Victoria Monét says her team’s presentation about pregnancy slowing down her career “felt like an encouragement to get an abortion.”
Victoria Monét faced mixed reactions when she announced she was pregnant with her daughter, Hazel.
During an appearance on the “IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” the three-time Grammy Award-winning singer recalled a particularly painful moment when a member of her team created a presentation in response to her pregnancy news.
“I had a person on my team, though the intentions were good, really, really hurt my feelings because they made a PowerPoint presentation to me about how difficult it will be for me,” Monét shared, noting that the presentation outlined challenges like the cost of childcare. “And the finale of the presentation was, ‘what’s the rush?’
“So it felt like an encouragement to get an abortion… that was really, really hurtful. And I walked out of that meeting with that same fight that I had when I left home, like, ‘I’m gonna do this. It’s my body and I’m gonna make it work even if it’s hard. I’m not scared of hard things, I can do hard things,’” she continued.
At the time of her pregnancy with Hazel, Monét was an independent artist working with the Platoon company. She says juggling personal life and career pressures was especially challenging.
“When you’re an artist, though you’re a human, you’re technically the business. So, to have to explain to someone who is a partner in your business that your business may slow down because of pregnancy is difficult,” she explained. “But it’s also something that you’re supposed to feel celebratory about because it’s a blessing and not everybody gets that opportunity.”
Fast-forward four years, and motherhood has become Monét’s superpower. From her hit song “On My Mama” to raising the youngest Grammy nominee in history and now releasing a children’s book, becoming a mom hasn’t slowed her career—it’s elevated it.