Cleo Wade’s viral Instagram clapback is an anthem for working moms

[This story was originally published on September 12, 2019.]

People have called Cleo Wade an “Instagram poet” but the artist, author and activist is so much more than that. The New York Times called her “everybody’s BFF” and a ton of other publications have called her the “millennial Oprah.”

When people are comparing you to Oprah you know you are a success and Wade is incredibly successful. She’s also pregnant right now, and made the announcement via an Instagram bump selfie. “Pretty excited to bring this special guest on tour with me next month,” she wrote in the caption.

Most fans congratulated her, but there was one response she had to address. In the comments section (which she shared as a screenshot in a follow-up post) one commenter wondered why “all these young women really hitting their stride professionally [are] then getting pregnant right at a high point”, noting that they just don’t get it.

Wade responded with her own list of things she doesn’t get, noting that “a man’s professional drive or ability to thrive at work is never questioned based on the reproductive choices he is making in his personal life.”

“Hi! Thanks for your comment. The good news is (and I say this with love & respect): It’s none of your business!” Wade wrote back.

She continued “But while we’re on the subject of things we don’t get, here’s some things I don’t get.

“I don’t get why women don’t get equal pay for equal work.

“I don’t get why women are almost always responsible for being the main caregivers in households across America but our country has yet to, at the federal level, legally standardize fair workplace policies like paid leave for new parents and caregivers of sick family members.

“I don’t get why all women don’t have access to quality affordable healthcare so they can safely have their children without it putting them into bankruptcy.

“And last but not least, I don’t get why women’s reproductive rights are constantly under attack – I am actually completely unclear as to why anyone believes the government should have any say in when or IF a woman should choose to start [a] family.

“Just a few things I don’t get, and never will. Also- I am not at a high point, I am not having a moment- I am having a life- one that includes a career and family in ways that I choose and design.”

This was the ultimate clapback and a list of things we also “don’t get.”

Congratulations on your pregnancy and your tour Cleo!

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