I genuinely feel for Irene Ntale and every woman going through fertility struggles. My heart goes out to them, and nothing about what I said was meant to ridicule, dismiss or blame anyone for their struggles. This topic is equally as close to my heart as someone who is yet to have a blessing of a child. My point was simple: sometimes, sharing your most vulnerable moments with the internet exposes you to people who have no intention of understanding you. They will take your tears, turn them into memes, twist your words and create narratives that serve their own interests. And before you know it, a video of you crying is a sticker in comments and whatsapp groups. Perhaps my tone came across as more energetic than some expected, but we need to learn to separate delivery from intention. Not everyone who speaks passionately is being insensitive, and not everyone who says “I feel bad” is being sarcastic. What’s even more interesting is how quickly people can condemn others for supposedly lacking empathy while overlooking how easily they themselves can misrepresent someone’s words. Sometimes, the very behaviour we’re criticising is the behaviour we’re participating in. I said what I said out of concern, not cruelty. You can disagree with my perspective, but please disagree with what I actually said, not a version of it you’ve created to suit a particular narrative. The internet is full of people looking for engagement, validation and their next viral moment. Don’t give a monkey a gun and expect it to understand the responsibility that comes with it. Irene deserves compassion. Every woman facing these struggles deserves compassion. And perhaps we all need to be a little more careful about what we expose to an audience that doesn’t always have our best interests at heart.