The BBC’s Nicky Campbell drew mixed reactions to a recent tweet where he shared a pic of his teenage daughter’s messy room that had “really p*****” him off.
Campbell, who co-presents Long Lost Family with Davina McCall, wrote: “This is completely unacceptable. You are nearly 19 years old and I am bloody sick of it. I don’t care that you were going to tidy it up. It just really p***** me off.”
It appeared Campbell was not alone in his frustration as other equally frustrated parents shared the messy room pics of their own kids and some even tried to do one better.
One woman named Kirsten Gough shared pics of her 18-year-old daughter Lara’s bedroom.
A pic shared by Claire Callaghan showed piles of clothes on the floor as well as empty food packets.
Dawn Brice found a pile of dirty dishes and utensils under her daughter’s bed.
She said: “I noticed my plates and cutlery were missing, I found a two-week-old scrambled egg and two bowls of fermented cereal in an empty drawer.
“Her name is Darley Brice feel free to name and shame her.”
One user even boasted that Campbell’s pic was nothing compared to the one he shared that showed pieces of clothing practically covering every surface of the bedroom: “Mate, that’s nothing. Amateurish even. THIS is untidy!”
One person also complained about her son who is a medical student who managed to leave a mess despite being only home for a few minutes.
The frustrated mother wrote: “I’ll take your 19 y/o and raise you my 22 y/o medical student son, who’s been home for ‘minutes.'”
Campbell’s own pic featured crumpled clothes and makeup scattered all around the bedroom floor. Since it’s posting, it has generated over 400 retweets and has been liked more than 6,000 times.
However, the Radio 5 Live star also faced severe criticism from other people who see his post as a “power imbalance” that shamed his daughter publicly.
Labor MP Helen Goodman replied to his tweet, saying: “Really very very unfair use of power imbalance. Most inappropriate.”
But Campbell defended his tweet and later claimed it was a joke, saying that the room was his 21-year-old daughter’s bedroom and that she had agreed for the pic to be shared on Twitter.
People surmised that the daughter being talked about is Breagha, his eldest. His other daughters with partner Christina Ritchie, also a journalist, are Lilla, Kirsty, and Isla.
Outraged parents were not mollified and countered that he still shouldn’t have posted the picture anyway.
Dave Glass said: “I couldn’t share that – none of our business.”
Fiona Chance even went so far as to say the TV star had ruined his daughter’s future career prospects.
She said: “Wrong to tweet this Nicky. This pic will now follow her for life when she’s making friends, forming relationships, applying for jobs, etc.
“You have invaded her privacy & possibly at some cost to her future. Keep parenting private!”
Harvey Jones added: “No Nicky – what is unacceptable is any parent putting a picture like this on social media as a punishment. Some things are better kept private and dealt with at home.”
Recommended Video!
“Dad Sits In Son’s Class To Teach Him A Lesson After Getting Tired Of His Unruly Behavior At School”