Critics Blast Tristan Thompson in Son Tatum's First Birthday Tribute: Ignoring 'Your Other Child'?

NBA star Tristan Thompson celebrated the first birthday of son Tatum Thompson with a touching tribute, but he was quickly slammed by fans who questioned why he didn’t share a similar message for his other son Theo Thompson.

“Tatum!! Happy birthday my son! You are a reminder of what life represents to me,” Tristan, 32, gushed via Instagram on Friday, July 28. “You have taught me every loss comes a lesson and you are my gift. You are my reminder of all of God’s messages. You are the reason that I began my story. The mistakes along the way are lessons not failures. There is no expiration date to reinventing yourself. Tatum your sweet soul reminds me of God’s grace. You are a future king my son and I am so blessed to be your DaDa!”

Tristan shared his tribute along with two photos of him and Tatum, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Khloé Kardashian. However, many fans took to the comments section to ask the Los Angeles Laker why he hadn’t shared a similar birthday tribute to his other son, Theo, when he turned 1 year old in December 2022.

“Lol. Is your other kid you had at the same time gonna receive this public display of appreciation guy? 😂,” one fan wrote. A second follower commented, “Dude are you really not gonna acknowledge your other baby??? Talking about gods grace and, and life lessons?? How can someone that cringe even exist oh my my my this is just hard to watch.”

A third user added, “How about your other future king? Didn’t make the cut? 🤦🏻‍♀️”

Tristan shares Theo, 19 months, with fitness influencer Maralee Nichols. Maralee, 33, filed a paternity lawsuit against Tristan in 2021. In the court documents, she revealed that she and the basketball player had conceived a child in March of that year while Tristan was still in a relationship with Khloé, 39. Maralee gave birth to Theo in December 2021. The following month, Tristan broke his silence on the paternity and cheating scandal.

“Today, paternity test results revealed that I fathered a child with Maralee Nichols. I take full responsibility for my actions. Now that paternity has been established, I look forward to amicably raising our son,” he wrote in January 2022. His statement also included a public apology to Khloé, whom he had been dating off-and-on at the time since 2016.

“Khloé, you don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you,” he wrote. “You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions certainly have not lined up with the way I view you. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry.”

At the time that the bombshell broke, Khloé and Tristan were engaged and had been expecting baby No. 2 via surrogate. The former couple, who split shortly after the scandal in 2021, are also parents to 5-year-old daughter True Thompson. They welcomed son Tatum in July 2022.