Laura Byrne took to Instagram after. Photo / Supplied
Laura Byrne took to Instagram after. Photo / Supplied
Former Bachelor contestant Laura Byrne has shared a tearful apology after she mistakenly made fun of a doll featuring Down syndrome.
In a since-deleted post on her Instagram story, the 2017 winner of the Bachelor offered her thoughts and prayers for parents like her dealing with having their children stuck inside by the hammering rain in parts of the country.
"Good luck to all the mamas surviving the next week of rain with toddlers stuck inside," she wrote over a video of her daughter asking for a doll.
"I think we have enough crying babies at home, we don't need another one," Byrne tells her daughter.
"And this baby here is truly petrifying," Byrne adds as she approaches one doll on the stores shelves. "That is a scary AF doll."
Baby Amelia with Down Syndrome is an inclusivity doll sold at Kmart. Photo / Supplied
One small detail she missed led to a backlash among her 303,000 followers, and a subsequent tearful apology.
What Byrne mistakenly overlooked, but what many of her helpful followers pointed out, is that the doll she found "petrifying" was meant to provide representation for children with Down syndrome.
"Baby Amelia with Down Syndrome" is the name of one of the $15 Anko brand dolls.
There is also a baby Charlie with Down syndrome that Kmart sells.
Laura Byrne took to Instagram after. Photo / Supplied
Byrne apparently didn't see that until later, leading her to delete the offending story and apologise on Saturday afternoon.
"Guys I just want to quickly jump on here, and I'm probably drawing attention to something that — f**k me I can't even begin to describe how sorry I am," Byrne said on Instagram Stories from her car at around 1pm.
"I have just received a whole heap of messages from people … there's a doll at Kmart that I genuinely just thought looked tired, and so many of you guys have message me to let me know that it's actually an inclusivity doll, and I feel sick to my stomach for the mistake that I made," Byrne, briefly choking back tears, said.
"I had no idea and I'm really, really sorry for offending anyone, it was totally unintentional," she adds through tears.
Byrne also thanked "every single person who messaged me", saying they were "the best" because none of them sent her actually abusive messages.
"I really appreciate that your instant reaction was not to think that I'm an a*sehole, because I would never ever do that intentionally. Like I said, I feel absolutely horrible so thanks everyone," she adds, throwing in a thumbs up at the end of the video.
