Rumer Willis wants people to understand that being a single mom isn’t easy for her either.
After the oldest daughter of actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore shared a message on Instagram Monday about the various tasks she juggles daily — laundry, meal prepping, bath time, etc. — she received enough blowback that she felt compelled to address it.
Willis, 37, is the mother of 2-year-old daughter Louetta “Lou,” whom she shares with ex-boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas.
“Just had to clarify since it seems there are quite a few uninformed and rude people in my comments on this post,” Willis wrote in a follow-up message. “I work 4 different jobs to provide for my daughter. I am the sole provider for her. I don’t live off a trust fund or get money from my parents. Most of the time I don’t have help with her. So how about y’all pause before you judge and assume.”
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A reader replied with a thoughtful response, pointing out to Willis that “you do have a back up that will always be there for you should you get into financial trouble. Your family is not going to allow you to fall into serious debt that would lead to homelessness for example.”
The commenter added that Willis’ having that backup, but “not acknowledging that makes those without it feel that your privilege comes across [as] arrogance and as if you take that for granted.”
Willis then addressed the comment in a lengthy post on her Instagram Stories.
Explaining that she wanted to respond with care, Willis said she suspected there had been a misunderstanding in what she was saying.
“I am very aware that I have privileges in my life that many people don’t, and I don’t take that for granted,” she said. “I know there are realities that I will never fully experience, and I regret that. But this particular post wasn’t about privilege or comparing circumstances, and it feels like people are assuming I was ignoring that when that wasn’t the conversation I was trying to have.”
Rumer Willis/Instagram
Willis said she doesn’t “live my life treating family support as a backup plan.” She added that she takes “a lot of pride” in providing for herself and her daughter and “has carried real financial stress and responsibility.”
She continued, “There were years where I was the sole provider for multiple people, navigating pregnancy, inconsistent work, and the uncertainty that comes with that.”
She said her “intention with that post was to speak to common ground and shared experience, not to erase differences or deny reality. I think there’s room for both compassion for what others face and honesty about our own lives without it becoming a competition.”
Willis — who made her acting debut at age 7 in the 1995 film Now and Then — continues to act today. Her recent credits include the ABC show Doctor Odyssey, the Hulu series Reasonable Doubt, and Western movie Trail of Vengeance.