Influencer and former "Big Brother" contestant Shay-Lee Ofri posted a video on Tuesday night asking followers not to rush up to her 18-month-old son, Alari, when they see her in public at a street or mall.
Ofri said people come over, hug and kiss the child even though he does not know them, which frightens him. "He gets scared and starts crying in front of you," she said, adding that people should understand he is only a baby and is not ready for that kind of interaction. "The situation is very strange for him. You should not burst in like that," she said.
She ended with a direct appeal, saying it is not children who approach him in this way but rather "mothers, women my age," and pleaded, "I beg you. React appropriately." Ofri said the video was prompted by a specific incident she experienced the day before.
The plea comes amid a turbulent period in her personal life. Over the past two months, she has divorced Alari's father, fellow "Big Brother" star Shneur Burgil, moved to an apartment in Rishon LeZion after living in Beersheba, adjusted to single life again, and faced repeated headlines about herself and Burgil.
