This Daddy Was Criticized for His Daughters’ Prom Outfits, but Now He Explains His Reasons

A Florida father was in for a big surprise after a picture of his daughters attending homecoming went viral. He received thousands of comments criticizing his daughters’ outfits. So he decided to take it upon himself to protect his daughters, proving that dads will always be there for their kids.

He posted a pic on Facebook.

Matt Austin, a news anchor in Orlando, shared a photo on Facebook of himself posing with his daughters, Addison, 17, and Olivia, 14. “My daughters look a little too good on homecoming night. Believe it or not, they’re even more beautiful on the inside,” the father wrote.

This statement got more than 2K comments. “I thought it was innocent,” Austin said. “I just posted a picture of me with 2 of my daughters. It is the first time they were both going to homecoming — because one’s a freshman and one’s a senior. I always post a picture, whether it’s homecoming or prom, and I didn’t think twice about it.”

Many people took it upon themselves to criticize both the girls and the dad.

Austin said he checked his phone later that evening and discovered the picture had more than double the usual number of comments. “As I looked, I saw all sorts of nasty comments, that I’m a bad father,” said Austin.

Among the comments that Austin said his post received were statements, such as, “Those girls are too young to be dressing provocatively. They should have respect for themselves,” “So sad that parents think it’s okay to send the young ladies out with everything showing,” and “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Dad.”

Austin turned to social media again.

Austin decided to film a TikTok explaining to viewers that the one thing that has always annoyed him as a father of girls is when people say things like, “Well, these girls need to dress so they don’t distract the boys,” he said. To that statement, the dad wanted to clear up that it’s not his daughters’ job to make sure someone’s son is focused in school.

He explains his reasoning as to why he doesn’t dictate to his daughters what to wear.

Austin finished his video by saying that if he starts dictating what his daughters wear, he’ll be teaching them 3 things. For one, they’ll start to hate him for the arbitrary rules, and second, they’ll start to lie to him. And lastly, which may be even worse, they’ll think that it’s okay for a man to tell them what to wear because they look too good.

Austin’s video received tons of support from viewers.

“Way to go, Dad!!” wrote one person. “Real parents empower and support their kids, that’s exactly what he’s doing.” More people wrote things like, “Luckiest daughters in the world!” “You have beautiful young women. Keep up the good job, Dad,” and “I have a boy and girl and I 100% agree with everything you’ve stated.”

“People ask what I hope comes from this, but the audience I truly care about is my daughters,” the father said. “I have always told my girls that I have their back and I think I’ve proven that.”

Do you agree with Matt Austin? Would you allow your daughters to wear such outfits? What would you say to all the critics out there? Share your opinion in the comments, we want to hear what you have to say!