Olympian and Influencer MyKayla Skinner’s Gender Reveal Fail Wins the Internet
No babies were harmed in the writing of this article.
Published July 15 2024, 4:50 p.m. ET
Former Olympian turned influencer MyKayla Skinner posted a video of her epic gender reveal party on May 9th, 2023. The video was received rather wholesomely at the time, but has since garnered significant attention for all the wrong reasons.
The beautifully made video, captioned with heartfelt thanks, showed a joyous celebration with lavish decorations, heartwarming moments, and even a section where MyKayla’s family all cutely guessed which gender the baby would be.
However, a signage blunder took center stage. A giant sign on the lawn read "Baby Harmer" in giant letters — a comical oversight considering her husband’s last name.
Initially, the Instagram post was met with warmth and congratulations. Fans and followers flooded the comments with support. One wrote, "Congratulations! You both are going to be such wonderful parents! ❤️."
Another chipped in, "I like how you did the whole theme celebration. The details and everything. 🤍🙏🏽✨ Happy Celebration," and a third commented, "Congrats another little gymnast."
The beautiful setup and the touching video masked the unfortunate choice of words in the signage.
An X user breathed new life into the story a little over a year later – and the dogpilers were not so nice.
On July 9th, 2024, when Twitter user @ratbagjackson tweeted out a picture of the "Baby Harmer" sign, captioning it, "Today I learned about an influencer named MyKayla Skinner Harmer and this is from her gender reveal party."
The tweet quickly went viral, racking up 4.6 million views and sparking a slew of hilarious and, shall we say, critical comments.
One user remarked, "I thought my friend's 'BABY SHAVER' party was poorly thought out," while another noted, "Baby Skinner would not have been any better," referencing MyKayla's maiden name.
A third user delivered a dad joke, "Skinner? Harmer? I barely know 'er." The X thread became a treasure trove of comedy gold.
A Redditor joined the fray on the same day by starting a thread titled “Baby Harmer…accusation or reveal?” Other users discussed the signage debacle.
One practical user commented, "A bit of a tragedy in their choice of 'Baby Harmer' over 'The Harmer Baby.'" Another brought some dark humor into the mix, remarking, "I know a nurse called Stillborn. Don't think they would use that name on the sign! The Stillborn Baby and Baby Stillborn doesn't quite have a nice ring to it.
Yet another user couldn't resist a dad joke, "Harmer baby? I barely know her baby."
Harmer, Skinner — neither last name seems ideal for baby signage. Whether they chose "Baby Harmer" over "The Harmer Baby" due to signage budgetary constraints or simple oversight, the couple's decision provided endless entertainment for the internet.
For reference, the cost of custom marquee letters like "Baby Harmer" can range anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000, with additional customization pushing the total up to $4,000. Perhaps the Harmers were on a budget and didn't want to spend the extra money to write "The Harmer Baby" instead of "Baby Harmer.”
But based upon an Instagram Highlight page on MyKayla’s page titled “Baby Harmer” it seems like it was likely on purpose.
Nonetheless, the baby is healthy and will one day grow up and watch the video about how her parents spent thousands of dollars on a "Baby Harmer" sign for her gender reveal. It’s a classic case of good intentions meeting hilarious execution. No babies were harmed in the writing of this article.
