Christy Bernardo, the mother of the 7-year old Taylor Swift impersonator Xia Vigor, is on the defensive after Piers Morgan called her daughter's performance in the Philippine television show "Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids", "creepy".
According to US Magazine, Bernardo fired back at Morgan's comments during her appearance on the UK's This Morning on Thursday, Jan. 19. She responded to Morgan's criticisms when he said that Vigor's performance promotes "sexualizing of minors".
"He should know his facts. ... I thought he'd be more intelligent than that." She said. "As a mother, I would not put my child in a position where she would be sexualized. ... [The program] is for children," she continued, adding that she thinks that Morgan's remarks were very judgmental and unfair.
The little girl has become an international sensation after her performance in the said Filipino show went viral, New York Post reported. She had 4.7 million views on the show's YouTube since Sunday.
Wearing a full face makeup and a number of Taylor Swift inspired ensembles, she imitated Taylor Swift and gave her own rendition of one of the artist's popular hits, "You Belong with Me". The judges, as well as the audience, were both amazed and enjoyed the performance.
Bernardo, during her interview on This Morning, explained how she was shocked by Morgan's comments considering that she is a very religious mother. She even said that the prize money that her daughter won is intended to be donated to charitable institutions.
After Bernardo defender her daughter, Vigor joined her for the interview and was asked to explain why she wanted to have a music career, "When I'm grown up I really want to be a pop star," she said. "I'm happy if I'm making people happy."