Chicago Bishop Larry Trotter has been under fire recently for a photo posted on his Instagram account that shows himself in the bathtub with his four-year-old granddaughter, both smiling and appearing to be shirtless.
The young girl’s mother, Javon Trotter, in response to the public’s critical outpour, spoke to theGrio in an exclusive phone interview and says she is supporting her father through this difficult time.
“I’m upset, I’m hurt I can’t believe that people would re-post the picture of my innocent baby and say bad things about my father who loves my baby and all kids,” she says. “He would never do anything to harm them. It’s hurtful for my whole family.”
The picture, which has since been removed, went viral a few days ago, causing an uproar in the social media community. From calling Trotter a “pervert” and to deeming the photo as “plain inappropriate,” social media users took to Twitter expressing their opinions about the post.
Ms. Trotter wanted to clarify that her father was bathing in their large whirlpool Jacuzzi in their bathroom when the granddaughter walked in and asked her mother if she could go into the tub with him. After the girl asked to join her grandfather, both Trotter and his granddaughter put on swim trunks before getting into the water. Javon also adds that her daughter was only in the water for about three to five minutes, and she was present during the entire situation.
She says that she simply does not understand why people misinterpreted the image.
“I don’t understand — it doesn’t look bad. I would never thought he would do anything [inappropriate],” she contends. “I don’t know why people would think this way. I know my father and he would never do anything to his kids.”
Although the photo was only on the account for about ten minutes before it was taken down, the daughter of the bishop says that it was only supposed to be shared among family members and is horrified that it was posted online. The photo was inadvertently sent by a family member to a person who manages his social media accounts, according to Trotter.
“I would have not posted the photo online…We never wanted anyone else to see it,” she says. “[My father] is hurt as well, we’re his family. He doesn’t want people to be posting his picture all over the world.”
Sweet Holy Spirit church spokesperson Sean Howard tells theGrio that the church stands “110 percent” in support for Bishop Trotter and that other prominent members of the Chicago community have also come forward to show their support.
“I’m not ashamed of what I did. I am ashamed and hurt that it is going out all over the world and people have called me everything from a child molester to a to a nasty old man and how I should get out of the ministry – the vulgarity has been terrible,” Trotter told the John Hannah Morning Show on the radio. “The last couple of days has been a very dark and hurtful time for this family.”
Others contend while the act was seemingly innocent, posting the photo on a social media site, regardless of how it surfaced, was still a poor decision.
“I think it was very irresponsible act,” says clinical psychologist, Jeffrey Gardere, in a phone interview with theGrio. “The fact it’s up there and letting her identity be known — it’s such a comprising situation and it could harm her reputation in the future.”
Gardere, the author of Smart Parenting for African-Americans, recommends that parents probably should not bathe with their children once they can identify private parts.
“When you look at the situation physically, a mother who bathes a child in a shower…I think it’s different for a male doing that,” he says. “In society the majority of sexual predators are male. There’s too much of stigma of male predators…It’s best that parents of the same sex [such as mother-daughter or father-son] bathe their children.”
While the bishop, who has served at the Sweet Holy Spirit church for the past 30 years, admitted that posting the photo on social media was probably “unwise,” he says that it’s was not unusual for him to share bathwater with his relatives while growing up.
“It was a totally innocent thing. I know some people never bathe with their kids. I’ve bathed with all of mine,” he candidly said on the radio show. “When I was coming up, we shared bath water.”
In his biography on the church’s webpage, Trotter writes that his granddaughter is “the ‘first lady’ of his life.'” and “He covets the time they share together, and is deeply committed to [her] best interests and well being.”
Javon says that her family is currently staying low, praying and trying to move forward from the issue.
