Hilaria Baldwin is returning to social media with a new perspective.
After making headlines in December 2020 for allegedly faking her accent, the yoga teacher and bestselling author has been quiet on social media. But on Friday, Feb. 5, Hilaria returned to Instagram with an apology to her followers.
"I've spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow," she began. "My parents raised my brother and me with two cultures, American and Spanish, and I feel a true sense of belonging to both. The way I've spoken about myself and my deep connection to two cultures could have been better explained--I should have been more clear and I'm sorry."
Hilaria continued, "I'm proud of the way I was raised, and we're raising our children to share the same love and respect for both. Being vulnerable and pushing ourselves to learn and grow is what we've built our community on, and I hope to get back to the supportive and kind environment we've built together."
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Right before the holidays, the 37-year-old podcast host was put under the microscope after a Twitter user took a deep dive into Hilaria's life. Based off of clips from past interviews, the person began to question her Spanish roots.
In fact, the user noted that Hilaria grew up in Massachusetts and used to go by the name Hillary when she was a student. When the thread started going viral, the NYU grad decided to speak out.
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"There's nothing wrong with me and I'm not going to apologize for the amount of time that I spent in two countries and I'm not going to apologize for the fact that I speak two languages and I'm not going to apologize for the fact that I have two versions of my name," Hilaria later shared on Instagram. "Leave me alone. I'm not doing anything wrong by being me and maybe that doesn't look like somebody who you've met before, but I mean, isn't that the beauty of diversity?"
And as Hilaria received support from her husband Alec Baldwin and stepdaughter Ireland Baldwin, stars like Salma Hayek, Amy Schumer and the ladies of The View couldn't help but weigh in on the controversy.
As Salma shared on SiriusXM's Radio Andy, "We all lie a little bit...She fooled me because she's such a good mother and she has five of them! And, you know, I don't care."
Despite the controversy, Hilaria plans to continue celebrating both cultures with her family. And while not everyone may understand her background, the Mom Brain podcast co-host is grateful for her past.
"I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain," Hilaria previously explained online. "My parents and sibling live in Spain and I chose to live here, in the USA. We celebrate both cultures in our home--Alec and I are raising our children bilingual, just as I was raised. This is very important to me. I understand that my story is a little different, but it is mine, and I'm very proud of it."
