Local authorities are investigating YouTubers Myka and James Stauffer, after they came under fire for ‘rehoming’ their adopted son Huxley, who has autism.
The couple adopted Huxley from China two and a half years ago, but they decided to “rehome” the four-year-old after they struggled to care for him.
According to NBC News, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office has since “received several inquiries regarding the welfare” of Huxley.
A spokesperson said: “Our primary concern is for the well-being of this child, as well as the other children in the household. Our investigation is ongoing, and will include contact with all children to ensure their safety.”
The couple announced their decision to rehome Huxley in a video posted on Myka’s YouTube channel, which has over 700k subscribers, last month.
“Once Huxley came home, there was a lot more special needs that we weren’t aware of, and that we were not told,” James said the video.
“For us, it’s been really hard hearing from the medical professionals, a lot of their feedback, and things that have been upsetting.”
“We’ve never wanted to be in this position. And we’ve been trying to get his needs met and help him out as much as possible… We truly love him.”
Myka added: “There’s not an ounce of our body that doesn’t love Huxley with all of our being.”
“There wasn’t a minute that I didn’t try our hardest and I think what Jim is trying to say is that after multiple assessments, after multiple evaluations, numerous medical professionals have felt that he needed a different fit and that his medical needs, he needed more.”
“Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 percent,” Myka said, before explaining that Huxley is now living with a “new mommy” in his “forever home”.
“The last couple months have been like the hardest thing I could have ever imagined to going to choosing to do because ultimately, after pouring our guts and our heart into this little boy,” she said.
“He is thriving, he is happy, he is doing really well, and his new mommy has medical professional training, and it is a very good fit.”
The couple asked their subscribers to respect their privacy, and said they wouldn’t be going into further details about their decision.
Fans of the couple’s channel were naturally disgusted by the news, and took to Twitter to express their outrage.
Extremely depressed reading about the influencer who raised funds to adopt a son, made this her “brand,” discovered he has special needs, secretly rehomed him, blocked ppl asking about him (after her followers helped fund the adoption) & put out a video making herself the victim https://t.co/ekgeTWBpm5
— Sophie Ross (@SophRossss) May 27, 2020
I can’t believe you @MykaStauffer
Huxley wasn’t a pet, and you brought him into your children’s lives. Then you ripped that from them. You never would’ve done that had he been your biological child. Horrible.— emily (@emilyopinions) May 27, 2020
im sick ???? @MykaStauffer adopted an autistic child from china and after years of having him, she gave him up for adoption because he had “bad behavior” after using him for $$$ on her youtube channel of almost 1mil subs. people like this do not deserve followings or children
— lydia love ???? (@generichoe) May 27, 2020
@MykaStauffer imagine writing out these captions and not meaning a single word. You adopted him solely for the attention it would give you and now you’re giving him away. Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/68pfN1I2jP
— Not Nora (@ParticleSoop) May 27, 2020
Imagine adopting a little boy from China who’s an orphan with special needs, taking him away from everything he knows, only to give him up and “rehome” him a few years later. Some of these YouTube families are actually shocking. #mykastauffer
— lily (@_lxlyevie) May 27, 2020
On this week’s episode of #GossChats, Ali Ryan chats to Love Island winner and rugby star Greg O’Shea about his experience on the reality show, what REALLY happened after his split from Amber Gill, and some of the strange things women have sent him in his DMs…
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