Photo: Instagram
He sexualized his own daughter.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Oct 30, 2022
In an excerpt from Travis Barker’s 2015 memoir, the Blink-182 drummer is catching some heat for the crude remarks made about his youngest daughter.
In a screenshot posted to Reddit from Barker’s book, “Can I Say,” the musician briefly wrote about bringing home his daughter, Alabama Barker, 16, from the hospital after she was born.
In the book, Travis Barker describes his daughter as having a 'bubble butt.'
“When we got home, I couldn’t believe I had a little girl,” Travis wrote. “And when she was a baby, she had a crazy bubble butt.”
He continued, writing, “After all the sh-t I had done to girls through my life, I knew I was cursed.”
The controversial excerpt of Travis describing his baby daughter’s body garnered a lot of negative reactions on Reddit.
“One, thinking this then two, thinking it was normal and important enough of a thought to tell people,” one user wrote. “Then three, writing it down in your memoir for your future child and world to read.”
Another user chimed in, writing, “Who looks at their baby like that and why would he write about it in his book? It's super creepy and gross.”
Other users pointed out that Barker’s oversexualized assessment of Alabama when she was a baby could have impacted her as a teenager.
Just recently, a fashion ad featuring Alabama Barker was banned for portraying her in a 'sexual way.'
In August 2022, an ad campaign for the fashion brand Pretty Little Thing featuring Alabama was banned in the UK for oversexualizing the teen.
In the ad, which was marketed as “The Y2K Edit,” Alabama was seen wearing a plethora of low-cut, tight, and revealing hot pink outfits.
In one shot, the 16-year-old was even seen sucking on a lollipop as she posed, while another showed her holding a hose pipe while wearing a dress and knee-high boots.
However, following the release of the campaign, it was immediately flagged for violating the Advertising Standards Authority's code by portraying someone under the age of 18 in a "sexual way," the ASA ruled.
The ASA stated the campaign had "revealed her breasts" noting that another image from the campaign showed Alabama wearing a "tight-fitting short dress whilst sucking a lollipop."
Because of this, the ASA branded the advertisement as being "socially irresponsible" and "likely to cause harm and offense."
Following the backlash, Pretty Little Thing clarified that they had chosen Alabama because she reflects their average customer.
The brand claimed they wanted to put forward a message of body confidence to "encourage and empower young women to embrace their bodies and inspire confidence."
They also disagreed with ASA's claim that they had sexually portrayed the teen and said they "did not intend" to sexualize Barker, adding that the images had been approved by Alabama and her team.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.