Bishop Trotter Poses in Bathtub with 4-Year-Old Granddaughter: Is It Inappropriate?
There’s nothing alarming about giving your daughter or granddaughter a bath. But add on an Instagram photo shoot and a shared bathtub between an adult and a child, and you’ll start to raise some eyebrows.
That was the case when a photo was posted on Bishop Larry Trotter’s Instagram page in which he appeared to be naked, or atleast topless, in the bath alongside his granddaughter. Many on the internet reacted with outrage, claiming that bath time should be between a man and his wife and taking bath with other females in one’s family is inappropriate. Some even went as far to call the Bishop “disgusting” and “sick.”
The senior pastor of mega-church Sweet Holy Spirit Church in Chicago, Illinois, did not take the accusations of impropriety lightly. He appeared on the John Hannah Morning Show, saying that he and his granddaughter, who is four years of age, both had on swim trunks and her mother was present during the small five-minute window in which the little girl was in the tub. He also maintains another family member uploaded the photo to his account. He said the backlash has made the last couple of days a “dark” and “hurtful” time for him.
Though the Bishop admits the picture was “unwise,” he says it was not uncommon to share bathwater when he was growing up. And he thinks it is awful that the picture has been interpreted in such a negative way: “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 molestor to a to a narsty old man and how I should get out of the ministry – the vulgarity has been terrible.”
He promises to never do “it” again and also not to let anyone else have access to his Instagram page.
.I think a lot of the shock has to do with the fact that he’s a man, which says a lot about the state of our society/culture. I doubt there would’ve been as much of an outcry if it was a woman, even if it was her and her grandson.
I remember when my brother and I were between 3 and 6 years old, we used to beg my mom to let us take showers (because “adults shower, kids take baths”), but she was always afraid that we’d either burn ourselves or slip and fall by walking around in the wet tub. So to get our way, we would try really hard to wake up at the same time she would get up in the morning and ambush her while she tried to shower before we were scheduled to get up. So she would cave for the sake of time management. We never thought anything of it, and it certainly didn’t lend itself to either of us getting sexually abused.
What I think was inappropriate about this is that he posted a picture of 2 people bathing. Generally speaking, no one would ever invite the public into his/her bathroom to watch him/her bathe, which is why posting a picturing of yourself and your granddaughter bathing for the world to see is wrong. Same goes for potty training pics, just in case the Bishop isn’t aware.
Not necessarily Mademoiselle, I remember Cocoa, Ice-tea’s wife, had a picture posted online where she was buck naked in the bed with her baby nephew and people were calling her out and saying it was wrong/nasty and she and her sister had to explain the situation a few months back. So I don’t necessarily think men are only given the side eye here, but I do agree that they do face more of the burden in situations like this. But I do agree when it comes to family/intimate moments it’s best to keep that offline not necessarily for adults sake but for kids…thank god this little girl face is blurred. People are too comfortable in what they post/shall to the world.
I used to get in the tub with my dad and he’d wear swim trunks my mom also used to get in the tub and play with all the water toys with me, nothing was sexualized. I don’t know this isn’t weird to me.
Not everyone see’s kids as sexual objects, I know it’s hard to weed out the ones who are and he very well could be.
This thread is an example of the what Jodie Foster was talking about in her speech. People’s notions of privacy have disappeared. Although I have never done what Trotter did with my daughters, I have no reason to think he was doing anything bad to his little granddaughter. The problem is that he posted a private family time picture, and now has to explain his behavior to the world. Don’t post dumb stuff online, and you don’t have to explain it.
People need to stop judging and leave this man alone. I don’t see anything inappropriate in this picture. The mom was there and they said the child and pastor had sw im clothes on. This man said he did not post the picture so find something else to talk about. This world is so sick and views everything as wrong.
This man’s judgement day , we can judge people according to the word of God. Not my personel opnion but let the scriptures speak. I’m not an expert, but commen sense should be developed and then kick in. Hum so why do we need judges in the courts? lets just fire them all so no one will have the right to judge. Are, are they an exception to the rule?
It appears very inappropriate to me. If the little girl had on a bathing suit, (top included) then I could look at this with a little more acceptance.
I don’t see how Bishop Trotter couldn’t tell ,while taking the picture, that it wasn’t a good look in today’s society..As an example of a Godly man, Bishop Trotter should have made a better choice. He should be able to see right and wrong. He shouldn’t be so blinded to make such poor choices. He’s NOT perfect, but he should know better. God gives us wisdom to identify right from wrong, and good and bad choices.