Parenting commentator calls Tom Brady son kiss 'Twitter storm in a teacup'

  • 07/02/2018

It was one kiss between US football quarterback Tom Brady and his son, but it made headlines around the world. 

The viral video, which was filmed as part of Brady's online series Tom Vs. Time, came under heavy criticism by some viewers just days before his Super Bowl LII game for, what was referred to as, 'disturbing' content. In the clip, Brady is filmed getting a massage, during which his son kisses him on the mouth. Tweets online ranged from "weird", to "very disturbing" and even "absolute psychopath".

But parenting commentator Joseph Driessen told Three's The Project on Wednesday there was nothing wrong with the kiss, except for putting it on the internet. 

"What you saw was a lot of affection and camaraderie between father and son, but I can see how some people would have misinterpreted this completely," he says. 

"In that family this is normal. But when there are whole lots of people who are activated by these sorts of images, you can see how it activates a whole sort of mini-Twitter storm in a teacup."

Driessen blamed the attitude on our "Anglo-Saxon history", which he called "ludicrously puritanical, uptight and sexually repressed".

"If you went to Italy, nobody would comment.

"It's very sad that a father can kiss his son and that we are perpetuating this idea that men are dangerous for their kids when in fact sons need their fathers; they need their affection, they need their care."

Watch the video for the full Project interview. 

Newshub.