Video Sparks Fury as Grammy-Winning Country Songwriter and Husband Film Their Surrogate Baby Crying For 'Mama' – Before Suggesting They 'Throw It Away and Start Over'

A poignant and deeply controversial family video shared by openly gay country music hitmaker Shane McAnally has ignited a firestorm online, with critics accusing the couple of mocking their infant son's natural instincts after he repeatedly calls out for a mother he has never known.

The clip, originally posted on McAnally's Instagram account, shows the 51-year-old songwriter and his husband, Michael Baum, holding their six-month-old son, Texson Ray McAnally Baum, who was born via surrogate in San Diego in October 2025.

In the footage, one of the men asks the baby: 'Who do you want, Dada or Pop?' The infant, dressed in a simple onesie, responds with what sounds like 'Mama'. Overlaid text on the video reads: 'Baby has 2 dads… chose neither.'The man then replies gently but firmly: 'No, there is no mama,' before the baby becomes visibly distressed and begins to cry. McAnally and Baum appear to find the moment amusing, continuing to film as the child's face crumples.

The post quickly drew a wave of comments, including one particularly harsh suggestion: 'Throw it away and start over.' McAnally reportedly replied with a string of laughing-crying emojis.