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

[madge]

Interesting how all of the blogs are becoming more insightful as time wears on -- Z, included, they're not just getting caught up in the he said/she said battle between J & K. I love how he gave some kudos to his commenters -- it really read more like a conversation directly with them. But then again, he's one of those bloggers who replies to the comments.

And we already knew that Kate's lawyer had contacted him in the past week ie. the update on last week's blog, but interesting to know that TLC has also contacted him -- I wonder what they talked about...I hope somebody asks him...

I've been reading Z for months. He's one of the few that actually takes the time to research what's going on. IMO, he understands that the back story is the story where J&K are concerned. I don't think he's deterred by the contact from TLC and Kate's lawyer's, either.

 

[newtodis]

From the Dionne quintuplets in the 1930s to balloon boy Falcon Heene, children have been paraded in front of audiences for years.

But the public spectacle caused last week when Falcon Heene's parents led authorities to believe the 6-year-old was adrift in a homemade balloon in the skies over Colorado -- a stunt the local sheriff now alleges was a hoax designed to further the reality television careers of his parents -- has led child experts to question the seemingly prevalent practice of forcing children to live in the spotlight.

Attorney Gloria Allred told "Good Morning America" today that children don't often have the voice to speak up and go against the parents they want to please.

"Why can't the child have a normal childhood without having to perform all the time?" asked Allred, who specializes in women's and children's issues.

But Arkansas pageant mother Mickie Wood said 4-year-old Eden's appearance on the TLC reality show "Toddlers and Tiaras" has led to roles in movies and on television.

She bristled when Allred suggested that her daughter did not have a normal childhood.

"I assure you she has a wonderful childhood," Wood said. "She has classes, she takes gymnastics, she has friends, she goes to school."

Allred pointed to Eden's media appearances where she's seen putting on lipstick, which she called the "pornification of little girls."

"You really need to think about the long-term cost to your little girl," Allred cautioned Wood, "not just the short-term opportunity."

While Wood admitted that she lives vicariously through her daughter to some degree, she said Eden is in control of her own career and can bow out of the business anytime she wants.

"Anyone who knows Eden -- when she's through with something, she's through with something," she said. "I do understand the risk. But I assure you that my child is involved with everything."

But the Los Angeles attorney said those kinds of decisions are not something that can or should be left up to Eden.

"These are the formative years," she said. "The idea that a little 4-year-old can consent or not consent is unrealistic. Obviously, a little girl wants to please her mommy."

The stress placed on Falcon Heene was obvious the day after the balloon incident, when he threw up during separate interviews on "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" show.

While authorities initially believed the Heenes' claims that the balloon launched by accident and that they truly believed Falcon may have been tucked inside, they now are accusing the Heenes of wasting precious law enforcement and government resources to search for a boy the family allegedly hid in the attic.

While Richard Heene's lawyer David Lane told "Good Morning America" Monday that he expected charges either later Monday or today, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office is now saying it could be next week before Heene and his wife, Mayumi Heene, are charged.

Reality television has always favored young stars, but the age of stars has seemingly sunk to the single digits on some reality TV shows.

Shows like "Jon and Kate Plus 8," "18 Kids and Counting," "Kid Nation" and "Baby Borrower," all of which place children at the center of the action, may be hurting kids on both sides of the screen, critics say.

"The child stars who are not on reality TV, they understand that what they're doing is a story, it's fantasy," said Nadine Kaslow, a clinical psychologist and Emory University professor. "For these reality kids, this is about their lives -- they're not just characters. It's about them."

Are parents who allow their children to be filmed for reality television guilty of exploitation? Or are they just part of a long entertainment tradition, stretching from "The Donna Reed Show" to Jackie Coogan to "Kids Say the Darndest Things."

"I can't think of any other time in media history that we've seen this kind of exploitation," Jeffrey McCall, professor of communications at DePauw University, told ABC News. "I'm afraid it might get worse before it gets better."

"I think it goes beyond Art Linkletter innocently talking to a couple of kids," he said. "The circumstances are much more concocted when you have producers going after kids on reality shows. ... When you've got these kids being videotaped from every angle, you know the kids aren't acting like they would otherwise.

"There are so many machinations going on behind the scenes that it's a joke to call it 'reality.'"

Kaslow said the collision of reality TV and real life could be painful for child performers.

"What we can say in general is that reality TV shows certainly have the imagination of the public," Kaslow said. "For these children, they're confusing. They're not able to be themselves. Their lives are being interrupted. This poor kid [Falcon Heene] at school -- what are they going to say to him? Are they going to call him 'Balloon Boy'? How is he going to handle the social pressure? He may feel guilty, he may feel embarrassed."

'Wow, Richard Is Using His Children as Pawns'
Robert Thomas, a student who was helping Heene develop a pitch for a new reality show that he described as "MythBusters-meets-mad scientist," said Heene used his children as "pawns." He talked about his first reaction to seeing the Heene family on national television.

"I said, 'Wow, Richard is using his children as pawns to facilitate a global media hoax that's going to give him enough publicity to temporarily attract A-list celebrity status and hopefully attract a network,'" Thomas wrote on the Web site Gawker.com.

The Heene family already had participated twice in the ABC reality program "Wife Swap" in which mothers from two sharply contrasting families temporarily switch broods.

Now the Heene parents are suspected of having coached their three sons -- Bradford, Ryo and Falcon -- to make false statements to police and the media.

That kind of coaching would violate bedrock rules of raising kids, Kaslow said.

"I thinks that it's really important to teach children about integrity and honesty, and one of the concerns I have when they're used in this kind of fashion is that we are not modeling that for them," she said. "And those are of course values that are really essential for healthy development.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/balloon-boy-falcon-heene-price-fame/Story?id=8868701&page=1

I thought it was kind of odd that they didn't mention reality shows like J&K+8 during this - especially since it seems like GMA has carried so many of the J&K stories recently...

 

[LoraJ]

Wasn't Jon spotted in Florida in April? I have a funny feeling Kate and the girls taped this episode in April. If this was August, they would of melted in the hot Florida sun. You can barely go outside and do any kind of activity during the day in August. I think TLC and Kate lied again, but I guess whatever.





No idea what nobu is.

They were spotted in Florida not too long after she took the boys to that dude ranch. There was that report of them at the Cheesecake Factory where she brushed off fans bothering them while eating.

 

[newtodis]

The Gosselins’ former nanny Stephanie Santaro says the kids love doing the show and she thinks Jon Gosselin is lying when he says the kids don’t want to do Jon & Kate Plus 8 anymore.

Santaro is the nanny who did double duty as Jon’s lover. She told RadarOnline in an exclusive video interview:

I personally have been there when they taped. They have a ball with it and they love it.
Stephanie Santaro says the children are never forced to film if they don’t feel like it and that Jon wants to control things:

I do think he is on a monstrous power trip right now. All he does want out of everything is control. He wants to be in control of everything in his life, including Kate.
Santaro has been spilling her guts all week to RadarOnline. At least Nadya Suleman, Octomom, still thinks Jon is hot! Maybe Jon should ask Nadya out?

http://mygloss.com/buzz/2009/10/20/...jon-gosselin-is-lying-about-kids-hating-show/

 

[OhMari]

he was there in March -- a DISer saw him at a local bakery with a crew. He presented an award at a dinner or something like that?

this was in August:
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/08/exclusive-kate-gosselin-snubs-fans

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/entertainment/television/087509_kate_Gosselin_snaps

She was in Florida with only the little girls.




it's a Japanese restaurant (I had to Google, LOLOL)
http://www.noburestaurants.com/newyork/index.html#44

Thanks Madge.
I was in Florida in August, and it was brutal. I was really surprised how hot it was out in the ocean too. The wind only made it bearable.

I've been reading Z for months. He's one of the few that actually takes the time to research what's going on. IMO, he understands that the back story is the story where J&K are concerned. I don't think he's deterred by the contact from TLC and Kate's lawyer's, either.

Makes you wonder if TLC or the lawyer is trying the "slander" angle?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

i thought the whole thing about kate wanting to go to nobu for sushi was interesting-a couple of weeks ago on joy behr's new show they were discussing weather kate wanted to continue to do the show in order to support the kids or if something else was driving it. sandra bernhardt made a comment about how it could be beneficial for supporting the kids but then she added a short snarky comment about how kate might also be concerned about losing her 'nobu'. joy asked what she was talking about and sandra said something about kate demanding and getting nobu from shows/interviewers. joy asked if she knew this as a fact to which sandra replied that she had it from several very reliable sources that one of kate's standard demands was being provided nobu.


this weekend i caught a re-run of joy's show (i think it might have been from last friday) and again they talked about the j&k, only this time it was more about jon refusing to let the kids be filmed. joy asked the panel about weather they thought it was out of vindictiveness towards kate/tlc or genuine concern, and what did they think about tlc saying the show was now on hiatus. danny bonaducci scared1: i know but he's done a reality show so it was interesting to hear his comments) said he totaly thought it was out of vindictiveness AND THEN ADDED that when he was doing 'breaking bonaducci', and was royal p.o.'d at his wife he did the same thing (and apparantly used something to limit/exclude his being filmed at the same time as his wife). he said that the production company for that show started putting stuff out about how they were tweeking the final episodes 'out of courtesy' for the family and what they were going through-and talked to him/his now ex about doing a hiatus to give them time to work through their issues and try to repair the marriage but it did'nt happen because as he put it "i will have been dead 5 years before anyone will get me on camera with that woman again".

so it seems like there might be some kind of standard language written into these contracts about one parent being able to pull the plug on the kids and potentialy limiting their own exposure. i'm guessing if there is, then the production company that did 'breaking bonaducci' knew they had a guy who was not stupid about his contractual rights so they did'nt push the issue knowing they could continue to market their product absent the kids, whereas tlc seems to be well aware that any kind of kate project absent the kids is'nt going to generate the kind of money they've previously made and have tried to use public embarrassment and strong arm tactics with jon (because let's be real folks-if there was any way in hell jon did'nt have legal standing to keep those kids from being filmed tlc would just continue on it's merry way and let jon force them to stop).

Interesting--it seems then that Jon "could" have pulled the plug sooner, no?

 

[talulabelle]

I've been reading Z for months. He's one of the few that actually takes the time to research what's going on. IMO, he understands that the back story is the story where J&K are concerned. I don't think he's deterred by the contact from TLC and Kate's lawyer's, either.

Has anyone invited him to read our little thread? He could get ALL his research done here. He would be VERY interested to reach ALL the way back to the first post of the first thread and read through and see how we all slowly came to realize th truth about these two.

1. Started out everyone gushing about how cute the kids were and how we liked the show.

2. Sprinkles of Kate Haters appeared as we thought that putting children on TV for money was exploitation and that she was riding her kids coat tails with no real talent of her own....we were also seeing how she was nasty to Jon and didn't really do anything but boss others (Jon, volunteers, family, and paid people) to do everything. Kate lovers defended her feircely.

3. THE AUNT JODIE GUM GATE THING HAPPENED - We realized how greedy Kate was and that is when truth started coming out and Kate Haters multiplied and basically we started to watch this family go to heck in a handbasket.

4. They started spending money like it was water all the while rumors they weren't "together" for real were swirling. They started sitting further apart on the couch, and Kate got nastier to Jon as he actually grew a pair, and told her to shut up once in a while -last nights rerun episode was a prime example fo this) (we now know he was running around at this point)Kate haters (including myself applauded Jon and didn't realize just how stupid he was yet)

5. We quickly realized that out from under the control of Kate- Jon is a bloated idiot and that he is as dumb as a rock (of course, he would have to be, why would a smart man marry this controling woman?) Sprinkles of Kate defenders (maybe 1 or 2) are holding on for dear life and saying "no wonder Kate has to be horrible, look who she was married to"

6. Now we are just watching the wiggling remains on the sidewalk from the explosion of what was once this family with our jaws dropping in disbelief that these 2 are still going on (writhing in bits screaming for attention) and that Kate wants desperately to keep this happening to her kids on national TV and the internet so that she can get her Nobu sushi for free.

So there ya go Z - please give me credit if you decide to quote me

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

I hardly think that the author of that article, writing for Vanity Fair, would get away with telling flat out lies and fabrications of what Kate said. Just my honest opinion, but this article seems to ring true.

True, I don't have issues with the quotes that the writer reported on. They sound like Jon and Kate to me. My comment was strictly based on what you previously posted:

Well we finally know that Jon was telling the truth about Kate ending their marriage last Oct.

The Vanity Fair author was getting that info from a "friend" of Jon's, another "source" without a name. My point is we still don't know for a fact who ended the marriage. Most likely we never will, it will always be Jon's version, Kate's version and then the truth somewhere in between.

 

[TanyaLovesPooh]

Most likely we never will, it will always be Jon's version, Kate's version and then the truth somewhere in between.

I forgot to include TLC's version. Sorry Madge

You are so right on about that and I always forgot to include it.

 

[madge]

I forgot to include TLC's version. Sorry Madge

You are so right on about that and I always forgot to include it.

I think that the VF article is effective at reminding us that TLC is always involved with this family-- there were several quotes from or related to TLC.

 

[C.Ann]

whereas tlc seems to be well aware that any kind of kate project absent the kids is'nt going to generate the kind of money they've previously made and have tried to use public embarrassment and strong arm tactics with jon (because let's be real folks-if there was any way in hell jon did'nt have legal standing to keep those kids from being filmed tlc would just continue on it's merry way and let jon force them to stop).

Hmmmm..food for thought..

this week's Z on TV:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/zontv/2009/10/jon_kate_gosselin_tlc_kate_ans.html#more

An enitre hour of Kate "talking"?? Hope they have plenty of tissues available for her - as well as a large plate of cheese to go with her "whine"..

TLC is really grasping at straws to pull in the viewers.. LOL

 

[madge]

The ladies of The View weren't so kind today ... they all agree that children should not be on reality shows, under any circumstances.

And, Barbara Walters just said on The View (specifically of the Gosselins) that if you're gonna have alot of kids, find a better way to support your children.

OT: Elizabeth is back. Yuck. LOL

 

[madge]

Hmmmm..food for thought..



An enitre hour of Kate "talking"?? Hope they have plenty of tissues available for her - as well as a large plate of cheese to go with her "whine"..

TLC is really grasping at straws to pull in the viewers.. LOL

it goes against the TLC promo last week that tells the viewers there are only a few episodes left, watch them spend time with those most important to them ..or whatever the blah, blah, blah they said was. Kate talking for an hour doesn't really fit that description. Ratings will be high because TLC will promote the heck out of it. High ratings will give Kate/TLC a false sense of what sort of viewership she can pull in on her own... further indebting Kate to TLC.

Interesting that it comes right at the same time as the hearing,too.

 

[madge]

this article came out while I was at Disney --not sure if it was shared then or not ... about the homes:
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/100509_Gosselin_mortgage

 

[C.Ann]

And, Barbara Walters just said on The View (specifically of the Gosselins) that if you're gonna have alot of kids, find a better way to support your children.

"Ouch" for the Gosselin's - YAY for the kids!!!

 

[C.Ann]

this article came out while I was at Disney --not sure if it was shared then or not ... about the homes:
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/100509_Gosselin_mortgage

And what would most people here on the DIS say if someone posted, "I still have a mortgage on my old house, I've put it on the market but it hasn't sold yet, would I be foolish to go out and buy a 1.12 million dollar estate at this point in time?"

 

[talulabelle]

The ladies of The View weren't so kind today ... they all agree that children should not be on reality shows, under any circumstances.

And, Barbara Walters just said on The View (specifically of the Gosselins) that if you're gonna have alot of kids, find a better way to support your children.

OT: Elizabeth is back. Yuck. LOL

That is interesting....SO now the View ladies are saying it is wrong, but just a couple weeks ago they had her on as a guest host which basically gives the impression they were on her side and in agreement with her- don't ya think? and THEN...when Kate went on Today and left her kids with a babysitter in PA during her custody time...for NO OTHER reason than to belly ache about her PERSONAL problems and financial problems and the "purse full of bills (from her overextended lifestyle) "and her moaning about having to get a job at McDonalds...they had her call in on the phone and Barbara said in a siickening little sypathetic we-hate-men tone "Whats the matter? Did he steal all your money?" and Kate said "oh, I miss you guys!" like they were all best friends.

What happened?, did Babs actually do a little research and get a clue? Or are they just blatantly admitting that they used her for ratings without caring if they agreed with what was happening to the kids or not?

When shows have her as a guest they have to realize they are part of the problem , further fueling the fire and becoming part of the machine that is taking these kids down. The View paid Kate money even though they think she should "find a better way to support her kids"? Kate and Jon need to go away already, get some real jobs where they actually are paid for DOING something and take care of their kids and not their egos.

 

[WaltD4Me]

That is interesting....SO now the View ladies are saying it is wrong, but just a couple weeks ago they had her on as a guest host which basically gives the impression they were on her side and in agreement with her- don't ya think? and THEN...when Kate went on Today and left her kids with a babysitter in PA during her custody time...for NO OTHER reason than to belly ache about her PERSONAL problems and financial problems and the "purse full of bills (from her overextended lifestyle) "and her moaning about having to get a job at McDonalds...they had her call in on the phone and Barbara said in a siickening little sypathetic we-hate-men tone "Whats the matter? Did he steal all your money?" and Kate said "oh, I miss you guys!" like they were all best friends.

What happened?, did Babs actually do a little research and get a clue? Or are they just blatantly admitting that they used her for ratings without caring if they agreed with what was happening to the kids or not?

When shows have her as a guest they have to realize they are part of the problem , further fueling the fire and becoming part of the machine that is taking these kids down. Kate and Jon need to go away already, get some real jobs where they actually are paid for DOING something and take care of their kids and not their egos.

I have to admit bias here, because I cannot stand Barbara Walters, but I doubt her or anyone else on The View gave a hoot either way when Kate was on The View, she has HOT and they wanted her on for ratings right or wrong and I bet they would have had the kids on too if they could have. Their comments now are disingenuous at best.

 

[DMRick]

These are TV shows. Everyone is out for the ratings.

I have to admit bias here, because I cannot stand Barbara Walters, but I doubt her or anyone else on The View gave a hoot either way when Kate was on The View, she has HOT and they wanted her on for ratings right or wrong and I bet they would have had the kids on too if they could have. Their comments now are disingenuous at best.

 

[OhMari]

The ladies of The View weren't so kind today ... they all agree that children should not be on reality shows, under any circumstances.

And, Barbara Walters just said on The View (specifically of the Gosselins) that if you're gonna have alot of kids, find a better way to support your children.

OT: Elizabeth is back. Yuck. LOL

I was watching Entertainment Weekly last nite and Billy the host said something about Kate and Jon wanting to be on tv in some kind of way making a living to support their kids. His co-host, said, "be careful" we are on tv and making a living. Don't shoot the horse that is feeding you.

So for Barbara to comment that the Gosselins should find a different way to support their kids-it's a stupid comment to make, since she and the rest of the women on The View are on tv supporting themselves. The only difference is they are not exploiting their kids on tv.