By way of celebrating her wedding anniversary, singer and actor Lily Allen, 38, did what many people do and headed to social media to pay tribute to her partner. Sharing a picture of the day she wed Stranger Things actor David Harbour, 48, in a Las Vegas ceremony officiated by an Elvis Presley impersonator, Lily marked the special milestone. “Three years with this guy. Second best decision I ever made. First was that dress," she captioned the image, praising both her husband David and her Dior wedding attire.
It wasn't long before the comments began flooding in, with many congratulating Lily on her anniversary and the well-executed outfit. But there was one commenter who opted to go down a different route, instead asking: “Would you have married a guy with no money?” The implication being, of course, that Lily, a multi-millionaire singer and actor, prioritised David's bank account when it came to making her decision to marry him. Lily spotted the shaming question, replying with: “Sure, I did in 2011. Sadly it didn’t work out, though.” The performer was referencing her marriage to Sam Cooper, a builder with whom she has two children, Ethel Mary and Marnie Rose.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Fans of the singer were quick to show their support. One commenter replied: “What an absolutely awful question. Lily, how do you keep your cool?” Another wrote: “Lily Allen has her own money! She's pretty successful in case you hadn't noticed!”
It is incredibly sad that in this day and age a woman, who is successful in her own right, can't post a picture celebrating her wedding anniversary without being probed about her financial motives in relationships. While Lily expertly answered the question, the woman-shaming narrative prevails, both on her social media and that of many other women.
This week, we've witnessed Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner become the target of a woman and mum-shaming discourse. Ahead of the announcement that she and her husband of four years, singer Joe Jonas, were getting a divorce, TMZ ran quotes from unidentified sources which seemed intent on painting a less than positive picture of Sophie as a mother and wife. A source was quoted as saying that the couple had been facing “serious problems." They proceeded to state that Joe, who is currently on tour with the Jonas Brothers, had spent the past three months being the primary caregiver of the couple's two young daughters.
Does Sophie not have every right to pursue passions outside of motherhood the same way Joe has the right to pursue things unrelated to fatherhood?
Even if this were the case, what's the problem? If the roles were reversed, and the narrative suggested that Sophie had been looking after the children for three months while Joe was working or occupied elsewhere, then no one would bat an eyelid. GLAMOUR discussed this double standard and the problematic divorce discourse earlier this week. And now I'm here writing about yet another woman-shaming comment addressed to another female in the public eye. Clearly we have a long way to go before mothers and wives are allowed to be seen as people in their own right.
