By Elise Solé —
TODAY
One of the current topics on TikTok is the controversy surrounding the popular baby clothing brand Kyte Baby, which many customers are asking to boycott.
The protests came after the company
denied a mother's request for remote work to care for her premature newborn
in intensive care, according to two apology videos made by Kyte Baby founder Ying Liu.
Kyte detailed in a statement that the employee has “rejected” his offer to return to the company.
The Kyte Baby company sells children's clothing and sleeping bags made from bamboo material.
Kyte Baby founder Ying Liu.@kytebaby via TikTok
An employee identified as
Marissa
asked if she could work remotely while her newborn, whom she adopted, recovered in the intensive care unit of a Texas hospital.
In his apology video, Liu confirmed that he denied her request, and that he now regrets his decision.
“Hi guys, I'm Ying.
“I wanted to come here to sincerely apologize to Marissa for how she communicated and handled her maternity leave in the midst of her incredible experience of adoption and raising a family,” Liu said in a video.
“I have been trying to contact her to apologize directly as well,” he added.
The publication, with two million views, was made on Kyte Baby's official TikTok account on January 18.
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Liu explained that Kyte Baby “prides itself on being a family-oriented company” that treats “biological and non-biological parents equally.”
Liu apologized to his clients and promised to review the company's human resources policies to “avoid harming our staff and community in the future.”
The statements received harsh criticism on TikTok, where users said Liu sounded rehearsed and inauthentic.
Dozens of moms made videos saying they were loyal Kyte customers but would now boycott the company.
Liu later posted a second apology that same day, saying his first attempt was “insincere.”
“Okay, I'm going to do this,” Liu said in his second apology.
“I just posted an official apology on TikTok.
And the comments were correct: it was written.
I memorized it.
"I basically read it, it wasn't sincere and I decided to go off script."
Liu said he made a “terrible” decision about Marissa's request.
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“I was the one who made the decision to veto her request to work remotely while she was in the intensive care unit to care for her adopted baby,” Liu said.
“When I think back, it was a terrible decision: I was insensitive, selfish and only focused on the fact that her work had always been done in person and I didn't see the possibility of doing it remotely.”
And he added: “I can't imagine the stress she had to go through, not having the option to go back to work and having to deal with a newborn in intensive care.
So, thinking back, it really was a terrible mistake that I accept 100%.”
Liu added that the company would pay Marissa benefits and give her the remote position she requested.
That video surpassed four million views and has more than 119,000 comments, many of them like “too little, too late.”
A Kyte Baby spokesperson said in a statement that the company continues to apologize to Marissa and will grant her request.
“At this time
Marissa has rejected our offer
,” the spokesperson said on January 19.
Moms and remote work
In a 2021 company post online for International Women's Day, Liu praised her employees, many of whom are mothers, and the benefits of remote work.
“I have no problem with my employees being home and working while taking care of their children,” Liu said.
“Why should they go back to the office five days a week when they are still very productive and can perform?
...Women are amazing.
I hope this improves the status of female employees because all this has shown that they do not need to be in the office 8 hours a day.
They can still be productive and take care of their families,” she added.
Marissa did not immediately respond to requests for comment.