A Sydney influencer is facing backlash and has been dropped by a major sponsor after she joked on a podcast about killing two cats when she was a child.
Emma Claiir, a 28-year-old mummy blogger and Instagram model, shared the bizarre confession on the latest episode of her Simply Chaotic podcast.
The mother of one was asked to tell a personal secret, and left her co-host Kristy Jean stunned by admitting: ‘I killed my cat.’
Chuckling awkwardly, Claiir continued: ‘I didn’t mean to… I was young, I was a child.
‘I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it.’
Sydney influencer Emma Claiir (pictured) is facing backlash and has been dropped by a major sponsor after she joked on a podcast about killing two cats when she was a child
Claiir clarified the animal died ‘from the fright’, rather than because of any injuries from being hurtled across the room.
After sharing a laugh with her co-host, Claiir added: ‘I just want to say, I’m giggling about it now, but this happened years and years and years [ago].
‘And, like, I was a f**king little child.’
Incredibly, Claiir went on to admit she ‘also killed her best friend’s cat’ by accident.
!['I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it,' she said of the incident when she killed her family cat](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/19/02/69983291-11988401-image-m-68_1681868207037.jpg)
‘I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it,’ she said of the incident when she killed her family cat
Claiir, who now owns a sausage dog named Douglas, has since received furious backlash online from her own fans.
As the controversy erupted, she was also dropped as an ambassador for makeup brand MCoBeauty on Wednesday morning.
The company said: ‘It has come to our attention that Emma Claiir recently relayed a story on her podcast discussing an incident of animal cruelty from her childhood.
‘We were dismayed by this story, and will no longer be working with Emma in [the] future. Here at MCoBeauty, we take instances like this extremely seriously and do not condone animal cruelty of any kind.’
Claiir initially doubled down on her podcast confession, saying it was a ‘bit of light humour’ and that her critics should stop being so sensitive.
![As the controversy erupted, Claiir was also dropped as an ambassador for makeup brand MCoBeauty on Wednesday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/19/04/69984687-11988401-She_was_also_officially_dropped_as_an_ambassador_for_MCoBeauty_o-m-30_1681873168069.jpg)
As the controversy erupted, Claiir was also dropped as an ambassador for makeup brand MCoBeauty on Wednesday morning
‘To the people offended by my story in today’s Simply Chaotic episode that I just shared… It happened 21 years ago. I was a small child… accidents happen and you all need to chill,’ she wrote in an Instagram post.
‘I hope that you are not the same person you were at nine years old (I could have been younger,’ she added, before insisting she had been ‘the best mother to multiple cats’ since the accident.
Instagram ‘snark’ account Influencer Updates AU drew attention to Claiir’s alarming remarks on Wednesday, prompting further outcry.
‘What the? Not sure I would consider a conversation about killing two cats to be “a bit of light humour”,’ one follower commented.
![Claiir initially doubled down on her podcast confession, telling her Instagram followers it was a 'bit of light humour' and that her critics should stop being so sensitive](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/19/03/69983293-11988401-She_has_since_doubled_down_on_her_statements_in_a_lengthy_Instag-a-27_1681872447510.jpg)
Claiir initially doubled down on her podcast confession, telling her Instagram followers it was a ‘bit of light humour’ and that her critics should stop being so sensitive
‘I wish I didn’t listen to that… that’s not humour in the slightest. That’s really traumatising,’ another agreed.
Someone else added: ‘I would’ve expected it as a two-year-old or below as accidental, but at nine?’
However, several users defended Claiir, with one writing: ‘How are people offended by this? She made a mistake as a young child.’
![The mother of one, now owns a sausage dog named Douglas (pictured), has since received furious backlash online from her own fans](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/19/03/69984205-11988401-The_mother_of_one_who_currently_owns_a_sausage_dog_named_Douglas-a-28_1681872447522.jpg)
The mother of one, now owns a sausage dog named Douglas (pictured), has since received furious backlash online from her own fans
‘Pretty horrific, but kids are rough, and as a parent I could imagine a kid doing that,’ another supporter wrote.
Just hours after her post downplaying the backlash, Claiir issued a statement apologising for making a joke out of animal abuse.
‘I am well aware that the story was not light humour and in fact very serious,’ she wrote in a lengthy post.
![Instagram 'snark' account Influencer Updates AU drew attention to Claiir's alarming remarks on Wednesday, prompting further outcry](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/19/03/69984203-11988401-On_Wednesday_Instagram_snark_account_Influencer_Updates_AU_drew_-a-29_1681872447597.jpg)
Instagram ‘snark’ account Influencer Updates AU drew attention to Claiir’s alarming remarks on Wednesday, prompting further outcry
‘It was not intended to come across the way that it did as it was simply just a story from the past about an accident [when I was] a little kid, but I can see how it has come across like that,’ she added.
Claiir said she had ‘taken time to think about my actions’ and concluded it was ‘not something [she was] proud of’, as the incident impacted her entire family.
She stressed she had definitely ‘grown up’ and had been a loving owner of ‘multiple cats and dogs’ as an adult.
‘Again I deeply apologise for those affected by an accident that happened in the past and I hope we can leave it there,’ she concluded.
![Just hours after her post downplaying the backlash, Claiir issued a statement apologising for making a joke out of animal abuse](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/19/03/69984207-11988401-Hours_after_Influencer_Updates_AU_shared_its_post_Emma_returned_-a-26_1681872447334.jpg)
Just hours after her post downplaying the backlash, Claiir issued a statement apologising for making a joke out of animal abuse
![Claiir said she had 'taken time to think about my actions' and concluded it was 'not something [she was] proud of', as the incident impacted her entire family](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/19/03/69984641-11988401-image-a-92_1681872289217.jpg)
Claiir said she had ‘taken time to think about my actions’ and concluded it was ‘not something [she was] proud of’, as the incident impacted her entire family
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