Mom sparks online debate for spending $16K on her daughter’s prom

High school junior Fela Burk’s over-the-top prom night has the internet buzzing after her mom, Marisela Torres, dropped a jaw-dropping $16,625 on the big event. 

The breakdown, which was revealed on the “Tamron Hall Show,” included details about her $1,300 floor-length gown, $4,900 Jimmy Choo heels, $175 hairdo, a $4,000 car hire, and a $3,900 send-off celebration. Her mother also spent $1,600 on a hotel for preparation and $750 on photography and filming services, per Black Enterprise.

The doting mother expressed a personal sentiment when asked about the high cost of the event, noting, “Prom is really big in Philadelphia, but I didn’t get to go to my prom, and I’m the only one out of four that didn’t. I know that was something my mom really, really wanted, so I just told myself that I wanted to give my daughters a big prom.”

Burk initially posted about the prom arrangements on her TikTok page with over 200,000 followers. Some of her critics expressed their thoughts regarding the amount spent and if it was worthwhile. “Black parents will spend $10k on a prom just for their kid to be taking out loans struggling to pay for college months later,” one commenter said. 

The teenager then addressed her followers’ remarks, informing them that her mother works hard to provide her with the life she lacked and that her posts are for those who want to see them, not to gloat. 

Although she claims it’s not required for her to talk about it, she also told viewers about the wonderful ways her family uses their money to give back to the community.

Burk told Hall on the show that she felt comfortable opening up to her followers and critics, explaining, “I know a lot of people were assuming we couldn’t afford it, so that was the big thing, too.”

Torres praised her daughter’s courteous answer, saying, ”Be positive, don’t come at anyone because we do know some people aren’t fortunate enough to have it, but just explain, we have it, we did it, and you can do the same.”

In the end, the mother-daughter team declared that the lavish event was worth the cost and that they would be happy to have the lavish celebration again.