The worst part of growing up living with a cleft lip was the bullying.

From kindergarten through high school kids called me names like “Quasimodo” and “monkey face”.  One day when I went to school with bandages on my lip I was even called Hitler.  Kids told me things like "your mother was kicked in the stomach while pregnant!"  "Did you get kicked in the face by a horse?" or "Your mother had sex with a monkey!"

Sadly, even adults bullied me. I once overheard the moms talking in the schoolyard and saying things like, "Her poor mother, having a daughter look like that", or "Glad she's not my daughter, I would have left her at the hospital!"

Public ignorance of cleft lip and palate leads to endless bullying, discrimination, and social ostracizing.  In 2020, famous talk show host Wendy Williams mocked actor Joaquin Phoenix and the cleft community by pretending to have a cleft lip.  She almost called it a 'harelip', a term known to be offensive. Despite Wendy Williams’ outrageous actions, there was little backlash and public outrage. Why?  People with cleft lips and palates, like myself, are still isolated at a time when humanity is committed to inclusion, acceptance, and diversity.

As someone deeply hurt by Wendy William’s offensive comments, I took it upon myself to write a widely-read article addressing steps we should be taking to educate the public on cleft affected humans.

You can read the article HERE if you would like to learn more.

It is my mission to prevent this type of bullying from happening to other individuals with a cleft, and to continue to educate the world on the cleft community in order to cultivate understanding and acceptance.