Cardi B Opts Out Of Bruno Mars’ Tour To Focus On Her Baby—Now Let’s Talk Maternity Leave
On Thursday Cardi B announced on Instagram that she will not be joining Bruno Mars in his upcoming fall tour
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Frank Schwichtenberg
On Thursday Cardi B announced on Instagram that she will not be joining Bruno Mars in his upcoming fall tour. The new mom got real about needing more time to recover from giving birth to her daughter earlier this month. She also really wants to spend more time with her baby—which is totally understandable.
“As of today I’ve decided I won’t be joining Bruno on tour this Fall. I thought that after giving birth to my daughter that 6 weeks would be enough time for me to recover mentally and physically,” she wrote. I also though that I’d be able to bring her with me on tour, but I think I underestimated this whole mommy thing. Not only am I just not ready physically, I’m not ready to leave my baby behind since the doctors explained it’s not healthy for her to be on the road. I hope you guys understand that this decision has been the hardest to make but I have to do what’s best for myself and my baby! Thank you Bruno for being so supportive and understanding.”
Bruno even shared his own statement on his Instagram.
“Most important thing is you and your family’s health. I know the fans will understand,” he wrote. You are absolutely doing the right thing. I also know we’ll share the stage when the time is right. We love you Cardi and we will play Bodak Yellow every night in your honor. Please give your baby girl a hug from me and a hug on behalf of everyone on the 24k Magic Tour. Love, Bruno.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Blt10TcAzbz/?hl=en&taken-by=brunomars
People really do underestimate the importance of maternity leave and moms needing time to let their bodies recover from childbirth but also time to bond with their baby. Fortunately for Cardi, she can financially afford to take all this time off. But for a lot of middle class and lower class women in the states, they don’t have this option. The U.S. is still very behind when it comes to offering good maternity and paternity leave benefits to citizens. In fact, a 2016 study from the Pew Research Center found that out of 41 major countries, the US is literally the only that still does not have federally mandated parental leave. It’s a huge problem.
We’ve seen some improvements in certain states like New York, California, and New Jersey that have passed state and federal level policies this year that offer paid family leave but it’s still not enough. Part of the problem is that we live in a country filled with politicians—including the majority of our current administration—that still perceive maternity leave as a luxury rather than a necessity. In order for us to improve our policies, we need to change the way our society looks at maternity leave. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity when it comes to everything from health, to emotional well-being, to economic security. It’s also really important for the baby itself too. The lack of maternity leave benefits granted in this country also continues to contribute towards the inequality and the gender wage gap we still see in the work force. Mothers are still discriminated against in the workplace and it happens quite often. Women these days are practically penalized for having children, while fathers are not.
Let’s keep having conversations around the importance of maternity leave and let’s call up our reps, because this is a feminist issue that still very much needs to be resolved.
