Chris Pratt, the star of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Jurassic World" franchises, received the Generation Award at this year's MTV Movie Awards on June 18, where he delivered one of the greatest acceptance speeches I've ever heard. He began by thanking his parents, siblings and son before diving into his "9 Rules From Chris Pratt: Generation Award Winner."
Although his speech went viral, receiving heaps of praise from major media outlets, other celebrities and fans alike, Pratt has also been receiving a plethora of negativity. Many are charging him and his ex-wife, Anna Faris, of animal neglect and abuse after by resurfacing stories of the time Faris' former chihuahua was found emaciated and wandering the streets of Los Angeles, as well as the time that Pratt jokingly asked his fans on Twitter if any of them would like to take in his elderly cat (for which he received death threats).
Sounds awful, right? Well, not after we understand what actually happened.
Recently Faris has opened up about the horrible health issues that her and Pratt's son, Jack, has faced from the moment that he was born. In addition to being two months premature, Jack had severe brain bleeding to the point that he was at risk of having a developmental disability. Thankfully, the extent of the brain bleeding just left him with some vision problems (hence the adorable glasses) and leg muscle issues. But, one thing the couple also discovered during this tumultuous time in bringing their newborn into the world, is that Jack is highly allergic to Faris' former chihuahua.
Imagine being an expecting parent. Imagine suddenly going into labor, two months before your due date, only to find out that your baby has severe brain bleeding on top of everything else. Imagine that baby needing to be rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he will stay for a month before you're allowed to bring him home. Imagine finding out, before bringing him home (still a month earlier than he was supposed to even be born), that he is incredibly allergic to the dog you adopted over five years earlier.
What would you do as a parent in that situation? Any sane person should say, "Get rid of the dog."
Now, to those of you that may argue that she signed a contract saying she would pay the shelter $5,000 should she rehome the dog, think about this: if you went through the same ordeal that Faris and Pratt did, and needed to immediately and unexpectedly get rid of the dog you adopted over five years prior, I'm sure it would slip your mind that you signed a clause (again, over five years before this incident) regarding some rehoming fee for a pet you never expected to have to rehome.
Okay, so what's the moral of the story here?
The point, that Chris Pratt is now proving to us in this instance, is that no matter what you do, no matter how admirable of a person you may be and no matter how impeccable your reputation is, people are still going to find a way to tear you down and portray you as negatively as possible.
A decision that two parents made for their sick child, something that one would think only adds to the image that they have as being incredibly loving and doting parents, is being used against them in some disgusting and slanderous smear campaign.
The next time you find yourself hesitant to reveal your true feelings on something or covering up some quality about yourself, for fear of rejection, just remember that one of the most beloved actors of our generation (I mean, it's Andy Dwyer for goodness' sake) gets flack for simply being a good parent.
So, just be yourself. You can't please everyone.
