Faith Evans Tells Parents Not to Let President Trump’s Tylenol-Autism Link ‘Get You in a Tizzy If It’s Not Proven’

Faith Evans has a message for parents raising kids with autism after President Donald Trump held a controversial press conference earlier this week where he linked autism to childhood vaccines and pregnant women taking pain medication with the active ingredient acetaminophen, like Tylenol.

TMZ ran into Evans in NYC recently, where she was asked her thoughts on Trump’s claims about autism because her 18-year-old son Ryder is autistic and the singer has been an outspoken advocate on his behalf.

“I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist, I’m not sure that Trump is either,” she said about the president’s claims. “I have to live it [and] walk the walk with my son every day, so until those things are proven, I don’t that it makes sense to get people up in arms, you know what I mean? Sometimes it can cause a little more fear or it can cause a little more doubt in people [by] just throwing misinformation. So, yeah, I don’t know. I can’t say one way or another.”

She was then asked if she had a specific message for parents like her, and she again reiterated to take Trump’s comments with a grain of salt until his claims are scientifically proven. “You mean regarding the Tylenol stuff? I don’t know what to say about that,” Evans said. “I would say: Don’t let it get you in a tizzy if it’s not proven, you know? We gotta live it every day, so just continue to fight the good fight for your kid or your adult that you’re caring for.”

Faith was also on the Tamron Hall Show recently, where she spoke about her experience raising her autistic son and to promote the inaugural gala for her nonprofit Ryder’s Room that happening this weekend in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey.

“I knew,” she said of her experience fighting to get a diagnosis from doctors before Ryder had turned 3 years old. “Having three children before he was born, I knew that he wasn’t meeting certain milestones — specifically language. And the doctor kept telling me to wait, every child is different, you know? And I’m like, I feel like he should be talking, he should be saying a couple of words by now. So I finally just begged enough so that he gave me a written diagnosis.”

She then added that after getting the diagnosis, she was confused as to what to do next, but other parents helped her along the way and she wants to pay it forward with Ryder’s Room.

“It can still kinda be a little bit confusing if you really don’t know what specifically is wrong with your child,” she admitted. “Every child is different, you know? It is a spectrum. So, yeah, I think it was more fear but with the help of other parents — thank God — who helped me early on, who became my first advocates … and then I wanted to do the same thing as I’ve grown and still learning and still navigating this walk but I’ve learned so much, and I just wanted to share that with other parents who just don’t know where to turn.”

The Ryder’s Room Inaugural Gala will be held Saturday (Sept. 27) at The Newark Museum of Art.

Tickets for the event are sold out, but you can make a donation to Ryder’s Room here.