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Zendaya’s mother, Claire Stoermer, responded to Instagram trolls following a heartfelt birthday tribute to the actress.
Zendaya, known for her privacy, celebrated her 30th birthday on September 1. To mark the milestone, Stoermer posted a nostalgic photo of Zendaya as a child along with a touching birthday message on Instagram. The day after, the 62-year-old former educator addressed the negative comments she and her daughter received on social media.
Stoermer shared the childhood photo with the caption: “Happy 30th birthday to the love and light of my life!! Even though you’re not on socials anymore, and you won’t see this!! We just got off FaceTime!!”
However, after encountering harsh remarks on the post, she posted a screenshot of an Instagram feed showing “Zendaya & her mom over the years” and reflected on the impact of such negativity. “I totally get why people have to give up Instagram for their mental health,” she wrote.
“If I was to go and read all the comments on this post about myself, I could feel really bad. There are some terrible, horrible comments, I did read some of them.
And thank goodness I don’t take that stuff personally.”
She added a thoughtful message inspired by the “four agreements,” emphasizing the importance of not taking things personally, especially online. “Once upon a time I may have.
And if I was a young person, I know I definitely would have. It’s sad and frustrating.
It just reminds me of the four agreements. If you don’t know what they are, look it up-one of them is don’t take anything personally.
It has nothing to do with you!!!”
Zendaya herself recently shared a rare Instagram post reflecting on the end of her twenties: “I can’t thank y’all enough for making the last year of my twenties so beautiful. I have so much to be grateful for and so much to look forward to, with love as always… here’s to 30!!!!!”
This family exchange comes amid ongoing buzz around Zendaya and Tom Holland’s rumored secret wedding. The couple, who met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016 and got engaged in December 2024, have kept details of their relationship largely private. Zendaya’s longtime stylist, Law Roach, has dropped hints in interviews suggesting the pair may already be married.
While Stoermer hasn’t directly addressed the wedding rumors, she recently posted a clip from the 2026 Actor Awards red carpet where Roach teased, “The wedding has already happened. You missed it,” captioning the post simply, “The laugh…”
As Zendaya steps into a new decade of her life, her mother’s words serve as a reminder of the challenges public figures face online-and the importance of resilience and self-care in the digital age.