The internet has blasted a couple of gay men who shared a video of their baby that was born via surrogate asking for “mama.” Gay Grammy-winning songwriter Shane McAnally posted a video on Instagram of his son, Texson Ray, sitting with McAnally’s husband, Michael Baum. During the video, Baum asks Texson, who he wants, “Dada or Pop?” Texson appears to respond “mama,” which causes Baum to laugh and say, “No, there is no mama.” When Texson begins to cry and appears to continue to ask for “mama,” McAnally can be heard laughing as well. The video included the overlay “baby has 2 dads… chose neither” and the text, “who’s gonna tell him?”

The video soon went viral, with images of Texson’s crying face sparking outrage amongst conservatives and children’s rights advocates. “This baby will never know the warmth and loving care of his mother, or any mother,” wrote Live Action’s Lila Rose. “And this was done by design, to serve the selfish desires of two adult men. God have mercy on this baby and on us for allowing this.” Rose has often spoken out against surrogacy, claiming it commodifies children. While Texson is probably too young to really understand the word “mama,” Rose stated the need is “innate.” “Treating this baby’s innate need for his mother as a joke for social media is so sad,” she said on Facebook. The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles called the video “the most horrifying video I’ve ever seen in my life.”

McAnally has pushed back against the criticism, saying he was not mocking Texson. “We found it hilarious. He’s five months old, he obviously doesn’t understand English,” he told The Daily Mail. “I was appalled by what some people have been saying. Some people have taken it out of context,” he added. He said that he and Baum thought it was funny because babies usually say “dada” first. “Babies usually say dada first, but people wouldn’t then say the babies are only wanting their dads? It doesn’t really make sense. People have been saying some awful things,” said McAnally, who called Texson, “the happiest baby in the world.”

Conservatives, however, have pushed back. “‘He’s five months old. He doesn’t understand English.’ Right. The baby understands something deeper,” wrote Katy Faust on X, quoting McAnally. She noted that most languages have some form of the word “mama” in most languages worldwide. “That’s not coincidence. That’s anthropology. ‘Ma’ is one of the very first sounds a baby can make. It’s the natural position of the mouth during nursing. Long before a child understands words, he forms that sound. And who answers?” asked Faust. She stated Texson’s distress comes more from realizing that he is missing a mother. “And what makes that video so disturbing isn’t just the cruelty of laughing at a distressed baby. It’s the denial of the human non-negotiable that children come from, and are made for, a mother,” added Faust. “That baby isn’t confused. The gay men are.”