“I take full accountability”: Emilie Kiser breaks her silence on her 3-year-old’s death
Family vlogger Emilie Kiser released a statement on TikTok addressing the drowning death of her three-year-old son, Trigg. The message, posted on Thursday, says she takes "full accountability" for the accident that took his life back in May. This was the first time she has posted on TikTok since the tragic incident.
Social media users responded with empathy and emotion, though some still criticized her and her husband.
Emilie Kiser takes accountability for Trigg's death
In the written statement posted to her TikTok account, the mom content influencer acknowledged that she could have done more to ensure her late son's safety.
"I take full accountability as Trigg's mother, and I know I should have done more to protect him," she said. "One of the hardest lessons I carry is that a permanent pool fence could have saved his life, and it's something I will never overlook again."
Kiser's husband Brady found Trigg in their backyard pool after losing track of him on May 12. They rushed the child to the hospital where he fought for life for six days before he passed.
Court documents called this an "accidental drowning death." However, local police recommended a class 4 felony child abuse charge against Brady in July following an investigation, alleging criminal negligence.
Emilie went silent on social media after Trigg's death and filed a lawsuit in late May to conceal official records on the incident from the public. In today's statement, she suggested that she's learned the value of privacy.
"I now have seen through this tragedy how relationships online lack boundaries, especially in protecting children's privacy," she wrote. "Moving forward, I will be establishing more boundaries with what I share online."
In addition to speaking about her profound grief, she offered thanks to her family and audience members who have supported her since the tragedy.
"The support you have given us, the unconditional love, and the way you show up is something we will never be able to repay or thank you enough for."
Fans respond with grief and empathy, critics with scrutiny
Kiser's fans expressed raw sorrow and empathy for the grieving mom online following the release of her statement. Comments are off on the TikTok post, so folks took to X and Reddit to share their thoughts and feelings.
"Emilie Kiser statement had me bawling this early," said X user @KathiaFigueroa_.
User @eljxriot wrote that "as a mom, I can’t help but feel such deep heartbreak for emilie kiser, there’s just so much tragedy in it all."
On the Reddit forum r/Fauxmoi, many people similarly offered sympathy for Kiser, though some remain critical of her husband and their initial choice to turn their children into content.
"She wasn’t even gone half an hour, and her husband couldn’t watch their newborn and their toddler son (and his basketball game) for that amount of time," said u/HumbleBell. "I think not mentioning him at all and only signing her name is telling of what’s going to happen with their marriage, and I can’t blame her."
"I can’t help but side eye the part about boundaries with social media posts moving forward," admitted u/NegativeBath. "Crazy that it took the death of her son for her to stop and consider its bad to exploit your child for profit."
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