TikTok influencer Anna Muller responded to criticism over her husband, Cameron Muller, taking her last name after they were recently married.
In an interview with People, published on Sunday, October 5, Anna spoke about the couple’s decision, which was formalized via legal paperwork filed by Cameron at the end of September.
“A lot of people think, ‘You flipped tradition,’ and that’s not what happened,” Anna told the outlet. “We evolved past it. It’s so important that there’s more conversation and it’s more normalized that there are different ways to go about partnerships that can be more equal.”
The TikTok video that sparked outrage was shared by Anna on September 27. It showed Cameron walking through the couple’s front door with paperwork in his hand as a caption read, “Just married and he officially took my last name.” Cameron excitedly told the camera in the clip, “I am officially Mr. Muller.”
More than 4,000 comments were left on the post, which saw more than 2.2 million views, including several damning conclusions. “He took your dad’s last name. You’re now siblings,” wrote one TikTok user, while another commented, “My wife and I could never. This is embarrassing imo.”
After initially labelling the backlash “outrageous” via TikTok several days later, Anna also took to her Instagram on Sunday to speak further about the criticism. “You know that the comments you make are public, right? Accountability will also be public 🤍,” Anna wrote alongside multiple screenshots of critical comments. “This is addressing a viral video of mine that has gotten a lot of backlash and controversy (which is actually absurd) particularly because all the video is about is my husband taking my last name when we got married. That’s literally it, that’s the outrage. Apparently.”
During her interview with People, Anna was joined by Cameron who shared his own take on the ordeal. “It wasn’t a lengthy, drawn-out conversation,” Cameron said, with the outlet noting that the pair share German heritage so taking Muller as his own last name “made a lot of sense for both of them.”
Cameron continued, “I was surprised because for me, this is very normal. I value the partnership that we have. We are equals, which is why it was not assumed that Anna was going to take my name. I was surprised that people were so upset about a man taking a woman’s name or that there was even a conversation around not taking my name.”
Anna also expanded on her thoughts while talking to the outlet, criticizing social media users who believe that a man taking his wife’s last name diminishes his masculinity. “If your masculinity depends on submission, I don’t think that’s masculinity,” Anna said. “That screams insecurity. A name or tradition isn’t what makes a man, either. I think it’s actions, it’s character.”
Anna also offered some words of advice to her social media haters. “Tap into what’s meaningful, what’s what matters, what feels right, what feels good, and go into that in more of an equal intuitive space,” she told the outlet. “Giving yourself the space and opportunity to talk about that as a partnership and feel out what feels good.”
