Reality television personality Charlotte Crosby has issued a fierce response to online critics after a playful prank involving her baby daughter backfired spectacularly. The Geordie Shore star, 35, found herself at the centre of a social media storm after sharing a humorous edited photo from a family flight to the Maldives.
The In-Flight Prank That Sparked Outrage
Travelling from Dubai with her fiancé Jake Ankers and their two daughters—three-year-old Alba and 11-month-old Pixi—the family faced a lengthy delay on the runway. To pass the time and entertain the infant, Jake lifted Pixi up next to a cabin's fire exit sign, which she grabbed onto. Charlotte snapped a picture of the moment.
The comedian then edited Jake out of the image before posting it to her Instagram Stories, creating the illusion that baby Pixi was hanging from the sign by herself. She captioned the joke photo: 'We couldn't find Pixi anywhere on the flight... then we looked up and she was HANGING from the exit sign. What's she like these second children are wild!!'
Backlash from the 'Mum Police'
Almost immediately, the star's direct messages were flooded with furious comments from followers who took the image at face value. Dubbing the critics the 'mum police', Charlotte revealed they were 'losing their s***' over the staged snap, believing the child was genuinely left to dangle unsupervised.
After landing at their holiday destination, a weary Charlotte was forced to clarify the joke. Sharing a selfie, she wrote: 'BUT FIRST why have I been getting sooooo many messages of people kicking off at Pixi doing pull ups on the fire exit sign! Let the girl live for gods sake!!!!!!! LMAO come on yous! You didn't actually think that was real did you?'
She explained she had simply photoshopped Jake out of the picture out of boredom during the delay, and found the resulting image hilarious.
Business Debts and Future Optimism
The incident comes shortly after Charlotte opened up about significant financial pressures from her business venture. The Celebrity Big Brother winner confessed that her clothing brand, Pepper Girls Club, has left her £300,000 in debt.
In a candid video, she disclosed: 'I've put about £300k into this business over the last eight years, and I haven't received a penny of that back.' She admitted to a 'big business mistake' by overspending on photoshoots, including one summer collection in Ibiza that cost around £20,000.
Despite the setbacks and having investment doors 'slammed in her face', Charlotte remains positive. She highlighted that the business employs people and has a loyal customer base, stating: 'We are going in the right direction.' Her resilience shines through both in her business endeavours and in brushing off the unwarranted criticism from online mum-shamers.
