MTV Former "Teen Mom" star Taylor Selfridge was not impressed when people questioned her daughter's hair color.
Former “Teen Mom” star Taylor Selfridge was not impressed when people questioned her daughter’s hair color. Four-month-old Maya was born with red hair, but some people were curious how that was possible.
Selfridge had an easy answer: genetics.
Red hair runs in her family and in Cory Wharton’s family.
She shared a picture that included photos of her birth and great-grandmother — who had red hair — and Wharton’s mom, who also has red hair.
“It’s called genetics,” Selfridge wrote via Instagram Story. “Sorry if you can’t understand but I’ll be blocking anyone else that’s rude about her hair? It’s honestly crazy how many ignorant comments I’ve gotten over her damn hair color.”
Maya was born with a heart condition, called tricuspid atresia. Her heart’s right ventricle didn’t form properly, so her body is struggling to bring oxygen to her lungs. It requires her to get three surgeries. The first happened when she was one week old, and the second is slated to occur when she’s 4 to 6 months old. Her final surgery is scheduled when she is 4.
Selfridge and Wharton have a second daughter together, 2-year-old Mila.
Wharton is also the father of 5-year-old Ryder, whom he shares with his ex, “Teen Mom” star Cheyenne Floyd.
The Science Behind Red Hair
Red hair is the least common hair color, with 1 to 2% of the population having the tone naturally, Healthline reported.
Red hair is caused by a genetic variant that results in the hair and skin cells “to produce more of one particular type of melanin and less of another,” Healthline reported. “Most redheads have a gene mutation in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R).”
Someone with MC1R, pheomelanin — which results in reddish skin and hair tones — dominates over eumelanin — which promotes brown and black hues, Healthline said.
According to 23andMe, the red hair variant first appeared in “ancient humans” more than 30,000-80,000 years ago, about the time when migrations out of Africa began.
At first, researchers believed the red hair variant evolved because people living in northern lands needed a way to get more Vitamin D, but they later discovered — based on recent data — that the red hair gene might have evolved because people in the northern latitudes didn’t need darker pigmentation to protect their skin against harmful UV rays, 23andMe wrote.
Selfridge Was Fired From ‘Teen Mom’ in 2020
Selfridge was released from her contract with “Teen Mom” over her “past racist statements,” MTV said at the time.
The network cut ties with the mother-of-two after her 2012 tweets resurfaced amid nationwide anti-racism protests.
“MTV strongly condemns systemic racism and stands with those raising their voices against injustice,” MTV said in a statement to People.
Floyd confronted Selfridge about her offensive messages during a 2019 episode of “Teen Mom.”
“At the time, because I was younger, I wasn’t thinking it was anything negative. I thought, ‘Oh, well this is funny,’ or something like that, but it’s not,” Selfridge said. “This happened a long time ago.”
“That’s my biggest mistake. I just had to grow up, honestly,” she continued. “I had to experience other places.”
To find out what happens next, don’t miss “Teen Mom: The Next Chapter” when it airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on MTV.