While teen pregnancy is still a bit taboo, shows like Sixteen & Pregnant and Teen Mom have worked to lessen the stigma and actually lowered teen pregnancy rates in the United States. However, it seems like someone will always have something negative to say when a celebrity announces that they’re expecting regardless of their age.
So, when notorious Ellen guest Sophia Grace Brownlee, 19, told her YouTube subscribers that she was expecting her first child, people had criticism. Brownlee recognized that she was young but admitted that the “normal” thing to do is be older and married before having kids, but that’s not how the “Superbass” lipsyncher wanted to do things.
“I feel like 19 is quite young, obviously, to have a baby,” she told E! News. “Usually most people are like, ‘You should have babies when you’re 30 and you’re married and you live in your own house,’ which is completely fine. But obviously everyone’s gonna have their different opinions.”
She doesn’t see her age as being a negative factor in her new pregnancy. She would rather focus on her individual journey. “I just feel it’s about the person themselves,” she shared. “And as long as you feel ready and it’s something that you’re happy about, then it’s really no one else’s problem.”
In her original announcement video, she even made it clear that she wasn’t going to tolerate any hate. “I don’t want any negative comments. Negative comments will be getting deleted and blocked,” she warned.
Though she received some less-than-positive feedback about her pregnancy announcement, the outpouring of love from friends, family, and fans outweighed it. Even some fans commented that they also had children at Brownlee’s age.
“I’ve seen so many supportive comments about how ‘You’re young, but I had a baby at this age’ and it was so lovely,” she told E!. “It really makes me feel happy when I see other girls comment that. It really, really makes me so more confident.”
The loving feedback has also eased her worries about the announcement and the pregnancy in general. As any newly pregnant person knows, there are so many doubts and fears within the excitement. “At the start I was feeling a bit sort of overwhelmed,” Sophia said. “And you think about like, ‘How am I going to know how to do this? How am I going to learn how to carry the baby properly?’ It’s kind of scary.”
Now knowing that she has so many rallying behind her, she feels a lot better about becoming a young mom. “It’s a human, but I feel like it will just come naturally once I have the baby,” she continued. “My family and friends are so supportive. I’m sure that I will help so much. So I feel really confident about it now.”
Brownlee could be referring to the heartwarming response her forever hypegirl and cousin, Rosie McClelland, gave her after she learned the news, sharing on her Instagram Story that she cried “happy tears.” She added, “Together forever, words can’t explain this feeling! So excited for this next chapter, here for you, will buy milk, babysit, but I don’t think I can change a nappy just yet.”
As for the baby’s father, she is keeping mum about the mystery man. Because the YouTube personality received such notoriety at such a young age when she won the heart of the world singing to Nicki Minaj on Ellen when she was just eight years old, she knows the negative sides of revealing your personal life.
“Because I have always been in the spotlight, I feel like I want something just to keep to myself,” Sophia added. “I would be completely happy to share him and I would be completely happy for him to be in my videos, but I feel like when he’s confident enough to be in them, then maybe we could do that and it’ll be really fun.”
Watch Brownlee’s entire pregnancy announcement video here.
