Joal Ryan
An NBC Mother's Day special was seeing to some last-minute changes after adoptive parents balked at a category honoring them as "non-moms."
"We heard the concerns from our viewers, and we certainly understood that," an NBC spokeswoman said today. "We immediately looked into it, and we were able to change that."
As of Friday, the "non-mom mom" was rechristened the "adopting mom." The change was reflected on the network's website, and will be reflected in the special, which tapes today and airs Sunday.
"We did take their concerns into consideration," the rep said. "Certainly, it was always our intent to celebrate all moms, and that's why we wanted to have that category."
The category, as described by the site for the special, honors "a grandparent, stepmom or mom to adopted children, each one raising and loving a child."
The earlier suggestion that such a person was a "non-mom mom" did not sit well with adoptive parents who took to the Web Friday.
"I'm not usually offended all that easily by this kind of stuff, but this one really gets me," a poster on an Adoptions board wrote. "I guess if I'm not my kids' mom someone else can make dinner, buy their clothing and pay for their college!"
Interestingly, the show, America's Favorite Mom, is cohosted by Marie Osmond, who herself is an adoptive mother.
The NBC rep didn't know if Osmond, who cohosts with brother Donny Osmond, had spoken up about the non-mom category.
Teleflora, the show's sponsor, did chime in. On a show site, the flower company says "many of us at Teleflora are 'adopting' parents ourselves, including our president and owner."
"After closer examination," the online statement says, "we can see how this may have been offensive to moms who have adopted children—moms who are indeed real moms to their children in every sense of the word."
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