+
Sign up for
The Upworthiest
Our top stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.
Parenting

Orlando news anchor shares great response after trolls attacked his daughters over prom dresses

'I have always told my girls that I have their back and I think I've proven that.'

homecoming; teenage daughters; homecoming dresses; Florida
Photo by leah hetteberg on Unsplash

News anchor puts haters straight.

Picture it, 1984 in some poorly lit gym complete with hopefully nonspiked punch and teenagers dancing awkwardly in the shortest homecoming dresses the '80s could produce. Now, take that image and apply it to whatever decade you'd like, all the way up to today. No one would be shocked that teenagers going to homecoming would dress like teenagers, but when a proud dad posted pictures of his daughters dolled up in their party dresses, he was flooded with negative comments.

Orlando's News 6 anchor Matt Austin did what many parents did in October and shared a picture of himself with his kids, who were heading out for homecoming. The girls, Addison, 17, and Olivia, 14, both donned different versions of the short homecoming style dress most American teenage girls wore to their own school's dance.

But for some reason, instead of receiving an influx of supportive and kind comments, the news anchor received harsh criticism over his children's clothes.

One woman told Austin, "These outfits these girls are wearing are exactly what call girls wear." Another commenter said, "I do not understand how a parent could be comfortable with their daughter's crotches on display should they bend over or sit." The comment seemed to catch Austin off guard as he told the disappointed person that his daughters were wearing shorts under their dresses and he took a moment to express his confusion over the person's focus on his daughters' private parts.

No worries, because other parents jumped in to not only defend the dad but to compliment the girls and wish them well at their dance. The amount of negative comments was surprising because homecoming dresses are typically fairly short and schools still enforce dress codes at dances. These dresses clearly passed whatever the school's dress code is and were in style.

The comment section does a great job at displaying the double standard placed on girls. For some reason, girls are being placed as the sole responsible party for the actions and thoughts of people around them, namely men. Several commenters pointed that out.

Denise Massey wrote, "All those comments about their dresses is just sad. If parents raise their sons to respect women no matter what they wear the world would be a safer place. They look beautiful and I applaud you and your wife for raising them with the confidence to wear what they like. Hope that had a blast at Homecoming."

Austin told Today Parents that he was shocked his daughters' outfits would even be controversial. The negative comments put the news anchor in protector mode and he posted an amazing clapback to TikTok. His message was pretty clear: the most disappointing things his daughters could do would be to grow up to be the kind of adult that commented on teen girls' appearance on their parent's social media page.

@flnewsman

A dad responds to Karens taking aim at teen daughters’ Homecoming dresses. #fashiontiktok #parentsoftiktok -#fypシ #hoco

The message Austin was sending seems loud enough for the naysayers to hear so let's hope they reflect on their actions. Teenage girls are not responsible for the thoughts and behaviors of teenage boys and grown men. Several commenters agreed by encouraging others to raise better men.

Thankfully, the good comments seemed to outpace the negative ones and while he teased that he would prefer his daughters wear Snuggies, the girls approved his message after they saw the messages. The bottom line is: be kind and if you can't be kind, be quiet.

From Your Site Articles
homecoming
Badge
KFC
KFC
Joy

KFC tackles food insecurity this holiday season with its Sharemobile food truck

True

The last thing children should have to worry about is where their next meal will come from. But the unfortunate reality is food insecurity is all too common in this country.

In an effort to help combat this pressing issue, KFC is teaming up with Blessings in a Backpack to provide nearly 70,000 meals to families in need and spread holiday cheer along the way.

The KFC Sharemobile, a holiday-edition charitable food truck, will be making stops at schools in Chicago, Orlando, and Houston in December to share KFC family meals and special gifts for a few select families to address specific needs identified by their respective schools.

These cities were chosen based on the high level of food insecurity present in their communities and hardships they’ve faced, such as a devastating hurricane season in Florida and an unprecedented winter storm in Houston. In 2021, five million children across the US lived in food-insecure households, according to the USDA.

“Sharing a meal with family or friends is a special part of the holidays,” said Nick Chavez, CMO of KFC U.S. “Alongside our franchisees, we wanted to make that possible for even more families this holiday season.”

KFC will also be making a donation to Blessings in a Backpack, a nonprofit that works to provide weekend meals to school-aged children across America who might otherwise go hungry.

“The generous donations from KFC could not have come at a better time, as these communities have been particularly hard-hit this year with rising food costs, inflation and various natural disasters,” Erin Kerr, the CEO of Blessings in a Backpack, told Upworthy. “Because of KFC’s support, we’re able to spread holiday cheer by donating meals for hunger-free weekends and meet each community’s needs,” Kerr said.

This isn’t the first time KFC has worked with Blessings in a Backpack. The fried chicken chain has partnered with the nonprofit for the last six years, donating nearly $1 million dollars. KFC employees also volunteer weekly to package and provide meals to students in Louisville, Kentucky who need food over the weekend.

KFC franchisees are also bringing the Sharemobile concept to life in markets across the country through local food donations and other holiday giveback moments. Ampex Brands, a KFC franchisee based in Dallas, recently held its annual Day of Giving event and donated 11,000 meals to school children in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

If you’d like to get involved, you can make a donation to help feed students in need at kfc.com/kfcsharemobile. Every bit helps, but a donation of $150 helps feed a student on the weekends for an entire 38-week school year, and a donation as low as $4 will feed a child for a whole weekend.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
holidays
Pop Culture

In emotional video, Celine Dion shares diagnosis of rare, incurable 'stiff person syndrome'

'As you know, I have always been an open book.'

Celine Dion/Facebook

Celine Dion spoke directly to her fans on social media.

Celine Dion has shared the devastating news that she has been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome.

In an emotional video to her fans, the 54-year-old French-Canadian singer apologized for taking so long to reach out and explained that her health struggles have been difficult to talk about.

"As you know, I have always been an open book, and I wasn't ready to say anything before. But I'm ready now."

Keep ReadingShow less
celine dion
Pop Culture

Hollywood icons Brendan Fraser and Adam Sandler sat down for an epic chat with each other

Best. Interview. Ever.

Variety/YouTube

Adam Sandler and Brendan Fraser for Variety's "Actors on Actors."

There are few actors in this world as universally loved as Brendan Fraser and Adam Sandler. So when the two sign on to interview one another, you can bet that people are going to be thrilled.

During one of Variety's “Actors on Actors” segments, the two swapped stories of being in the entertainment business—from the movie “Airheads," which they both starred in, to more recent projects like Sandler’s “Hustle” and Fraser’s “The Whale.”

It’s clear that these two respect and admire each other’s work. Sandler applauded Fraser’s career-long stride of making bold and interesting choices, and especially commended him for his starring role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” which has been hailed as a major comeback for the “Mummy” franchise star.
Keep ReadingShow less
joy
Pop Culture

Jack Black's Tenacious D rocked out with an impressive version of the Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ medley

Jack Black is an incredibly talented singer.

via Wikimedia Commons

Tenacious D performs at the Rock in Pott festival.

The medley that closes out the second side of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album is one of the most impressive displays of musicianship in the band’s storied career. It also provided the perfect send-off before the band’s official breakup months later, ending with the lyrics, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

In 1969, “Abbey Road” was the last record the group made together, although “Let it Be,” recorded earlier that year, was released in 1970.

At first, the medley was just a clever way for the band to use a handful of half-finished tunes, but when it came together it was a rousing, grandiose affair.

Arranged by Paul McCartney and producer George Martin, the medley weaves together five songs written by McCartney, "You Never Give Me Your Money," "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window," "Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight” and "The End," and three by John Lennon, “Sun King," "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam."

Fifteen seconds after the medley and the album’s conclusion, there is a surprise treat, McCartney’s 22-second “Her Majesty,” which wound up on the record as an accident.

Jack Black and Kyle Gass, collectively known as Tenacious D, recently reimagined two of the songs in the medley, "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "The End," for acoustic guitars for a performance on SiriusXM's Octane Channel. Like everything with Tenacious D, it showed off the duo’s impressive musical chops as well as their fantastic sense of humor.

The truncated version of the medley was also a wonderful tribute to the incredible work the Beatles did 53 years ago.

Warning: This video contains NSFW language.

From Your Site Articles
the beatles
Joy

13 strangers became stranded at an airport, so they set off on a road trip together

The unlikely friends went viral online after documenting their 10+ hour journey.

@alanahsotry21/TikTok

From strangers to friends in one night.

Sometimes the greatest friendships are born out of the most unlikely circumstances.

Thanks to a canceled flight, 13 complete strangers found themselves stuck at Orlando International Airport on their way to Knoxville, Tennessee, with no way to get to their destination.

What started off as a disaster quickly turned around into an impromptu adventure, as the determined group banded together to rent a minivan and drive more than 500 miles from Orlando to Knoxville. Along the way they documented their travels, and the story was quickly picked up by news outlets like CNN, spreading like wholesome viral wildfire online.


The band of merry travelers hailed from different parts of the U.S. and Mexico, and didn’t all speak the same language. Plus each had their own reason for wanting to get to Knoxville. One college student was trying to make it back in time for her final. Another was hoping to tour her dream college with her mom and dad. A well-known farming influencer was set to deliver a keynote speech at a conference. A mother wanted to go fight for custody of her son, while another woman wanted to meet a friend to help her move. Others were just there to have fun.

Regardless of their differences, their road trip created unexpected community and a memory they won't soon forget.

Keep ReadingShow less
best of humanity
Trending Stories