Skip to content
Entertainment
Link copied to clipboard

Pink’s husband pokes ‘the parent police,’ posts video of his daughter shooting a rifle

Pink's daughter Willow apparently started shooting at age 3.

(From left) Carey Hart, Willow Sage Hart, Pink, and Judith Moore arrive at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
(From left) Carey Hart, Willow Sage Hart, Pink, and Judith Moore arrive at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.Read moreEvan Agostini

Doylestown native Pink’s husband, Carey Hart, has caused an uproar online after posting an Instagram video this week of the couple’s daughter, Willow, 7, firing a .22 caliber rifle at a shooting range.

“Haven’t poked the parent police bear in a few days,” Hart, 43, wrote in a message included with the video, which was posted Wednesday. “Willz and I shooting the 22 rifle. She is pretty good. Can hit a 12 inch pie plate from 30 yards. Started her shooting at 3yrs old.”

Hart added that he and Pink are “raising the kids with knowledge of firearms,” including “how to handle them, shoot them, store them, and avoid them in uneducated hands.” The message also indicated that Hart and his family, which also includes son Jameson, 2, do not hunt, but rather “enjoy shooting for sport.”

In response to the video, some followers criticized Hart’s judgment in allowing his child to use a gun. As one commenter wrote, some saw the move as “just indoctrinating the toxic American culture that guns are somehow ‘cool’ and a ‘hobby.’” Another commenter chastised the former professional motocross rider over the possibility that fans might “mimic” his attitude toward firearms.

“I hope they do mimic me,” Hart wrote in response. “I hope they spend quality time with their kids, teach them life skills, and education. I’m not sure where you live, but in America fire arms are legal and not going away. So I choose to embrace it. Take the taboo out. Educate them so they don’t become a statistic. Many forms of shooting are an OLYMPIC sport.”

Other fans posted messages of support for “teaching [Willow] about the guns and safely doing it,” as one commenter wrote. According to Guns and Ammo magazine, .22 caliber rifles are among the most popular types of weapons for firearms enthusiasts “when it comes to starting kids with rifles” because they are “easy to aim” and “ammunition is plentiful and affordable.”

“As a wife of a police officer and firearms instructor I would much rather teach them to respect and be familiar with the guns than to fear them,” another comment read. “Curiosity at one point will happen and thanks to proper education your girl will already have knowledge. Good for you! Now that said [the] medical professional in me says bravo for the ear protection.”

Previously, Hart got into hot water with fellow parents back in April, when he shared a photo of him riding with son Jameson on a stand-up personal watercraft while on vacation in Florida. In one commenter’s perception, the act was “illegal and highly dangerous,” to which Hart did not take kindly.

“You are a complete moron,” he wrote in response, later adding that he “grew up around boats and water craft since I was younger than Jameson.” Additionally, while it is not illegal in Florida for an infant to be onboard a watercraft, the US Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety does recommend that a child should be at least 18 pounds and able to wear a personal flotation device before boarding a boat, which typically is around 11 months old. Jameson was about 16 months old at the time of the boating debacle.

Pink, meanwhile, is preparing to accept her recently announced star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She will accept the honor in a ceremony on Tuesday in front of the Hollywood and Highland Complex on Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles.