The mother of a Chinese child model has apologized after videos of her appearing to beat her daughter appeared online, sparking outrage and debate about the country’s highly competitive child modelling industry.
Videos surfaced online this week showing a woman kicking and slapping a toddler who appears to be posing for photo shoots.
Internet users identified the child as Niuniu, a 3-year-old girl who models clothes sold on e-commerce website Taobao.
Niuniu’s mother published a statement Wednesday apologizing for her actions.
“As shown in the video, my slightly large movements in the process of communicating guidance were in no way intended to cause harm,” she wrote on the Weibo microblog platform.
Niuniu’s mother, who did not disclose her name, said she “caused everyone to misunderstand,” for which she felt “deeply sorry.”
Taobao shared on its official Weibo account a news report about the videos along with a statement of support for the Taobao sellers who sounded the alarm over Niuniu’s wellbeing.
The statement said the appeals from kind-hearted e-commerce sellers were the best way to provide children with timely protection.