A YouTube star at the height of her family's adoption scandal Myka Stauffer Called out for wearing Cartier.
Myka and her husband, James Staufferare the subjects of a new documentary called News about our family, debuted on HBO on Wednesday, Jan. 15, after premiering at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. The Stauffers, who did not respond to requests for comment from producers, have gained notoriety for their candid family vlogs and brought fans to adopt their son Huxley from China. Viewers turned against the family in 2020 when Myka and James “brought home” their adopted sondiagnosed with autism.
Before Huxley was given a new forever home, Myka was widely criticized for neglecting to raise the “little boy,” who was 2 years old when he was adopted. Myka and James put Huxley in speech therapy while the family tried to address his medical needs.
“We're going to a different speech therapist,” Myka said in a 2018 YouTube vlog featured in episode 3 of the documentary series. “Not someone with $500 a month. But we will go to someone who has 70 dollars for 30 minutes.
Courtesy of Myka Stauffer/Instagram Myka and James Stauffer made a name for their family on YouTube, but things took a drastic turn when they remarried their adopted son, Huxley. The couple adopted Huxley from China in 2017 when he was 2 years old. Myka and James also share children Aquarius, Jaka, Radley and Onyx […]
Some viewers saw Myka wearing a Cartier bracelet while talking about Huxley's cost cutting and claimed the comments were hypocritical. At the time the video was uploaded, the jewelry was reportedly worth about $6,500.
“But you can't pay $500 a month for a speech therapist?” one critic said in a reaction video.
Social media personality Sophie Rosswho was at the forefront of investigating the adoption scandal, reflected on the Stauffer family's descent into the “rabbit hole.”
“[Myka] Obviously, she was just living a life of luxury and it seems like, you know, she said she didn't have the resources to take care of this person she adopted,” Ross said in the doc.
Others debated whether Myka and James only adopted Huxley to increase engagement on their YouTube channel. The couple's popularity skyrocketed from their touching videos of their adoption process, and Myka landed deals with brands like Fabletics, Huggies, Kroger and more. (Most of these brands ended their relationship with Stauffers in the wake of the rehoming scandal.)
Fans of the Stauffers began to worry about Huxley after he was conspicuously absent from the family's videos. When the couple first brought Huxley home in October 2017, Myka revealed that she and James felt confident about the decision despite the challenges.
“If anything, my child is not returned“, Myka said in a YouTube video uploaded months before Huxley's adoption was made official.
Myka and James are also parents to non-adopted children Aquarius, Jaka, Radley and Onyx. As Huxley was seemingly removed from the vlogs, Myka was called out to delete comments about his whereabouts. He and James finally explained in a video in May 2020.
“We would never turn down a child with special needs, this is a personal matter for Hux, it has nothing to do with just his Autism,” Myka said in the comments section, responding to critics who claimed Huxley “wanted this decision”. “
His story. Myka Stauffer received backlash in May 2020 when she announced her decision to rehome her adopted son with autism, but she was transparent about the process long before the controversy. The YouTube star documented her journey on her channel, sharing details about everything from Huxley's diagnosis to her desire to adopt more children. […]
A month later, We Weekly confirmed the investigation has been started to Huxley's well-being after word spread that he had been placed with another family. The case was eventually closed as authorities determined that Huxley was safe and happy with his new adoptive parents.
After the scandal, the Stauffers deleted their family's YouTube channel and stayed away from the network. In a June 2020 Instagram post — her last on the platform — Myka apologized to the public to the adoption community.
“We did not adopt a child to make a fortune,” he said. “While we received a small portion of the money from the videos featuring Huxley and his journey, every penny and more went into his care. It was very expensive to get Huxley the care and services he needed, and we made sure he had access to every service and resource. … We love Huxley and know it was the right decision for him and his future. I pray that Huxley has only the best future in the world.”
