Babies are blessings, and model Kamiah Adams simply wanted to share her joy. The former Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star, who's dating Washington Wizards player Bradley Beal, posted a stunning maternity photo... along with a "joke" that didn't necessarily resonate with her 799,000+ followers. "Beyond thankful that God saw us fit to be your parents," she wrote. "Bradley, Kamiah, 5 dogs +1 coming soon... mommy and daddy can’t wait to meet you little one (& hopefully you have mommy’s Hair and not daddy’s. Sorry @bradbeal3 lol)."
Along with a flood of congratulatory messages, Adams' fans — and followers of The Shade Room, where the photo was reposted — expressed outrage about the jab. "Why have a child/relationship with a black man (who isn't ambiguously of color) if you're concerned with the texture of hair?" @humanharmony wrote. And that's just a sampling of the backlash over on The Shade Room.
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Eventually Adams responded, maintaining that she didn't mean any harm by the comment. "Well I sincerely apologize for offending you and anyone else with an inside joke that my man and I tease EACHOTHER about," she replied. "Sincerely. Have a blessed day." And in a separate comment, she defended her ethnicity — "in case you weren't aware, I'M BLACK."
Of course, there's no telling what goes on behind closed doors. But there's certainly grounds for the outrage. In a society that has long placed a higher value on Western beauty ideals, people of color have continuously been told that their hair texture isn't desirable. Our curls and coils have been called "nappy," "difficult," and just plain "bad." Locs are still banned at certain workplaces, and children are still sent home from school for wearing braids. Adams was joking, but the discrimination against natural hair — that still persists in 2018 — isn't a laughing matter. And hopefully, her unborn child won't have to deal with that bias.