Gabrielle Union has hit back at critics who assumed she bought her two-year-old daughter a $3 790 (about R52 000) Valentino bag.
The 48-year-old actress faced a backlash on social media for sharing a video of Kaavia - whom she has with Dwayne Wade - opening the designer accessory on TikTok, and she has now explained how the label sent her little girl a mini-me version of the adult-sized bag and she has been "sleeping with it" ever since.
She told 'Entertainment Tonight': "Valentino was kind enough to send us mommy-and-daughter matching bags. So for everyone who thought I bought my child a $3 000-plus bag when she can't poop in the potty on her own - um, no. She's been literally sleeping with it."
Meanwhile, the 'Bring It On' star donned an embellished white Prada dress and Bulgari jewellery for the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (23.05.21), which received approval from fashionista Kaavia.
Gabrielle revealed: "She thought I looked very pretty. She was like, white dress. And I was like, good? And she was like, 'You look pretty, Mommy.'
"It felt so good just to get out of the house. You know, there were a couple tears from Kaav at the door. She's like, 'Have fun, Mom.'"
Gabrielle is teaching her daughter and her stepdaughter, Zaya, 13, to be "proud of their Blackness and Afrocentric features" after she felt like the odd one out when she was at school as the only black person in her class.
She said: "Some days Kav will hand you her brush and she'll want a little afro puff. And some days she just wants to wake up and go. "And Zaya went from pink hair to blonde. If you want to switch it up every day, great. What you do with your hair is your own personal choice. For me, the focus is on healthy hair, not on what you do with it.
"Your hair is a part of you and it's an extension of you, but it has to start with self-love and pride in your Blackness and Afrocentric features, whether that be your hair, your nose, your lips or your body."