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Kyte Baby, the popular baby brand that makes baby pajamas and bamboo sleeping bags, is in hot water after online reports surfaced, accusing the company of firing an employee who just welcomed a 22-week-old baby. The reports alleged Marissa Hughes, an employee at Kyte Baby, was terminated after she requested to work at home as she had just adopted a 22-week-old baby who was in a NICU 9 hours away.
In the wake of the controversy, social media users are urging people to boycott the baby brand that has been featured in Today, Poosh, and Forbes.
It is important to note that allegations against Kyte Baby are merely allegations circulating online. It is unclear where the reports stemmed from since Marissa Hughes has not spoken about the claims. However, it is possible she might have shared a private post online with a small group of people.
Marissa Hughes Kyte Baby controversy explained
Marissa Hughes launched a GoFundMe campaign last month announcing that she and her husband Rawley have decided to adopt after detailing her struggles with conceiving a child through IVF. Marissa said:
“We have undergone extensive testing, attended hundreds of doctors appointments, taken hundreds of pills and administered at-home injections, completed multiple failed IUIs, gone through IVF, experienced major complications, almost lost my life [Marissa] during surgery, been pregnant three times and have lost all three of our beautiful babies.”
Marissa then implored people to donate to cover adoption agency fees, legal fees, court fees, a birth mother's living expenses, medical expenses, and counseling expenses.
In an exciting update, on January 4, 2024, Marissa announced they had adopted a premature baby born at 22 weeks gestation and barely over a pound. She revealed the baby was in a NICU nine hours away from their family home. Marissa revealed the baby named Judah will have to remain in NICU until March 2024.
The crowdfunding campaign, requesting $50,000, raised over $31,653 from donors, who came out in support of the young mother and her struggles taking care of a premature child. As people began sharing the young mother’s story online, urging others to donate to the cause, reports surfaced alleging Marissa, who was supposedly employed at Kyte Baby, was terminated after she asked to work from home.
While Marissa has not alleged the same in the GoFundMe campaign or her social media account, we cannot verify the claim's veracity. However, a recent post on Marissa’s Facebook account was deleted on January 4, 2024.
A few comments on X alleged that Marissa, who has worked for Kyte Baby for less than a year, was offered two weeks off as per the company policy, which she declined.
Netizens urge people to boycott Kyte Baby
As several people took to the internet alleging the company has fired a new mother of a premature child, calls to boycott the brand intensified.
Kyte Baby, founded by Ying Liu, has developed a large social media presence, with 700,000 followers on Instagram and 50,000 on TikTok.
The company, which appeared to have turned off its comments on its IG account, has yet to respond to the allegations at the time of writing.
