“You Bought a Baby,” Lily Collins Faces Backlash After Welcoming a Child via Surrogacy

What should have been a joyful celebration quickly turned into a storm of criticism for Emily in Paris star Lily Collins and her husband, director Charlie McDowell. The couple recently announced the birth of their daughter, Tove, via surrogacy, expressing their gratitude to the surrogate who made it possible. However, the news sparked a heated debate online, with many questioning the ethics of surrogacy and criticizing the couple’s choice.

The Emily in Paris star, Lily Collins, 35, and her husband, film director Charlie McDowell, 41, announced the birth of their daughter, Tove, last Friday through a heartfelt post on Collins’ official Instagram. The couple expressed their “endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate” and shared a sweet photo of their newborn, wrapped in a soft blanket embroidered with her name.

While the joy of welcoming a new baby is a moment of unparalleled happiness for any parent, the couple’s announcement was quickly overshadowed by a storm of online backlash.

People flooded the comments section with criticism of the couple’s decision to use a surrogate. Some harsh remarks included, “Rich people using women as incubators once again lmao,” “Wow. Money can buy you literally anything, including human life,” and, “You bought a baby.”

One user added, “Surrogacy harms impoverished women. People unable to conceive have the option of adopting millions of children that don’t have homes. Renting the uteruses of women is immoral and should not be legal.”

McDowell, 41, responded to the backlash with a pointed message on Instagram. He wrote, “In regards to the unkind messages about surrogacy and our path to having a baby — it’s OK to not be an expert on surrogacy. It’s OK to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It’s OK to not know the motivations of a surrogate, regardless of what you assume.”

He continued, “And it’s OK to spend less time spewing hateful words into the world, especially in regards to a beautiful baby girl who has brought a lot of love into people’s lives. That’s all for now because she just pooped, and I need to change her diaper.”

In recent years, surrogacy has grown significantly, partly due to more people having children later in life, when some women can no longer carry a pregnancy. We have explored why women choose to become surrogates and what happens if a newborn is abandoned by the biological parents.