A PAIR of conjoined twins are calling out TikTokers who create “exploitative” videos regarding Abby and Brittany Hensel.
Carmen and Lupita Andrade have more than 3.3 million followers on the platform, sharing their lives and spreading awareness as conjoined twins.
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They are connected at the torso with each of them having two arms but sharing one leg each.
Sometimes the two will answer questions about their condition but have said many times that they don’t appreciate people prying into their personal lives.
Following the news of Abby Hensel’s marriage, the Andrade twins said that many people are tagging them in videos, particularly from another creator @JoySparkleShine, who has made several videos on the Hensels.
In her videos, Joy speaks about Abby and Brittany Hensel, who are also conjoined twins but have largely stayed out of the spotlight for over a decade.
Joy uses clips from Carmen and Lupita’s video to answer questions about the Hensels, however, Carmen and Lupita stitched a video saying that they’re talking about their own experiences.
“I don’t quite understand why you keep tagging up and using us like the reference, or the source,” said Carmen.
“Or the tea,” chimed in Lupita using air quotes.
“When we’re just referring to ourselves in those instances,” said Carmen.
She added that she and Lupita’s experiences might be completely different than Abby and Brittany’s.
“Although I am a conjoined twin, believe it or not, I have curiosities about how other people live their lives,” said Carmen.
“About how people with disabilities function in their day-to-day lives.”
Lupita added that however another person wants to express that is up to them.
“At least I’m not a weirdo about it,” said Carmen.
The twins clarified they were making the video to state that the references Joy uses in her videos from Carmen and Lupita are for them.
“We’re only speaking about ourselves. Nobody else,” said Carmen.
“With all due respect, all the videos that you’ve tagged us in and we’ve watched so far feel very disingenuous of being or trying to feel informative or educational.
“They mostly just feel cheap and a bit exploitative.”
HAPPY DAY
Abby Hensel confirmed that she got married in a private ceremony in 2021.
She and her sister Brittany appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996 but have stayed out of the public eye.
Public records obtained by Today revealed that Abby married US Army Veteran Josh Bowling in 2021.
Photos from the nuptials were shared on social media, including the twins wearing a white wedding dress as Abby smiles at the camera.
What Are Conjoined Twins?
Conjoined twins are twins that are born with their bodies physically connected.
Such twins develop after an early embryo only partially separates to create two individual fetuses and this is usually diagnosed early in pregnancy with a prenatal ultrasound.
This happens once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The majority of these are female and most are still born.
The majority of conjoined twins are connected at the chest and abdomen, but others can be connected at the head, hips, pelvis, legs, or genitalia.
Conjoined twins often share one or more of the internal organs and this impacts survival rates and the success of separation surgery.
Twins with separate sets of organs are more likely to survive than those who share.
Abby is also a stepmother to Bowlings’s child from a previous relationship.
While the Hensels have been private about their romantic relationships, their mother Patty has said previously that her daughters want to have children of their own.
“That is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them,” she said in the 2003 documentary, Joined For Life, which centered around Abby and Brittany when they were 16.
We’re only speaking about ourselves. Nobody else
Carmen Andrade
“Yeah, we’re going to be moms,” Brittany said at the time.
“We haven’t thought about how being moms is going to work yet.
“But we’re just 16 — we don’t need to think about that right now.”
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