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Four-year-old has spat with her dad live on air as This Morning discusses ‘sexualisation’ row

Parents insist it's what she wants

A four-year-old girl at the centre of a ‘sexualisation’ row got into a spat with her father as they appeared on today’s This Morning.

Little Arielle, from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, joined her mother Enrika and father Wayne on the sofa, as the parents defended themselves against accusations that they ‘sexualise’ the little girl.

Since the age of three, Arielle has been entered into beauty pageants, with Enrika admitting to spending thousands on costumes and make-up for the little girl.

Her mum and dad told Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford that it’s what Arielle wants, but she appeared to suggest otherwise as she went off on a tangent.

She was telling the hosts a story about an incident that had happened with her young friends: “Last time in the sandpit, there was a girl with a uniform, and she said: ‘I’m not a princess.’ And then I gave chocolates to someone else…”

But at that point, her father tried to get her back on track, interrupting her anecdote by prompting her: “What about pageants, though? Can you tell them about pageants?”

The interjection clearly riled the little girl, who yelled: “No, Dad!”

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She then proceeded with her story: “And then, well, I didn’t give the uniformer chocolate because she was naughty to me.”

Despite this, beautician Enrika was adamant that her daughter loves entering the competitions.

She told Eamonn and Ruth: “To be honest, she’s one of those who wants to tan and do herself up. She comes to the shop and asks me to do her nails when I’m in the middle of doing a client’s nails.

“This is her being natural, being herself. She’s been born like that.”

Some viewers weren’t convinced, though, and took to Twitter to express their disapproval.

One wrote: “Those parents are telling her what to say… they have taken her childhood away… sad.”

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Another ordered: “Let kids be kids – she’s not even interested in pageants. She didn’t seem like she wanted to talk about them #ThisMorning.”

And a third opined: “Children growing up too soon. Think it’s more the parents’ dream than the kid’s.”


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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