TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about stillbirth and infant loss, which may be triggering to some.
As she was grieving the unexpected loss of her baby, a baby gear company “demanded” that influencer Brooklyn Larsen return the bassinet she had been gifted. The company, Happiest Baby, gave the influencer and So You Think You Can Dance alum a $1,700 SNOO smart bassinet for free. In exchange, though, she was asked to tag Happiest Baby in her posts. When Brooklyn’s baby died before birth, however, the company reportedly asked her to send the bassinet back, Today.com reported.
Brooklyn’s sister, Kenna Bangerter, took to her Instagram Stories to raise awareness about what happened. “@happiest_baby…sent my sister a baby bassinet after my sister said she would tag them in content with her newborn baby,” Kenna explained, per the US Sun.
After Brooklyn lost her baby in November 2024, she reached out to Happiest Baby via email and explained that she would no longer be able to share content related to the bassinet. She told the company the reason why: because her baby had died. Still, Happiest Baby “demanded” that she return the bassinet, Brooklyn’s sister claimed.
“I want you to think about why she couldn’t deliver the content,” Kenna wrote via Instagram. “I’m absolutely disgusted by a BABY brand who promotes support for moms & babies – that doesn’t even have the decency to give her the space to grieve the bassinet she never got to fill.”
Per Today.com, other companies that Brooklyn partnered with have treated her with “grace & empathy and not like a transaction.”
After hearing Brooklyn’s story, many people criticized the company via social media. On an Instagram post that Happiest Baby shared about pregnancy loss, several people called out the company for not supporting grieving parents.
“Sending love & strength to all the incredible parents carrying hope after loss. Your journey is beautiful and brave 💕,” Happiest Baby captioned its Instagram post.
In response, one person wrote, “Are you sending love? Or emails demanding grieving mothers to send back their bassinets?”
Another person called the post “horrible” and shared that the company doesn’t “truly support moms going through it.” “You force them to return products gifted to them because they ‘couldn’t deliver content’ after her sweet boy didn’t make it,” the commenter continued. “She deserved better. DO BETTER.”
In a statement shared with Today.com, Happiest Baby apologized for the “misguided and ill-conceived communication.”
“What was intended to be an effort to provide assistance clearly was a mistake that added to Brooklyn’s grief, for which we are truly sorry,” the statement reads in part. “We have taken internal steps to make sure it never happens again. What Brooklyn faced was a tragedy beyond comprehension, and we are heartbroken for her loss.”
