Faith Evans Just Wants Her Son With Autism to Be Treated the Same Way as Other Kids

Today in hot messes, it was recently reported that reality TV personality and rapper Joseline Hernandez went after Faith Evans after Faith announced (on Behind Every Man) she broke up with husband Stevie J when she learned he was still cheating on her with Joseline (the two used to be an item). Joseline retaliated by saying she hasn't been with Stevie J, and that Faith herself had been the one cheating on Stevie J. She then went below the belt and attacked Faith's son, who has autism.

Joseline claimed that Faith's son, Ryder, got into a fight with Joseline and Stevie J's daughter Bonnie Bella: "I have your husband on recording begging for my forgiveness 'cause Bonnie could have gotten killed by that animal you call son," Joseline said.

Stevie J stepped in, and said, "Aren’t you the same one who lied and said I molested my own daughter is now speaking hurtful against a child with autism. Don’t you have an autistic brother?" Like we said: Hot mess express! Let's unravel all of this, because it's a lot to take in.

Faith Evans' son is 13-year-old Ryder, and the singer has been very open about his autism, sharing that she had to battle with the Los Angeles Unified School District when she saw they weren't being accommodating and making sure Ryder got the attention he needed as a student with autism. She ended up pulling him out of school after she saw how they treated him. Faith eventually formed Ryder's Room Inc, a foundation that advocates for children with autism.

“Stevie said I really needed to do it, because this is what we’re living. I want to raise funds to be able to donate it to families who may be in need. We started doing YouTube symposiums to help people who may not have the resources or idea where to go," Faith told Shondaland.

She also shared that it took a while to get Ryder diagnosed, because pediatricians weren't listening to her when she told them there was something unusual happening with Ryder's development. 

She said, “I had to beg his pediatrician to give him a diagnosis. He wanted me to wait and said all kids are different. But I had three older kids, and I knew my son should have been talking. I begged him to give us a diagnosis, because I felt something was wrong, and in order to take advantage of the early intervention and support that is available through the regional center, I needed a diagnosis at the age of three for early intervention.”

Faith Evans' baby daddy is ex-husband Todd Russaw, a music producer, talent manager, and founder of Come Think Big (a movement pushing for cannabis legalization and criminal justice reform). Faith and Todd had two sons together, Ryder and Joshua. Todd is pretty private, although he does share photos from time to time, including this one of himself and Ryder.

Faith continues to push for autism awareness so that every child, not just hers, can acquire the resources they deserve. “I want my son to have the same quality of life as any other child his age," Faith said.