Kate Hudson defends brother Oliver from criticism over comments about childhood trauma

Kate Hudson has come to her older brother Oliver Hudson’s defence, amid criticism over his comments about their family.

The 44-year-old actor shared a video to TikTok on 15 April to speak candidly about her brother and his concerns about being in the public eye. Her remarks came weeks after Oliver clarified his previous comments about his mother, Goldie Hawn, and the relationship they had while he was a child, expressing that his remarks were “taken out of context”.

During the now viral podcast episode, which aired on 19 March, Oliver first recalled how he took a course with the Hoffman Institute and was surprised to discovered his mother was “the one that [he] had almost the most trauma” with, since he was with her “all the time” throughout his childhood. He also pointed out his difficult relationship with his father, Bill Hudson, and that the “forgiveness” he felt towards him was “huge,” since the musician “essentially bailed” on him and Kate.

In her TikTok video, Kate noted that she was recently talking to her brother about the backlash he’s faced since making those comments about his mother on his and his sister’s podcast, Sibling Rivalry.

“He was talking about how he was afraid to say anything because he feels like things get picked up negatively,” she said. “And I was like: ‘Who cares?’ And then I really started thinking about it and I’m like: ‘Oh people do care, actually.’”

The Bride Wars star hit back at trolls for how they scrutinised her brother’s remarks, before pointing at how she’s been criticised herself while working in the public eye.

“It’s not nice when people take something out of context or they look at something you’re doing and they get all negative about it, and they poke it out and they scrutinise it,” she said. “And then I started thinking about people who live in that, like myself or any kind of celebrity, where you have to get used to it because people can be so mean.”

Kate noted that while she’s gotten used to some of the hate she’s faced online, she’s also come to notice that most of the social media users who are “so mean” to her don’t “actually exist”. She then pointed out how she discovered that these accounts appear to be fake.

“You go on there and they have zero followers and zero posts,” she said. “It’s either a troll or someone, they don’t even exist.”

She also explained that in other cases, there are still social media users who are real people, with the apparent intention of hurting someone on the internet. However, the actor still acknowledged that she ultimately avoids these critics.

“Or someone is actually, legitimately trying to make you feel or look bad and then when you really break that down, you’re like: ‘Oh my god. The amount of energy it takes for someone to s*** on someone else is not only exhausting but not even worth giving any attention to,’” Kate continued.

The How To Love A Guy in 10 Days star added that it’s not only celebrities who experience online scrutiny, as she said that she’s seen “kids” be mean to each other social media. She described some of the criticism she’s seen online, before hitting back at trolls who’ve decided to make these remarks about others in the first place.

“Anyone who takes any second out of their day to be the person who is like: ‘You should be ashamed of yourself, gross, cringe.’ Anyone who goes on and comments on other people’s bodies or hair, negatively,” she said. “They need to look at their life and go: ‘Why am I behaving this way?’”

However, she then said that it’s not the trolls who need to look at their lives. Instead, she said the people who’ve been scrutinised need to remember that these trolls are not worth paying attention to.

Earlier this month, Kate’s brother recalled that he made headlines for a previous episode of his podcast, where he discussed some of his trauma throughout his childhood and his bond with his mother throughout it. He specifically criticised the way his comments were perceived, and clarified what the discussion on childhood trauma was about.

“I’m even afraid to talk about it, to explain this even more, because everything is taken so far out of context,” he explained to Kate. “If you listen to the whole thing, it’s more about sort of my child feelings in that moment, rather than me and how I feel about Mom as a parent.”

He went on to praise Hawn, noting that he “couldn’t even fathom” who he would be without her.

“The love that I have for her and the respect and the reverence that I have for her is beyond anything. So, it was just completely taken out of context. It was used for clickbait, it just is what it is,” he continued.

During the episode, Kate also quipped about her brother’s comments making headlines, noting that she was expecting that to happen.

“I start seeing all the clips and I’m like: ‘Oh god, Oliver, this is going to be a headline,’” she said, referring to her brother’s viral podcast episode with Bode Miller. “I knew it immediately. You used such clickbait words, and I’m like: ‘I can’t leave my brother alone for a second.’”

She also admitted that she’s never surprised when her family is in the news, adding: “We know if we’re going to talk about our parents, everyone’s going to talk.”

During a previous episode of his podcast, aired on 18 March, Oliver discussed a course he’d done with the Hoffman Institute, which was about “unpacking the patterns that were put upon you from your parents and stepparents”.