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Wendy Dickey is defending her decision to dress her 3-year-old daughter Paisley as a prostitute at a pageant taped for TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras.
Dickey calls Paisley’s outfit — inspired by Julia Roberts‘ character Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman — “less revealing than gymnastics wear and swimsuits.” She says “no harm was done to my child” by donning the look, which includes vinyl thigh-high boots, a midriff baring top, a blue miniskirt and a bright yellow wig.
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“I’m raising my child just as well as any mother does … I take my kid to church every week,” she told TMZ.com. “I don’t know why people are focusing so much on pageant moms when there’s much more harmful things people are letting their children do!”
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The Parents Television Council was critical of the episode, which aired Wednesday night.
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“We have a serious problem when The Learning Channel features a toddler, who probably hasn’t even learned to read, dressed as a prostitute showing off her sexy strut,” Melissa Henson, director of communications and public education for the PTC, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“There’s no question, TV executives are complicit in robbing these small kids of their childhood,” she continues. “For years we’ve seen adults sexuality being inappropriately and aggressively foisted on innocent young children, but children today are being sexualized at younger and younger ages. All available data suggests they will suffer for it later in life.”
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TLC had to take down its Facebook wall last week after it was loaded with negative comments for an episode that featured a 4-year-old wearing fake breasts and butt pads with her Dolly Parton costume.
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