However, this is not only for this social media influencer couple because the regulations are mandated by the Thai government and affect all parents looking to adopt children from the Asian country. That is why after learning that the Thai government prevents parents from sharing footage of the child on social media for one year after the adoption, the couple initially changed their mind.
“After you pick up your child, they are your child but you are not allowed to talk about them or share any images, photos, videos, anything about them online for a year,” Nikki says.
“Nikki’s got a YouTube channel,” Dan explains. “We share a whole lot.”
Nikki said, “When that hit we literally were like ‘Oh what?’ So we were like going round the houses like trying to figure out how this could work like ‘Hashtag baby blur face’.”
“What are we gonna do? Dan’s like, ‘Maybe we could deal with that for a year?’ Nikki added, “We’re like alright, let’s pray about it, let’s sleep on it and then let’s see how we feel in the morning.”
The couple concluded that after talking to loved ones, adoption wasn’t right for them.
Additionally, according to Nikki, the agency issued a warning that if she didn’t take the policy seriously, it might damage the agency’s relationship with the nation and prevent other families from adopting children in the future. But aside from that they really did not like how the Thai government would be involved in their life after the adoption.
The couple planned to use the adoption as part of their content strategy for YouTube since their careers are founded around social media, but they would not be able to take a chance on adopting a kid from a country that restricts social media activity involving the young one. That’s why they would not be able to go forward with it.
“I almost Snapchatted while I was signing an NDA once,” Nikki said. “I’m going to totally mess up, and then I’ll ruin it for other families.”
“It came down to, I could make some people mad, or there could be cultural differences that end up making someone decide, ‘Oh we actually don’t want you to have our kids, so they’re coming home. We just want the ability to do what we want to do without possibly causing harm or repercussions to other people and an entire organization for that matter,” she explained.
People pointed out in comments how problematic the couple’s views had been back in 2018 – and still are today. Now that the couple’s video has resurfaced online, the pair’s reputation has been hurt.
With, one person tweeted, “Friendly reminder that Nikki Phillippi and her husband didn’t adopt a child from Thailand solely because the Thailand government ruled that they weren’t allowed to exploit their child by filming them or posting photos of them online. Just saying”
Another added, “Let’s also not forget that Nikki Phillippi decided not to adopt or take in a foster child after they were told they couldn’t display them all over YouTube for money. Are we surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes.”
Watch the video below for more details: