Ayesha Howard, the mother of Anthony Edwards’ child and former partner of rapper Lil Baby, is setting the record straight. Tired of being dismissed online as a “gold digger,” she took to Instagram Live with a fiery rebuttal that quickly went viral, per BallerAlert. The internet may have jokes, but Howard had bars of her own.

“I read comments that say, oh, you’re a gold digger or you kept the baby for a check,” she said, before turning the spotlight on her critics. “What if I came to y’all’s pages and looked at the men y’all chose to have kids with? I could say, ‘You were digging for poverty.’” The live wasn’t just a rant—it was a direct response to the public scrutiny she’s faced as a woman linked to two high-profile men.

Howard didn’t shy away from calling out the double standards women like her face. While some claim she’s exploiting her children’s fathers for financial gain, she flipped the narrative and questioned why people assume she had ulterior motives. “You kept that baby for an income tax credit or a couple hundred in food stamps,” she said bluntly, adding, “How are you telling me what you would’ve done with options you never had?”

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A message rooted in identity, status, and unfair judgment

Howard also pointed to the intersection of beauty, status, and societal bias. She believes public perception distorts her reality because of who she is and who she’s been involved with. “From then, I am viewed as a certain type of woman because I am beautiful and have a nice body… which is also not my fault,” she said. In her view, that attention creates assumptions, especially when she finds herself in relationships with successful men.

She went on to say the internet showed her no compassion during or after her pregnancy. But instead of silence, she chose voice. Edwards, who’s been dominating on the court this season, hasn’t commented on Ayesha Howard’s remarks—but her point rang loud and clear: she’s not asking for approval. She’s demanding respect.