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Ant Anstead defended himself after being criticized for posting photos of his three-year-old son Hudson amid his bitter custody battle with ex-wife Christina Hall.
The 43-year-old "Wheelers Dealers" host faced online backlash after he posted Instagram photos of Hudson on Thursday, despite having criticized Hall, 39, in court for sharing images of their toddler on social media.
Instagram users quickly flocked to the comments to accuse Anstead of hypocrisy and the U.K. native fired back at some of his critics in the replies.
"She can post as many organic photos as she wants to. Please do your research on the facts and come back fully informed. X," he told one detractor, after multiple users said that he was being "unfair".
Ant Anstead defended himself after being criticized for posting photos of his three-year-old son Hudson. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Several fans of Anstead came to his defense as they pointed out that Hall had featured Hudson in paid advertisements on her Instagram account.
"Hudzo childhood is not for sale. As a dad I will continue to step up for him x," he told one Instagram user.
One commenter accused Anstead of also using Hudson to promote his businesses, noting that his son has appeared in photos with Radford Motors cars, a bespoke automobile brand that he co-founded.
"No one buys a $500k supercar because hudzo was in a picture," he retorted. "I even kept him out the TV show (despite being asked many times)."
Another critic told Anstead that he deserves "all the shade you get" and that he should have settled their differences privately rather than in court. The user questioned whether he had a "hidden agenda", adding that "I feel sorry for the crap Hudson will see when he gets older."
"He will read the private letter I wrote her on April 21st a week before I stepped up for him," Anstead shot back. "She's had 25 weeks to agree to not exploit him. She finally has x."
When one fan asked how he handles all the social media hate, he said he has to "laugh about it actually."
"The uninformed herd mentality is telling of our current climate," he continued. "If someone said to me 25 weeks ago ‘get some flack from a bunch of Karen’s in exchange for Hudzo not being exploited for money’ I would take that deal! X.
Anstead and the "Christina on the Coast" host divorced in June 2021, but have been locked in a highly-publicized custody dispute over Hudson.
According to documents obtained by Fox News Digital, the TV presenter expressed concerns about Hudson's image being used for paid content, as well as on a television production set.
Anstead's post, which featured photos of Hudson with his grandfather, comes after Hall stated that Hudson will no longer appear on her social media.
Anstead's post comes after Hall stated that Hudson will no longer appear on her social media. (Allen Berezovsky)
"I am mentally exhausted over the recent false accusations against me. Hudson’s father has made attempts to turn my family, friends and fans against me through manipulation tactics and false information," the home renovation expert wrote on Instagram.
"This has had great impact on me and my household. Because of this, I have made the decision to no longer feature Hudson on Instagram, my tv shows or any social platforms until he is old enough to make this decision for himself."
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"Hudson’s father has made it clear via his public court filings he is using Instagram to rate the kind of parent I am, since that is the only access he has to my personal life. This has been the case since July 2020. This is unnecessary pressure for a platform that is supposed to be used to share moments chosen, rather than a judgment tool…especially since this is a very small fraction of my personal life as the rest is kept between me and my family.
The Flip or Flop alum added: "My personal collection of photos on my phone and in our home are filled with memories of my children, so Hudson will be just fine without having his presence displayed on a public forum. Thank you to all the people who can see beyond the nonsense being thrown at me. I am and will ALWAYS remain a protective mother."
Christina formerly went by her maiden name "Haack" but she took her husband Josh Hall's last name when they married in April. Joshua Hall. Anstead has been dating Renee Zellweger after they met on set of his show, "Celebrity IOU Joyride" last year.
Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
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