An influencer known as “Nurse Hannah” is under investigation after a video of her toddler flinching during an interaction with his father went viral.
Hannah Hiatt, also known as “Nurse Hannah” on social media, previously gained online attention in October after she shared a video of 17 used diapers scattered throughout her house. While the 25-year-old mother of two received millions of views, she also faced thousands of comments criticizing her for leaving the dirty diapers around her home.
Now, the Utah-based mom has once again sparked concern over a since-deleted video featuring her two-year-old son.
The clip, which was reposted by users on TikTok in November, showed Hiatt grocery shopping with her husband, Braxton, and their son, James. The toddler is seen sitting in the shopping cart when his father hands him a boxed item from the frozen food section. James then lifts his hands up to his face, in what many commenters have speculated to be a defensive gesture.
After realizing he was being handed the item, James lowers his hands and grabs the box. However, many people in the video’s comments claimed that the toddler was flinching from his father.
“He reacted like he was about to get hit,” one TikToker wrote under the reposted video.
As it turns out, some TikTokers even took it upon themselves to share their concerns about the video to Child Protective Services. In a statement shared to People, the Ogden, Utah, Police Department confirmed “there is an open, active investigation into” Hiatt due to “numerous reports through Child Protective Service and police.”
“There is a detective assigned to the case,” a spokesperson for the department told the outlet.
A contact for Hiatt was not immediately
Hiatt later addressed the backlash to the video in a follow-up posted on November 29, in which she described her husband as the “sweetest, nicest, kindest, most loving, most nurturing father in the entire world.”
“In the video that you guys are all freaking out about, they’re just playing,” she said on TikTok. “They’re always playing where they scare each other… that’s what they’re always doing.”
She continued: “Nothing’s going on. From the moment that my husband wakes up in the morning, to the second he goes to bed, he is only thinking about our children and our family and what’s best for us.”
Hiatt also slammed critics for comparing her to another mom influencer, former YouTuber Ruby Franke, who was sentenced to 60 years in prison on child abuse charges in February.
“The fact that I’m even being compared to Ruby Franke is absolutely comical. It’s hilarious, really,” Hiatt said in a TikTok video posted on November 30.
“We live in a world nowadays where people will turn nothing into something. We live in a world where people are so desperate to become TikTok famous, they will post about anything in order to get views for themselves. They don’t care if it’s going to bring someone down with it, they just want to become TikTok famous.”
The influencer added that her children are “happy” and “healthy,” saying they are “well-nourished, they’re running around playing.
“That should be a pretty good indicator that everything’s just fine,” she said.
