Whitney Cummings has learned a lot since becoming a mother, including how to find value in her fiercest critics.
In an exclusive interview with We weeklyCummings, 42, shared how her life has changed since she welcomed 12-month-old son Henry. “The most important thing (I’ve learned) is to realize how hard I am on myself,” says the Fast friends host told Us. “I stopped trusting my feelings and instincts so long ago because I fear that there will be negative comments, that people will disapprove or that there will be backlash.”
Since embarking on motherhood, Cummings has found a whole new audience among social media users, who never shy away from sharing their opinions on the way she’s raising her son.
“Mother Instagram and mother TikTok are wild. If you make your child do something, they will let you know it is wrong,” she explained. “I posted a video of me changing my son’s diaper (while) blowing up and shaking a balloon so he would be distracted (and their response was), ‘You have a balloon around your child that he can bite and swallow .’ ”
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Showing her son’s face on social media also attracted some criticism. “That’s a big one,” the comedian explained. “Besides, parents always vilified their kids before Instagram: they had a photo in their wallet and on their desk at work, and they would bring your (child) to work (and) they would personally parade us around.”
Whitney Cummings. The StewartofNY/GC images
“That’s not strange?” Cummings joked.
All jokes aside, as a new mom, Cummings is forced to explain her decisions about everything from breastfeeding to childbirth to strangers on the internet.
“I thought: no, no, no. I was so close to have a cesarean section. They had to cut me two inches, and it was very touch-and-go,” said the I’m fine…and other lies author continued. “The fact that any of us survived is nothing short of a miracle.”
Courtesy of Whitney Cummings/Instagram
Still, Cummings has managed to find the positive side of nitpickers. “I look at all these people shaming me on Instagram and I think, how amazing is it that you’re trying to protect this baby that you don’t even know?” she shared. “It gives me goosebumps when I think about it. The fact that you take the time to say, ‘You have to protect that baby.’ That is where we as women excel.”
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She continued, “It’s easy to be sensitive about it and take it personally and think they’re accusing me of being a bad mother — but it’s like, no, they’re just really trying to help.” And guess what? I need it!”
Barbara Nitke/CBS
Raising a child has given Cummings a different perspective on how she lived her life before becoming a mother. “What I do for a living is so narcissistic and I was so sick of myself,” says the Whitney alum explained. “It took such a toll on my self-esteem and self-worth, and I realized that if I just think about myself for an hour a day, I like myself.”
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Motherhood teaches Cummings new things every day — “It’s really healing to be able to relive your childhood” — and the “Good For You” podcast host credits her son for filling her with compassion and love.
“I’m sure in fifteen years if he says, ‘Mom, get away from me, I hate you, and why did you do all those specials about sex,’ I’ll be annoyed, but we’ll see,” she added “As long as I can get everything off the internet that I did in my twenties, hopefully this will go well.”
Fast friends now streaming on Max.