The CEO of a baby clothing brand has issued two groveling apologies after rejecting an employee’s request to work remotely while she cared for her adopted premature son.
Ying Liu, the founder of Kyte Baby, took to TikTok to apologize to Marissa Hughes, a former employee who was fired after asking to work in the neonatal intensive care unit of a Texas hospital. Liu posted the first apology on Wednesday.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to Marissa for the way her parental leave was communicated and handled during her incredible journey of adoption and starting a family,” she said.
The CEO said she has “the utmost respect for the adoption community” and that her “good intentions have not been fully communicated.”
Kyte Baby’s CEO issued two apologies to former employee Marissa Hughes, who requested to work remotely from an El Paso hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit after the birth of her adopted son
Ying Liu posted the first apology on Wednesday, apologizing to Hughes and affirming her “utmost respect for the adoption community”
Baby Judah, pictured with Hughes’ husband Rawley, was born prematurely at 22 weeks and weighed one pound. Due to ongoing health complications, he required an extended hospital stay
Hughes and husband Rawley, of Dallas, made the decision to adopt after she lost three pregnancies, underwent IVF and almost died during surgery.
The couple adopted their son Judah at the end of December. He was nine hours away in El Paso, born prematurely and weighing barely a pound.
Because Judah had “several health issues” that required an extended hospital stay, Hughes requested the ability to work remotely from the NICU.
She was reportedly only offered two weeks and told she would lose her job if she didn’t return to work in person later.
Liu posted a second apology on Thursday after receiving flak from netizens who suspected the first video was not real.
The CEO admitted that “the comments were accurate” and that the video was “scripted.”
“I was the one who made the decision to veto her request to go remote while she has to stay in the NICU to care for her adopted baby,” Liu said.
“And when I think back, this was a terrible decision. I was insensitive, selfish and focused only on the fact that her work was always done on site and I didn’t see the possibility of doing it remotely.’
Hughes lost three pregnancies and nearly died during surgery before she and her husband made the decision to adopt. They welcomed Judah to the family in December
After netizens accused Liu of being insincere in the first TikTok, she posted a second video admitting it was scripted and characterizing her veto of Hughes’ request to work remotely as “insensitive” and “selfish.”
Stumbling over her words, she continued, “Ultimately, as a human being, as a mother, as a female owner of a business and especially a baby business, I feel like I need to set the record straight.”
Despite claiming in the first video that she had tried to contact Hughes to apologize in person, Liu confessed that she “hadn’t talked to her at all about what happened until today.”
She closed the video by praising the ex-employee, calling her a “fantastic woman” with “the biggest heart.”
“I understand if you don’t want to come back to work, but we will continue to pay you as if you were working for us remotely for the hours you proposed until you are ready to come back,” she said.
“And your position, your original position, is always open to you when you come back.”
Earlier this week, Hughes said Judah suffered a blockage in his intestines and had holes in his lungs and heart.
The couple posted on Facebook in October announcing that they were “drowning in adoption papers, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!”
Hughes and Rawley have set up a GoFundMe to pay for some of the costs associated with adoption, including legal fees and medical expenses for the birth mother.
At the time of writing, the campaign had raised more than $48,000 of its $50,000 goal.
The couple has set up a GoFundMe to help defray some of the costs associated with adoption, including various legal fees and costs for the birth mother.
Hughes announced that Judah was suffering from a blockage in his intestines and had holes in his lungs and heart
She and Rawley received the support of several prominent figures in the baby care industry, including baby clothing company Kate Quinn and the CEO of breastfeeding supplement company Legendairy Milk, who each donated thousands of dollars
Jonah’s story received support from prominent figures in the baby care industry, who became the campaign’s top donors.
Baby clothing company Kate Quinn donated $2,000, while Luna Aziz, CEO of breastfeeding supplement company Legendairy Milk, donated $5,000.
“Thank you for joining us in loving him and lifting him up in prayer,” the couple wrote on GoFundMe.
“He has already shown so much strength and we are confident that God has big plans for our little boy.”