Father who threw his 7-year-old son off cliff has broken his silence following the outrage sparked by viral video
Garrett Gee has broken his silence following anger over a popular video posted earlier this year.
Gee is a content producer who frequently shares his life as a father of three on Instagram, where he has 438,000 followers.
He sold his smartphone scanning program to Snapchat for $54,000,000 10 years ago, with $30 million in cash and the remainder in Snapchat ownership, according to CNBC. He was then free to devote his life to traveling around the world with his wife and children. Over the summer, Gee brought his seven-year-old son, Calihan, to Lake Powell to teach him how to cliff dive.
He opted to take the child there before he realized it ‘was safe’ for him.
Gee said on Instagram, “The real risk would be if he hesitated, didn’t jump far enough, and went down the cliff edge.
“To ensure extra safety, since he wanted to jump but lacked confidence, I threw him.”
The grandfather continued: “Eventually a baby eagle needs to leave the nest… or be tossed out of it and learn HE CAN FLY!”
Gee was quick to follow, dropping his son into the water below. Calihan was alright, but several people online accused Gee of acting carelessly. The video also shows Calihan’s elder siblings plunging from the cliff.
“Irresponsible, terrible parenting,” someone wrote on the video at the time.
“He didn’t seem pleased. Calihan appeared to be traumatized, according to another person.
Gee has addressed the subject some months after it erupted.
“If somebody came across that video and had only seen it, then I agree with them,” he told PEOPLE about the criticism the now-viral footage sparked.
Gee said, “But anyone who has followed our journey for a longer time understands how thoughtful and cautious we are as parents.”
He also expressed a desire to push his children out of their comfort zones, saying, “A small part of me felt sad when I read the comments because you could tell how many people out there did not have the opportunity to be pushed by their parents to try new things and stayed within their comfort zone.”
Gee went on to say, “That is not the ideal way to conduct your life. When individuals were angry or scared by the video, I thought, ‘I would love to go on an expedition with you and help you experience something new.’”