Lily Collins' husband Charlie McDowell shuts down surrogacy critics

Lily Collins' husband Charlie McDowell has broken his silence on surrogacy criticism.

Charlie and the Emily in Paris actress announced the arrival of their first child via surrogacy on Instagram.

Sharing a photo of their baby, Tove Jane McDowell, in a cot, the couple announced in a joint post, "Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again…"

However, the announcement was met with criticism on social media for using surrogates.

In response, Charlie took to the comments section of the post and addressed the "unkind messages about surrogacy and our path to having a baby."

The director wrote, "it’s ok to not be an expert on surrogacy. It’s ok to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It’s ok to not know the motivations of a surrogate regardless of what you assume."

"And it’s ok to spend less time spewing hateful words into the world, especially in regards to a beautiful baby girl who has brought a lot of love into people’s lives," Charlie continued.

In conclusion, he wrote, "That’s all for now because she just pooped and I need to change her diaper."

Despite the criticism, the announcement also received an outpouring of love and support from friends, including the Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev, Emily in Paris co-star Ashley Parks, and singer Jessie Ware.