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At the height of her family’s adoption scandal, the YouTube star Myka Stauffer he was called out for wearing Cartier.
Myka and her husband, James Staufferare the subjects of a new document called News about our family, which debuted on HBO on Wednesday, January 15, after premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. The Stauffers, who did not respond to producers’ requests for comment, are known for their candid family vlogs and have taken fans on a journey to adopt son Huxley from China. However, viewers turned against the family in 2020, when Myka and James they “returned” their adopted sonwho was diagnosed with autism.
Before Huxley was given a new forever home, Myka was widely criticized for appearing to disengage from raising the “little boy,” who was 2 years old at the time of his adoption. While the family tried to take care of his medical needs, Myka and James put Huxley in speech therapy.
“We’re going to another speech therapist,” Myka said in a 2018 YouTube vlog featured in episode 3 of the documentary. “Not the one that costs $500 a month. But we’ll go to the one that costs $70 for 30 minutes.”
Courtesy of Myka Stauffer/Instagram Myka and James Stauffer made a name for their family on YouTube, but everything changed drastically after they re-homed their adopted son, Huxley. The couple adopted Huxley from China in 2017 when he was 2 years old. Myka and James also share children Kova, Jak, Radley and Onyx, who were not (…)
Some viewers claimed the comments were hypocritical after they noticed Myka was wearing a Cartier bracelet when she talked about cutting Huxley’s expenses. At the time the video was recorded, the jewelry was reportedly worth roughly $6,500.
“But you can’t afford $500 a month for a speech therapist?” said one critic in a reaction video.
Social media personality Sophie Rosswho spearheaded the crackdown on the adoption scandal, reflected on going down the Stauffer family “rabbit hole.”
“(Myka) was obviously just living a life of luxury while apparently saying, you know, she didn’t have the means to take care of this person that she adopted,” Ross said in the documentary.
Others debated whether Myka and James only adopted Huxley to increase engagement on their YouTube channels. The pair’s popularity has skyrocketed thanks to their vulnerable videos about the adoption process, and Myka has scored deals with brands like Fabletics, Huggies, Kroger and more. (Most of these brands ended their relationships with the Stauffers amid the recall scandal.)
Fans of the Stauffers became interested in Huxley after he was noticeably absent from family videos. When the couple originally brought Huxley home in October 2017, Myka said she and James felt confident about the decision, regardless of the challenges they might experience.
“If anything, my child cannot be returnedMyka said in a YouTube video uploaded months before Huxley’s adoption was officially approved.
Myka and James are also the parents of children Kova, Jak, Radley and Onyx, who were not adopted. When Huxley was seemingly removed from the vlogs, Myka was prompted to delete comments about his whereabouts. She and James eventually offered their explanation in a May 2020 video.
“We would never just give up a child with special needs, this is a personal matter for Hux, it has nothing to do with him having autism,” Myka added in response to critics in the comments section, claiming Huxley “wanted this decision.” “
Her story. Myka Stauffer faced backlash in May 2020 when she revealed her decision to return her adopted son to a home with autism, but she was transparent about the process long before the controversy. The YouTube star documented her journey on her channel, sharing details about everything from Huxley’s diagnosis to her desire to adopt more children. (…)
A month later, My Weekly confirmed an an investigation was launched into Huxley’s welfare after reports emerged that he had been placed with another family. The case was eventually closed as authorities determined that Huxley was safe and happy with his new adoptive parents.
The Stauffers largely went off the grid after the scandal, deleting their family YouTube channel. In a June 2020 Instagram post — her last on the platform — Myka publicly apologized to the adoptive community.
“We didn’t adopt a child to gain wealth,” she insisted. “While we received a small portion of the money from the Huxley videos and his journey, every cent and more went back into his care. It was very expensive to get Huxley the care and services he needed, and we made sure he got all the services and resources we could find. … We love Huxley and know it was the right decision for him and his future. I pray that Huxley has only the best future in the whole world.”
