A Canadian columnist is in hot water after her story regarding her strange actions involving a baby at a party a few years ago was published.
Leah McLaren confessed in a Globe and Mail Column titled, 'The joy (and politics) of breastfeeding someone else's baby' that she tried to breastfeed Toronto MP Michael Chong's baby without consent from either parents while attending a party.
In the column, which has since been deleted, McLaren wrote that she felt an inexplicable connection with the child while she tried to calm him down from crying.
"Somehow, my pinky finger ended up in his mouth and I was astonished at strength of his sucking reflex," she wrote. '''C'mon lady,' said his eyes. And I suddenly knew what he wanted. And I of course wanted to give him what he wanted. The only problem was, I had no milk. But would it be so bad, I wondered, if I just tried it out "“ just for a minute "“ just to see what it felt like?" she added.
McLaren was interrupted by the baby's father, Chong, now-conservative leadership candidate, before she could finish unbuttoning her blouse. He uttered a few words before taking his son away and leaving the party with the rest of his family.
Uhh, did anyone grab a copy of this column before it was 404'd? pic.twitter.com/gRx6rAb0F7
— ishmael n. daro 🳠(@iD4RO) March 26, 2017
As you can already imagine, McLaren's actions didn't go over well with many people on the internet.
The story left a sour taste in everyone's mouth and people were not afraid to voice their stance on social media.
The consensus was that besides being inappropriate, this entire situation is very odd and unjustifiable.
Some Twitter users even went as far as claiming that McLaren's actions could be classified as assault.
@kelkord @iD4RO @emilymkeeler i get we all have weird, inappropriate thoughts... but to get to the "i was just reaching into my bra" stage?
— navneet alang (@navalang) March 26, 2017
@navalang @iD4RO @emilymkeeler it's demented in the very best kind of way.
— Kelli María Korducki (@kelkord) March 26, 2017
@sdbcraig @leahmclaren 'weird' doesn't begin to describe this. Not only is this behaviour inappropriate; it verges on some sort of assault
— Sebastian DeGrandis (@SebMarkinTO) March 27, 2017
The outrage increased once McLaren issued a justification for the strange incident.
The journalist blames her immaturity (she was 25 at the time) as one of the reasons why she acted the way she did. She also admits it was "wrong and rude and frankly a bit weird of me to think I could breastfeed a stranger's baby just for kicks."
But, towards the end of the column, she didn't seem to have any real remorse. She highlights the benefits of co-feeding and speaks about her experience as a wet nurse.
Her justification for her actions still didn't garner the support she probably expected.
@JesseBrown @leahmclaren it is the weirdest argument for ending stigma around co-feeding I've read. And will have the opposite effect. 🙄
— ðŸðŸ•ðŸðŸ• ðŸðŸ•ðŸðŸ•ðŸ (@happystash) March 27, 2017
According to The Huffington Post Canada, Chong released a statement in response to the controversy, it read: "This incident happened over 10 years ago. It was odd, no doubt, but not of any real consequence. I entered this race to discuss important challenges facing Canada. I am happy to discuss those. But I won't be making any further comment on this."
McLaren was suspended from her duties at the Globe and Mail but her position has since been reinstated.
Another columnist shared a similar experience in solidarity with McLaren. Shannon Miller wrote her piece for Ottawa Citizen confessing that she breastfed her sister's baby without permission.
She also stands by her actions and voiced no regret but unlike McLaren, Miller is not sorry "I didn't apologize to my sister. It really was a natural thing to do. Practical, too." She put a feminist spin to her justification which brings on a whole new debate.
What do you think of these bizarre incidents?