Jon and Kate Plus 8, Official Thread--Part 7

[C.Ann]

surely this is NOT true ...
http://www.zacktaylor.ca/blog/2009/10/the-heene-family-is-heading-to-the-discovery-channel.html

If it is, they need to rename it the FSC because that's all they show anymore!

FSC = Freak Show Channel

Anything that will generate money for television (as well as families) is fair game.. It's all about the $$$$$$..

I couldn't even stand watching that family on the news clips - let alone their own show!

 

[C.Ann]

surely this is NOT true ...

Speaking of "true", Madge - someone is reporting on another thread that "Kate Plus 8" (minus Jon) is a definite - with the first show airing on November 2nd.. It was said to be reported on tv today..

Put on your "detective hat" and get to work!! LOL

Please, please report back that it's not true.. Pretty please???

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

Wow. TLC is something else. Sounds like J&K have signed their lives away to the devil, as well as their kids privacy. I've always thought they most likely owned J&K. Looks like that was true.

What a strange clause that if they signed on for season 4 then they had to do 3 more seasons after? I don't know how those TLC executives sleep at night. What a bunch of low-lifes. They are behaving as if they are parents, that's the vibe I'm getting. Shame on them for acting like Jon doesn't have the right to halt filming if he thinks it isn't healthy for the kids. So, according to them, Jon could only have stopped it if he had been unhappy with it before? Ridiculous. I'm disgusted with this network, truly disgusted. I sincerely hope the other reality TV families take a hard look at their contracts and think twice about working with a company like TLC.

What one sided treatment. Kate was allowed to do interviews, talk shows and LKL because it jived with TLC's agenda. Jon wasn't allowed to do squat. Then when he does, they want to sue him for it. I'm willing to bet my DH's paycheck () that TLC is footing the bill for Kate's enormous legal team too. Which means Jon is left fending for himself for legal representation. I really think there is so much more to this story, so much more. I believe TLC knew there was huge trouble between J&K awhile ago, why else would their production crew have left to go work for the Duggars? Then Kate tells Jon last Oct. their marriage is over and they should live seperate lives. How does that jive with TLC's family image of the Gosselins? It doesn't yet the show goes on and we all saw how painful season 4 was. TLC doesn't give a crap about the Gosselins. The fact that they want to continue a show with Kate and the kids proves it. They don't care about the Gosselin children. All they are concerned with is $, $, $. Shame on them. The petition they filed against Jon has shown they care only about strengthening their own bottom line. So what if a family is shambles and the kids are caught in the middle. The show must go on!

My view is a bit different, surprised?

TLC is a business, bottom line and Jon did not fulfill his end of the bargain. They have every right to take him to court. And the David and Goliath image that Mark Heller is trying to put out there doesn't work since J & K had representation when they signed. The first contract I can believe that they didn't know what they were doing but not the most recent one. He should have taken legal avenues to end this but it only became an issue for Jon when he couldn't pursue other interests such as the Divorced Dads Club.

I think the difference for TLC was that Jon has been a loose cannon for so long now. Reports of a different woman weekly, partying, smoking, affairs with 20 somethings that use drugs and the photographic evidence of such is all over everywhere. Now we have "claims" of Jon tampering with cell phones, computers, stealing money and smoking pot. Of course they don't want him giving interviews, look what happens every time he does...it just gets worse. I think TLC should have put a gag order on Kate as well though just because these are private matters and none of our business.

 

[walden]

Anything that will generate money for television (as well as families) is fair game.. It's all about the $$$$$$..

I couldn't even stand watching that family on the news clips - let alone their own show!

I'd hope that the Heene family is reviewing the contract with competent attorneys. (And, no, I don't think they are must-see-TV either!)

I also hope that the Duggars, the Roloffs, that Table of 12 family, and that other family of multiples are high-tailing it off to their respective attorneys to re-examine whatever contract they have signed with TLC. TLC apparently plays hard-ball.

I do think that TLC may have over-reached themselves on this and the Kate & Eight show put on hold.

I think the judge in the divorce case *might* declare a moritorium on filming, a GAL, and other protections for the eight, but who knows.

The one ray of sunshine I see here is that perhaps some day, some how, the rights of children in entertainment might be protected. And, yes, "Reality TV" is entertainment.

So sad. The Gosselin debacle is rather like the Dionnes all over again.

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

Speaking of "true", Madge - someone is reporting on another thread that "Kate Plus 8" (minus Jon) is a definite - with the first show airing on November 2nd.. It was said to be reported on tv today..

Put on your "detective hat" and get to work!! LOL

Please, please report back that it's not true.. Pretty please???

Hey C.Ann, I am not Madge obviously but I found this just now:

"Kate Plus 8" was expected to debut November 2, but according to a complaint TLC filed Friday in Montgomery County, Maryland, Circuit Court, "Kate Plus 8" is "suspended indefinitely."

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/15/jon.kate.ending/

 

[C.Ann]

Hey C.Ann, I am not Madge obviously but I found this just now:

"Kate Plus 8" was expected to debut November 2, but according to a complaint TLC filed Friday in Montgomery County, Maryland, Circuit Court, "Kate Plus 8" is "suspended indefinitely."

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/15/jon.kate.ending/

Thanks! Sorry for those who feel otherwise, but that makes me EXTREMELY happy!!

However, if they just want a "Kate" show - without the kids being involved, I'm good with that.. I just won't watch it.. (Or a "Jon" show either..)

 

[KristiKelly]

surely this is NOT true ...
http://www.zacktaylor.ca/blog/2009/10/the-heene-family-is-heading-to-the-discovery-channel.html

If it is, they need to rename it the FSC because that's all they show anymore!

FSC = Freak Show Channel

If they sign the contract, I say within 18 mo. divorce papers will be drawn up.

 

[madge]

Speaking of "true", Madge - someone is reporting on another thread that "Kate Plus 8" (minus Jon) is a definite - with the first show airing on November 2nd.. It was said to be reported on tv today..

Put on your "detective hat" and get to work!! LOL

Please, please report back that it's not true.. Pretty please???

in the TLC complaint, it's listed as "suspended indefinitely" ... that's all I've got so far!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

My view is a bit different, surprised?

TLC is a business, bottom line and Jon did not fulfill his end of the bargain. They have every right to take him to court. And the David and Goliath image that Mark Heller is trying to put out there doesn't work since J & K had representation when they signed. The first contract I can believe that they didn't know what they were doing but not the most recent one. He should have taken legal avenues to end this but it only became an issue for Jon when he couldn't pursue other interests such as the Divorced Dads Club.

I think the difference for TLC was that Jon has been a loose cannon for so long now. Reports of a different woman weekly, partying, smoking, affairs with 20 somethings that use drugs and the photographic evidence of such is all over everywhere. Now we have "claims" of Jon tampering with cell phones, computers, stealing money and smoking pot. Of course they don't want him giving interviews, look what happens every time he does...it just gets worse. I think TLC should have put a gag order on Kate as well though just because these are private matters and none of our business.

Are our views diffferent? I certainly don't mind disagreeing with you, you're very pleasant!

I do realize TLC is a business. It's just disgusting to me that given all that's happened with the Gosselins, they are still gung-ho to do Kate+8 and drag Jon through the mud on the way. They want him to pay them the $ he made doing appearances, money that will be taken away from the family (the kids).

Boy, wouldn't we all love to get our hands on a copy of the J&K+8 contract.

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusiv...ngs-rise-tlc-puts-final-touches-last-episodes


Jon & Kate Ratings Rise As TLC Puts Final Touches On Last Episodes
It looks like Jon & Kate Plus 8 is going out with a ratings bang, not a whimper.

The show pulled in 2.5 million viewers for Monday's original episode, continuing a recent upward trend.

The week before 1.7 million viewers tuned in and prior to that 1.3 million people watched.

TLC is trying to squeeze out a few more episodes. RadarOnline.com broke the story Wednesday that the show will end in mid to late November.

Jon Gosselin is no longer letting the network film his children so TLC is using footage that has already been shot as they put they put together the final episodes.

RadarOnline.com has also exclusively learned that the network has done some extra filming only with Kate to help fill out those final episodes.

"They're trying to get as much as they can, in terms of number of episodes," a source told RadarOnline.com. "They're stretching it out."

The network had planned to change the name of the show to Kate Plus 8 but that's now on hold because they will not film the kids without Jon's permission.

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

Are our views diffferent? I certainly don't mind disagreeing with you, you're very pleasant!

I do realize TLC is a business. It's just disgusting to me that given all that's happened with the Gosselins, they are still gung-ho to do Kate+8 and drag Jon through the mud on the way. They want him to pay them the $ he made doing appearances, money that will be taken away from the family (the kids).

Boy, wouldn't we all love to get our hands on a copy of the J&K+8 contract.

I feel the same way, actually many of us on this thread can disagree pleasantly, which is refreshing. I think it boils down to all of us being Team Kids, regardless of which parent we sympathize with more.

I don't want Jon to be dragged through the mud either. But I blame Jon, Mark Heller and those that Jon chooses to spend his time with these days for the situation he is in, not TLC. He has gotten lousy advice from people that only seem to care about themselves.

 

[redrosesix]

So Jon's attorney responds. From US magazine: http://www.usmagazine.com/news

"The contract was against Public Policy because we believe Discovery and TLC violated Pennsylvania Child Labor Laws, failed to seek appropriate State and Municipal Permits, failed to pay the Gosselins fair consideration, and intentionally circumvented their responsibility to specifically designate legal and lawful compensation to the eight infant children, which is now the subject of an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and could result in summary Criminal Proceedings.

"The purported Contract was also grossly overreaching and restrictive attempting to abridge the most basic Constitutional Right that all American citizens have of Freedom of Speech. Discovery and TLC has treated Jon Gosselin like a dog by attempting to keep him on a leash and muzzle him and deny the father of eight the opportunity to earn a livelihood to support his family."

Yep. I'm not sure that I disagree (see my previous post). The TLC suit does seem to imply that the children were/are working.

I do hope the children will be OK. I have stopped caring about the parents.

So, I sent the petition to my brother (the lawyer) -- waiting to hear back, which is weird because he'll probably ask me what I think (I helped him study for the bar exam, for fun because I'm way better at constitutional law than he is)

Heller is using 2 different defenses here: in the first case, he's trying to nullify the contract (more about that later) and in the second he's trying to use the same defense that many whistle blowers have used (and they also signed confidentiality agreements). By making this a constitutional argument, he might get some back-up here because many lawyers love to argue constitutional law as a defense (and many judges love to rule on constitutional cases -- TLC probably knew this was coming, thus the reason for a jury trial)

Wow. TLC is something else. Sounds like J&K have signed their lives away to the devil, as well as their kids privacy. I've always thought they most likely owned J&K. Looks like that was true.

What a strange clause that if they signed on for season 4 then they had to do 3 more seasons after? I don't know how those TLC executives sleep at night. What a bunch of low-lifes. They are behaving as if they are parents, that's the vibe I'm getting. Shame on them for acting like Jon doesn't have the right to halt filming if he thinks it isn't healthy for the kids. So, according to them, Jon could only have stopped it if he had been unhappy with it before? Ridiculous. I'm disgusted with this network, truly disgusted. I sincerely hope the other reality TV families take a hard look at their contracts and think twice about working with a company like TLC.

What one sided treatment. Kate was allowed to do interviews, talk shows and LKL because it jived with TLC's agenda. Jon wasn't allowed to do squat. Then when he does, they want to sue him for it. I'm willing to bet my DH's paycheck () that TLC is footing the bill for Kate's enormous legal team too. Which means Jon is left fending for himself for legal representation. I really think there is so much more to this story, so much more. I believe TLC knew there was huge trouble between J&K awhile ago, why else would their production crew have left to go work for the Duggars? Then Kate tells Jon last Oct. their marriage is over and they should live seperate lives. How does that jive with TLC's family image of the Gosselins? It doesn't yet the show goes on and we all saw how painful season 4 was. TLC doesn't give a crap about the Gosselins. The fact that they want to continue a show with Kate and the kids proves it. They don't care about the Gosselin children. All they are concerned with is $, $, $. Shame on them. The petition they filed against Jon has shown they care only about strengthening their own bottom line. So what if a family is shambles and the kids are caught in the middle. The show must go on!

ITA with all of this.

My view is a bit different, surprised?

TLC is a business, bottom line and Jon did not fulfill his end of the bargain. They have every right to take him to court. And the David and Goliath image that Mark Heller is trying to put out there doesn't work since J & K had representation when they signed. The first contract I can believe that they didn't know what they were doing but not the most recent one. He should have taken legal avenues to end this but it only became an issue for Jon when he couldn't pursue other interests such as the Divorced Dads Club.

While that may be true, Heller is arguing that the original contract was not valid. For example, suppose I had a contract with you to purchase illegal drugs. It wouldn't matter how much legal representation each of us had, or how long we had conducted business together, if you suddenly decided you didn't want to supply them I would not be able to sue you for breach of contract, since the courts have already decided that a contract like that is not valid. And that is just a simple situation.

Contracts involving people are even more complex than contracts involving goods, since there are so many existing laws, precedents, and constitutional rights that override any details within a contract.

 

[daughtersrus]

And how on Earth do you find a "fair" jury at this point???? I don't know that you could find ANYONE who hasn't heard of J&K+8...

I don't think that you have to find a jury that has never heard of the defendant but people that say that they can be unbiased in their decision.

We're going through this now where I live. Drew Peterson (a former police officer accused of killing his 2nd wife) is saying that he can't get a fair trial locally. His lawyers are asking for it to be moved. So far, the judge isn't buying it and it's still scheduled for Will County. Drew and his attorney brought it upon themselves with his media blitz on shows include Today, Good Morning America, Larry King, Greta Van Susteren,Geraldo Riviera and appearing on the cover of People.

Sorry to go off on a tangent.

 

[WaltD4Me]

So Jon's attorney responds. From US magazine: http://www.usmagazine.com/news

"The contract was against Public Policy because we believe Discovery and TLC violated Pennsylvania Child Labor Laws, failed to seek appropriate State and Municipal Permits, failed to pay the Gosselins fair consideration, and intentionally circumvented their responsibility to specifically designate legal and lawful compensation to the eight infant children, which is now the subject of an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and could result in summary Criminal Proceedings.

"The purported Contract was also grossly overreaching and restrictive attempting to abridge the most basic Constitutional Right that all American citizens have of Freedom of Speech. Discovery and TLC has treated Jon Gosselin like a dog by attempting to keep him on a leash and muzzle him and deny the father of eight the opportunity to earn a livelihood to support his family."

Yep. I'm not sure that I disagree (see my previous post). The TLC suit does seem to imply that the children were/are working.

I do hope the children will be OK. I have stopped caring about the parents.

I'm sorry I don't agree. Contracts like this are written all the time. Does Jon have a problem with any of the nannies having to sign a confidentialty agreement to be able to work for them? And once again, the way to resolve a contract dispute is in court. Maybe the contract isn't fair, if that is how you feel, you go to court, you just don't say I'm not going to abide by it because now my feelings have changed. But then again, just taking it to court wouldn't make Jon or his attorney any money like being on ET does.

 

[walden]

So, I sent the petition to my brother (the lawyer) -- waiting to hear back, which is weird because he'll probably ask me what I think (I helped him study for the bar exam, for fun because I'm way better at constitutional law than he is)

Heller is using 2 different defenses here: in the first case, he's trying to nullify the contract (more about that later) and in the second he's trying to use the same defense that many whistle blowers have used (and they also signed confidentiality agreements). By making this a constitutional argument, he might get some back-up here because many lawyers love to argue constitutional law as a defense (and many judges love to rule on constitutional cases -- TLC probably knew this was coming, thus the reason for a jury trial)



ITA with all of this.



While that may be true, Heller is arguing that the original contract was not valid. For example, suppose I had a contract with you to purchase illegal drugs. It wouldn't matter how much legal representation each of us had, or how long we had conducted business together, if you suddenly decided you didn't want to supply them I would not be able to sue you for breach of contract, since the courts have already decided that a contract like that is not valid. And that is just a simple situation.

Contracts involving people are even more complex than contracts involving goods, since there are so many existing laws, precedents, and constitutional rights that override any details within a contract.

That is so interesting! The two different defences, I mean. I look forward to what your brother has to say.

Dang, If it were not for the kids, I could approach this academically.

But my heart bleeds for the children right now.

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

While that may be true, Heller is arguing that the original contract was not valid.

Williams and Connolly, is the D.C. law firm that TLC has hired and from various articles I have read they are brutal and do not take frivolous lawsuits. I think Mr. Sleazy is out of his league.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The plaintiff nor the defendant need to be anonymous to the jury in order to get a fair trial.


If that were the case--then celebrities would never get a fair trial....and they do. As do extremely high profile cases.

 

[redrosesix]

I'd hope that the Heene family is reviewing the contract with competent attorneys. (And, no, I don't think they are must-see-TV either!)

I also hope that the Duggars, the Roloffs, that Table of 12 family, and that other family of multiples are high-tailing it off to their respective attorneys to re-examine whatever contract they have signed with TLC. TLC apparently plays hard-ball.

I do think that TLC may have over-reached themselves on this and the Kate & Eight show put on hold.

I think the judge in the divorce case *might* declare a moritorium on filming, a GAL, and other protections for the eight, but who knows.

The one ray of sunshine I see here is that perhaps some day, some how, the rights of children in entertainment might be protected. And, yes, "Reality TV" is entertainment.

So sad. The Gosselin debacle is rather like the Dionnes all over again.

Don't lose hope yet -- the big difference is that in the Dionne's case, the government was fighting against them. In this case, the kids may be protected by PA's Dept. of Labour and constitutional law.

The other thing is that all of those child advocacy groups have not had a test case to further their cause. Most precedents in law have been set using cases where the defendant wasn't even as likable as Jon Gosselin, so they may (just may) get behind him if he can show that he is doing this for his kids -- that may not be actually why he started this, but it really doesn't matter. Hopefully, the result will be for tighter controls on reality show contracts involving children, and this will help the Gosselin kids too.

 

[walden]

Williams and Connolly, is the D.C. law firm that TLC has hired and from various articles I have read they are brutal and do not take frivolous lawsuits. I think Mr. Sleazy is out of his league.

I think their rep is "scorched earth." Translation (IMO): utterly ruthless, could care less, and anything for a buck, frivolous or not.

The suit they filed seems more "spaghetti" to me. As in: chuck the spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks.

Whatever. I think this case will perhaps make law. It is clear that PA is still investigating and has not yet ruled on the violations of child labor law.

I am imagining (fantasizing) the Gosselin Law. For the Protection of Children of Reality TV against their idiotic, selfish and self-serving parents and various money grubbing Cable networks.

I don't know. The hypothetical Gosselin Law sounds pretty good to me right now, but it might come too late for the Gosselin children.

 

[madge]

Williams and Connolly, is the D.C. law firm that TLC has hired and from various articles I have read they are brutal and do not take frivolous lawsuits. I think Mr. Sleazy is out of his league.

thinking that's the law firm that represented Bill Clinton