Busy Philipps Defends Her Tattoo To Mom-Shaming Critics Who Clearly Don't Get It

Sometimes people seem to think that becoming a mother is to forfeit all of the other things about you that make you the person you are, and I'm sorry to tell you, but this is incorrect. It turns out you can be a mother and still be your own person. Just ask Busy Philipps, the actress who has become known for her social media presence as a mother but also, guess what? Her own person. The mom of two got a tattoo recently and it apparently became a ~*thing*~ on social media. But Busy Philipps' response to criticism about her tattoo being inappropriate for her kids is actually a master class in allowing your own belief system to guide your parenting, instead of bowing to naysayers.

Philipps and her husband Mark Silverstein are parents to two little girls, 10-year-old Birdie and 5-year-old Cricket, according to People. The Busy Tonight host has shared much of her life with her daughters on Instagram in recent years, gaining more than 1.7 million followers who appreciate her humor and honesty when it comes to parenting.

But it seems that appreciation falls short of cool tattoos... On Monday, Philipps shared a picture of her new tattoo on her heel. It's a delicate etching of a girl skating, and her skate is tracing out the words "f**k em" as she happily goes along.

As she explained in the caption, the illustration drawn by artist Geoff McFetridge for her 2018 book This Will Only Hurt A Little.

While the tattoo might have only hurt a little, some of the snippy comments from her followers might have wounded a little more. Some people took to her Instagram to question whether or not this tattoo would be appropriate to be seen by her daughters.

"Hate to be a buzz kill but won’t your children want to see this? Isn’t there a more creative approach to the same sentiment? Visually it’s beautiful, but literally just adding to the unimaginative use of language," one person commented on the photo.

Another said, "I’m not judging... honestly curious bc I wish I was as brave as you to get a tattoo like that - but... what do you tell the kids???"

While there were also plenty of people who praised the lovely tattoo and the sentiment behind it (including figure skater Tara Lipinski, who responded with a simply clapping hands emoji), Philipps decided to address the critics. The people who were worried about her daughters seeing a curse word tattooed on their mother's foot.

As Page Six reported, Philipps doubled down in her reply to the question asking how she would explain her tattoo to her daughters:

I tell them that these are words to live by. Especially as a woman.

Philipps is spot on. Because the message she is sharing here has nothing to do with profanity and everything to do with audacity. With believing in yourself and refusing to back down from critics. It was a perfect response to people who essentially were insinuating she should edit herself to be a mother.

And her response tells her daughters they don't have to dim their light for anyone.