A Boston woman has ruffled some feathers after an unearthed clip showed her hailing a Haitian migrant who she welcomed into her home as ‘her own personal chef.’
Lisa Hillenbrand, 68, invited Wildande Joseph, her husband and their young daughter to live with her in her $1.05 million condo in Brookline in February 2024 after the family struggled to find a place to call home.
Before meeting Hillenbrand, the family slept on the floor at Boston Logan International Airport, and then in a children’s hospital after their then two-year-old daughter got very ill, Wildande previously told NBC 10 Boston.
At the time, the story itself got a lot of buzz as it aired when an explosion of violence was taking over the Caribbean country by dangerous criminal gangs led by former police officer Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chérizier.
Now, two years on, the news package showing Hillenbrand sharing the home with the family has gotten attention again, but this time in a different way.
In the resurfaced clip, Hillenbrand, a local author, said having the family in her home was a great benefit for her because of the mother’s cooking.
‘It’s a delight, and it’s really fun having them. What I realized is there’s so much prejudice against refugees mostly because people don’t know them,’ she told the outlet.
The video then panned to Wildande preparing a meal in the kitchen as the reporter said Hillenbrand ‘feels like she has her own personal chef.’
Lisa Hillenbrand, 68, welcomed a Haitian family into her Boston home in 2024. A clip of her life with them has since resurfaced online, causing an uproar on social media
Wildande Joseph, her husband and their young daughter moved into the author’s condo after struggling to find a place to call home. During their time there, the mother would often cook for the four of them
In recent days, the clip has gone viral on social media, leaving many users claiming Hillenbrand’s praise for having a chef in the home mimics her allegedly being proud of having her own personal ‘servant’ or ‘slave.’
‘It is so odd how anyone could do this and not see the historical parallels,’ an X user commented.
‘Proud slave owner…cool,’ another wrote as someone else accused Hillenbrand of having ‘toxic empathy’ for the migrant family.
‘Wow just wow,’ an Instagram user chimed in.
‘WTF…does she hear herself,’ another posted.
While many people criticized Hillenbrand, others supported her choice to welcome the young family under her roof, especially after Wildande said she dreamed of opening up her own restaurant one day.
‘At least she didn’t just virtue signal and actually took people in and if the woman chooses to freely cook everyday then I don’t see anything wrong with this scenario,’ one Instagram user said.
An X user posted: ‘Wildonde loves cooking!!!’
Another shared: ‘Why does everything have to be seen through a racial prism? If the lady was an Irish migrant with the same arrangement, no one would bat an eye.’
Two years later, Hillenbrand has been accused of allegedly being proud of having a ‘slave’ or ‘servant’ in her home who cooks for her
Others supported the homeowner’s choice to welcome the young family under her roof, especially after Wildande said she dreamed of opening up her own restaurant one day
‘If all agree, I don’t see a reason to get upset about it,’ someone else stated.
It is unclear if Wildonde and her family still live with the homeowner in Boston.
The Daily Mail contacted Hillenbrand for comment.
Wildonde and her family were welcomed into Hillenbrand’s home when some 300,000 Haitians fled to the US to get away from the surge in violence in their home country.
At the time, former President Joe Biden granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian migrants, allowing them to legally reside and work in America.
TPS is still active and has granted citizenship to nearly 1.3 million people as of 2025.
The Trump administration attempted to terminate the program all together for countries like Venezuela and Haiti, but federal judges blocked those actions.
