Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE

Doyin Richards, a dad/blogger from Los Angeles posted a photo of himself with his two-year-old and six-month-old daughters, he had no idea it would break the internet, but it did. Doyin wrote a blog post titled, “I Have a Dream: That People Will View a Picture Like This and Not Think It’s a Big Deal” and I assumed the world would collectively go, “Awww,” I was wrong. The internet seemed to be outraged about Doyin and his adorable daughters.

Must Read: Change Your Mood With Food: 5 Common Problems & Delicious Ways To Fix Them

Richards had originally posted the photo on his website back in October, with an accompanying post titled, “I Have a Dream: That People Will View a Picture Like This and Not Think It’s a Big Deal.” But in late December, he reposted it, and on Monday, the fatherhood blog The Good Men Project picked it up, and that’s when the extremely rude comments started to flow:

– “He probably rented those kids. They don’t even look like him.”

– “I would bet anything that you’re a deadbeat.”

– “OK buddy, cute picture. Now why don’t you hand the children back to their mom so you can go back to selling drugs or your bootleg rap CDs?”

– “So do you do this for all of your illegitimate kids?”

 

WTF?! Internet trolls can be so cruel. Doyin is a mature man and understands that society can be often misguided. “The picture stirs emotion for a few reasons,” Richards tells Yahoo Shine. “The media doesn’t portray fathers as caregivers. We’re seen as bumbling fools trying to figure out parenthood, or macho men pushing their kids into the NFL. The other issue is that there’s a stereotype that black fathers are deadbeats.”

Richards continues, “Memo to the small pocket of male haters I have: Why don’t you put big boy shorts on and get in on the revolution of good fathers? It’s not a good look to tear down dads for doing the work your wives wished you were man enough to do on your own. If you don’t believe me, just ask your spouses. They’ll tell you.”

The story behind Doyin’s photo:

One morning last week, MDW was running late for work and was worried that she wouldn’t be able to get DDW1′s hair done before I had to take her to school. I told her that she could leave and I’d handle it. She countered by saying that doing her hair requires attention and the baby would get upset if I left her alone while I played the role of stylist. Again, I told her that I’d handle it. On the way out she said, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
That’s when I put DDW2 in the Ergo, stood DDW1 on a stool and worked my hair magic. During the process, I thought, “There’s no way my wife will believe me if I don’t take a picture of this.” That’s when I set my camera up, put it on a 10-second timer, and took the photo you’re looking at right now. After 15 minutes of multitasking, the final result was a nice, tight ponytail for big sister and a happily sleeping baby in the carrier. Mission accomplished. I emailed the photo to her with the caption “Boom.” and we both got a good laugh out of it.
Richards isn’t trying to get applause for doing what many fathers are also doing. He says, “Don’t get me wrong here — it’s a very cute picture, and it’s cool when people say so. However, I start to get a little uncomfortable when people want to start planning parade routes for me because of it. If you want to create a statue for me for taking care of my daughters, create one for the moms who are doing the same damn thing every day for their kids without receiving a ‘Thank you’ or an ‘Ooooh’ or ‘Ahhhh.’ These behaviors should be expected of moms and dads. No exceptions.”
I know he doesn’t want it…but a round of applause for a man like Doyin Richards! That boy good!
LIKE HelloBeautiful On Facebook!

Related Stories:

Daddy’s Girls! Our Favorite Celebrities With Their Dads [PHOTOS]

The Curly Girl’s Guide to Frizz-Free Hair

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.