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Yendi Phillipps

So Yendi Phillipps is upset that the media has put her business on blast about her request for child support from entertainer Chino. The documents were filed in court and the filing is public knowledge.

It is unfortunate Miss Phillipps and her business with her child's father has been put into the public domain like that, but this is one of the vagaries of being a celebrity. But she has a right to be upset.

Yendi, Miss Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe, who came close to winning both events internationally, especially the Miss Universe where she was the runner-up, is one of Jamaica's most celebrated daughters. She is beautiful and hot. She is also intelligent, articulate and affable - the perfect package.

Men desire her, women envy her so people will go out of their way to get into her life one way or the other.

The ethics of it all is debatable, but what disturbs me is how some women have responded to her alleged claims for support from the child's father. When the story was first posted on Facebook and then on Twitter, I read a few comments and immediately the nature of the comments, especially from women struck me as being especially vicious and cruel.

But when I noted the responses from the women, that's when I realised why a lot of men behave the way they do. Some women asked why Yendi was asking for so much money. My question is why not? Everybody has different standards for how they want to raise their children. While some people will settle for bare bones, some want their children to attend the best schools, live in communities that help foster a 'proper' upbringing, being surrounded by people of influence and people with the right attitude.

Do these women even realise how much it costs to raise a child? Pre-kindergarten alone can cost up $90,000 a semester, a nanny; easily $40,000 a month. Then there are costs like food, clothing, entertainment (birthdays and Christmas); and all kinds of unforeseen costs. You really think $60,000 a month is a lot of money, think again. And so what if she wants $60,000-a-month in child support? She has a right to ask for anything she believes the child deserves.

Other women commented that if she wasn't with him in the first place, she wouldn't be in this current situation where she is asking for child support and more. really now? Who knows what the future holds? If one woman can stand and tell me that they know that the man they are now sleeping with will be with her forever, then I show you a woman who is a liar.

Nobody knows the circumstances under which Yendi and Chino's relationship ended. All we know is that it didn't seem as if it ended well, but I do believe she is asking for what she believes the child deserves. Chino, I am sure, will counter her arguments and a judge might come down somewhere in the middle. Until such time, stop judging the woman and let her be. Just because she has set her bar high doesn't mean she is greedy or vindictive. Just maybe she believes any child of hers, in this case, the child she has with a wealthy entertainer, deserves to live a certain lifestyle.

She didn't conceive this child alone. He played his part, too. So he needs to contribute and this is not to say he doesn't want to, so those shouting hatred at the woman need to stop and think. Maybe, the reason they get nothing from the men that left them behind is because they have set the bar too low and asked for too little. That is really not Yendi's fault.

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