Singaporean Mom Accused of Breastfeeding in Public for Beauty Pageant Publicity

Singaporean mom Cheryl Lee recently became the subject of a heated online debate after she was photographed openly breastfeeding her baby inside an MRT train without cover.

The photo of the 25-year-old with her two-year-old daughter immediately went viral on social media, with netizens weighing on the appropriateness of breastfeeding in public.

Now, Lee has found herself in a controversy again after it was revealed that she is a participant of Mrs. Singapore & Classic Mrs. Singapore pageant. Netizens have started to accuse her of creating the breastfeeding stunt just for publicity, The New Paper reports.

The mother of three, who was eventually selected as one of the beauty pageant finalists, has denied the allegation.

“All along, even before the photo went viral, I had already wanted to use this competition as a platform to raise awareness about (public) breastfeeding,” Lee was quoted as saying at the pageant’s press conference on Saturday.

“If I win Mrs. Singapore, I would love to use my title to promote breastfeeding in public (with or without covering). I feel that we need to normalize it.”

She further stated that she has been breastfeeding in public even with her first child. She also explained that she began to ditch the use of a nursing cover because her son used to struggle to nurse with the cover.

“I was never hesitant about not covering up,” Lee said. “I have no choice. When kids get cranky, there is no time to think. I will just have to feed there and then.”

Commenting on those who do not agree with her methods, she said: “Everyone has their own personal preferences, and I cannot control what they say, so I just let it be.”

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