Facing the Backlash
Influencer Emilie Kiser is taking public responsibility after footage surfaced showing her 16-month-old son, Teddy, on a boat without a life jacket.
Emilie Kiser and her husband Brady pose outdoors with their two young sons.
The controversy stems from a June family vacation in Mallorca, Spain. Fellow creator Madi Curtis shared a video compilation of their trip, which included her husband Campton Curtis, Emilie, and her husband, 29-year-old Brady Kiser.
During a brief segment of the now-deleted video, Teddy was seen sitting on the boat next to his father without any water safety gear. Viewers immediately criticized the lapse in safety, prompting the clip to spread rapidly across TikTok.
A Public Apology
On July 28, 2026, the 27-year-old influencer addressed the mounting criticism directly via her Instagram Stories. She admitted her family made a grave mistake on the water.
A screenshot of the public apology shared on Instagram.
“Our child should have been in his life jacket for the entirety of that boat ride, not even for the few moments that he was out of it,” Emilie wrote. “We are painfully aware that in a matter of seconds, your entire life can change, and we should have done better.”
While Madi’s son was wearing an orange vest in parts of the footage, viewers noted that her daughter was also seen without swim-safety gear at another point in the compilation.
A Tragic History
The online outrage struck a particularly sensitive nerve due to a devastating loss the Kiser family suffered just over a year ago.
Emilie holding her late son, Trigg.
In May 2025, their 3-year-old son Trigg died following a drowning accident in their backyard pool. Emilie was not home at the time, and Brady was watching Teddy—then an infant—when Trigg fell in. He passed away in the hospital on May 18, six days after the accident.
Since the tragedy, Emilie has used her platform to advocate heavily for water safety. Earlier this year, she posted an emotional TikTok stating that her son’s death was a “preventable accident” and that it is a parent’s ultimate job to protect their children.
Moving Forward
Emilie acknowledged that the public’s swift anger over the boat video stems from a shared, unresolved grief over Trigg’s death.
The couple smiling outdoors with their young son Teddy.
“There has also been a deep level of anger and hurt directed toward our family, and we understand the basis of those feelings as well,” she explained in her recent post. “It comes from the belief that Trigg should still be here, and we share that same belief more than can be expressed.”
The influencer, who recently announced she is pregnant with her third child, promised her followers that she and Brady will continue striving to improve.
“We will continue to do better, advocate for better and, as hard as we try to avoid them, still make mistakes,” she concluded. “We can only promise that we will never stop learning from them and continue loving our children with everything we have.”
