Mom pens emotional letter to Pink, thanking the singer for helping daughter through vicious bullying
The life of a 10-year-old girl from Wisconsin changed on Thursday night when she was given the chance to meet the woman behind the lyrics that got her through a year of vicious bullying: Pink.
Thea Ripp’s mother, Pernille Ripp, first mentioned the singer in a tweet last week, where she talked about all that her little girl had faced, including being kicked, punched and shoved by bullies. But the worst attack that she had dealt with was the one to her self-esteem, when the young girl was repeatedly told “how ugly she was and that no one would ever love her” — something that Pernille found only Pink’s empowering lyrics could help with.
When Thea was viscously bullied last year - kicked, punched, shoved and repeatedly told how ugly she was and that no one would ever love her, we played @pink song F***ing Perfect over and over to drown out the bullies. Tonight she gets to see @pink in c… https://t.co/hO5ucUy6A8 pic.twitter.com/oBUIfWiMl9
— Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp) May 2, 2019
In the tweet, Pernille celebrated her daughter’s victory, mentioning that she had overcome the bullying and would be attending Pink’s concert that night to see the songs that helped her through — namely, “F***in Perfect” — come to life. And although many people responded to the social media post, Pernille never imagined that Pink herself would respond by bringing the mother-daughter duo backstage.
Just one day later, Pernille penned a letter to the singer to explain what the experience had meant to Thea, where the mother and teacher reflected on the moments Pink didn’t see backstage, and how they’ve ultimately changed her daughter.
“What you didn’t see last night, was my little girl, who like I said is not so little anymore, feel like she was truly somebody worthy. Feel like the past year, with all of its anger and tears was no longer her year, was no longer her defining moment. Was no longer the story she was writing,” Pernille wrote. “What you didn’t see last night was when you talked about Thea on stage and then sang the song we had yelled at the top of our lungs so many times at home, that Thea had tears in her eyes. My girl, who does not cry unless she is hurt badly or very tired, stood their singing along with you from section 116, row 14, seat 1, screaming your words back at you, telling you that she believed it too.”
Pink responded by reassuring Pernille of what she did see — a mom who cared deeply for her daughter.
I saw you, as a mom, on Twitter, bravely sharing your experience and that it brought you and your daughter to me. There was only one thing to do. And that was to find you and tell you that I see you. Your daughter is incredible, and so are you. This letter just made me ugly cry. https://t.co/4yLmODj9AX
— P!nk (@Pink) May 4, 2019
“Your daughter is incredible, and so are you,” Pink wrote. “This letter just made me ugly cry.”
Still, Thea is in disbelief that her moments with Pink really even happened, telling Yahoo Lifestyle that the singer has shown her the good in the world.
“I feel like she has told me to stand up for myself,” the 10-year-old says. “While my mom has been telling me this too, it felt more powerful when it came from someone who didn’t need to care about me.”
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