Actress Hilary Duff is finally opening up about the January incident that had most of the internet up in arms. If you missed it, a video was shared of Hilary's 3-year-old daughter, Banks, riding unrestrained in the back seat of the family car while Hilary was behind the wheel — and people had some very strong opinions about it.
Last month, people went after Hilary for seemingly putting her daughter in danger
Fans were worried when Hilary's Younger costar Molly Bernard uploaded a video of Banks riding in the back of a car. The 3-year-old appeared to be sitting without the safety of a car seat. People immediately called out Hilary for her mistake, noting how deadly a car accident could be for an unrestrained child.
Fortunately nothing happened to the little girl, but fans were still alarmed by Hilary's decision
While Banks was unharmed, people were unnerved by the fact that Hilary would allow her daughter to ride in a car unsecured like that. In California, where the actress calls home, children her daughter's age are required to be buckled into a car seat — another fact people were quick to point out.
Hilary finally addressed the controversy in a new interview
It was unusual for the relatively beloved actress to find herself at the center of such an online firestorm, so she took a moment during her recent chat with Romper to explain what was actually going on in the video.
"There was this huge story that came out because my friend Molly was in the back seat of our car with Banks without her car seat," she began.
The mother of three defended her parenting decision
Hilary lives in a relatively quiet gated community, which is where she says she was driving with her daughter when the video was taken. "It's not like I'm driving on the 405 with my kids in the back seat without a car seat," she explained. "You have no context. You don't know where I am."
She's not wrong — people didn't know exactly what was going on behind the scenes in the video, other than the alarming lack of a restraint.
It sounds like Hilary sometimes allows Banks to ride unrestrained in their small neighborhood
Hilary went on to explain that this is a frequent and time-honored tradition in her family. "Do you know how many times I let my kids sit on my front seat once we get [close to our driveway] to pretend like they're driving home?" she asked. "You're telling me you've never put your kid in the back seat to drive a block before with an adult back there?"
It's clear that Hilary doesn't see anything wrong with what she did, but only time will tell if the rest of the internet comes around to her way of thinking. One thing we know for sure: Hilary really loves her kids and would never intentionally do anything to harm them.
