Chrishell Stause Got Dragged For Her Packed Family Christmas Photo & She Responded

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic spreading around the world, many families found themselves conflicted about whether or not to host their annual holiday gatherings. Several famous families, like the Kardashians, outright canceled their usual festivities and parties for the holiday season, but some stars made the decision to continue their traditions. One particular Selling Sunset star chose the latter route, and sparked significant debate over her nine-person gathering. Chrishell Stause's response to backlash over her family Christmas photo addressed commenters' concerns about her get-together, as well as her potential violation of social distancing rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The 39-year-old Netflix star posted a photo of her smiling family in matching pajamas on Dec. 25 next to their Christmas tree, which, in any other year, would've snagged all the likes. Because it's 2020, however, commenters quickly noted the number of people who were packed together in the photo who didn't share the same household and thus flouted social distancing guidelines. Stause originally boasted in the caption about introducing her family to her new beau, Keo Motsepe, but ended up editing the post to reflect commenters' concerns over the Christmas Day gathering.

"To those bringing up [COVID-19] concerns, I understand and agree this was not a good use of my platform," Stause wrote. Despite agreeing the post was not a good use of her platform, she did not delete it. "This is my immediate family and we all are able to test before and after."

Stause did have several supporters in the comments of her photo, but that didn't stop her from trying to explain the logic behind their get-together in the face of the rapidly-spreading coronavirus across the country. "This is the first Christmas without our mom[, so] we felt [it was] important to be there for each other in a tough year," she wrote. Stause's mother passed away in July after battling lung cancer, the same cancer her father died from in April 2019. The gathering, however unfortunately timed it may have been, helped her. She wrote, "Keo brought such welcomed happiness and selfishly I posted in a very happy moment. Please be safe and I am sending all my love to my supporters [and] critics."

The post is still live on Stause's page, and while she acknowledged the bad influence it might have had on her over 2 million followers, she has yet to take it down.