Warning: This article contains sensitive subject matter, including the death of a newborn. Please proceed with caution.
An online baby brand has earned the ire of the internet after reaching out to ask a grieving mother –who lost her child – to return the free bassinet it had sent her as she had not delivered the promised content.
Brooklyn Larson, an influencer with over 100k followers on Instagram shared the devastating news to her fans last year explaining that their son, Rocky died mere hours after being born. While the mother received an outpouring of support from her followers on Instagram, not everyone was feeling so sympathetic.
The Happiest Baby controversy
Last week, Brooklyn’s sister, McKenna Bangerter, publicly blasted the Happiest Baby brand for an insensitive email the company had sent to Brooklyn. The email apparently asked the mother to send back the $1,700 SNOO bassinet that it had sent her as part of a partnership it had with the influencer.
According to the MailOnline, Bangerter wrote in an Instagram story that she was “super disappointed” in the brand, claiming that they “demanded she send the bassinet back. the empty bassinet, still sitting next to her bed.”
“I want you to think about why she couldn’t deliver the content. I’m absolutely disgusted by a BABY brand who promotes support for moms & babies – that doesn’t have the decency to give her the space to grieve the bassinet she never got to fill.”
Bangerter continues, “It’s all business for brands like these, you know?” before claiming she regretted ever promoting the brand.
If true, then that’s pretty evil on the company’s behalf, and we know a thing or two about evil companies. People were quick to take a stand against the Happiest Baby for such an insensitive email. The drama even made its way to TikTok where the account, @nosybystanders responded to the situation with their own thoughts.
In the comments underneath the video people condemned the company, one person wrote, “HappiestBaby can pack up now.” Another suggested an alternative approach the brand should have taken, “I would have sent flowers and told her to keep the bassinet should she want to, or gift to a mom in need.”
Happiest Baby response
The company did issue a statement to PEOPLE, addressing the issue, and claiming that the intention was to remove the bassinet so as not to remind Brooklyn of her loss.
“We know that many parents who suffer such unimaginable and tragic loss often find that the sight of an empty bassinet or crib can become a painful reminder of their grief—and parents want to remove it—so we offered to have her SNOO picked up.”
In the statement, the company admits that it made a “mistake” with regards to the approach and has vowed to train its team to take a more “sensitive” approach in future. However, Bangerter refuted the statement, claiming that the Happiest Baby had sent six emails on the matter, “SIX e-mails demanding the bassinet back isn’t an offer…”
As it stands, the brand has yet to respond to Bangerter’s latest accusations but the outrage has not died down. In recent days people have gone directly to the brand’s social media pages to call it out, in the comments on Instagram one individual wrote, “1 tip for you… Human decency is more important than a business.” Meanwhile, on TikTok people vowed to boycott, “So we all know we boycotting this brand right?”
Published: Mar 24, 2025 4:41 PM UTC