Strollerderby
Expose Puts Another Spin on Jon and Kate Plus 8
If you’re a fan of the Jon and Kate Plus 8, you might be shocked by the venom reserved by some parents for spewing at the Gosselins. Then again, if you read last weekends Philly Mag, you might be joining them.
In case you haven’t seen it, it’s the “normal” TLC show, the story of a couple who underwent fertility treatments because the mom (Kate) suffered from polycystic ovarian syndrome, which made getting pregnant the natural way impossible. The first time around, they came out with twins. The second, with sextuplets. Hence the “Plus 8″ in the title.
Since a 2005 one-hour special garnered massive attention, the entire family and all their doings has been on TLC week in and week out on a regular series, showing life with multiples can be hectic but relatively normal. Relatively.
Frankly, I don’t watch every week (I actually don’t watch much TV myself), but I’ve seen more than my share of episodes in the off hours. My daughter got us into it – I was cuddling in bed with her one evening, flipping channels while she half dozed in the crook of my arm, and she noticed little kids on the screen. She asked me to “go back, I wanna see the kids who are cold.” The Gosselins were out skiing – hence the cold. My occassional tune-ins since have been mostly out of curiousity – their younger kids aren’t much older than my daughter, and it’s fascinating to get a glimpse at how other kids her age act. Suffice it to say, I was never a Gosselin hater.
After reading the expose in Philly Mag, I’m still not as venomous as say Glamour’s Christine Coppa . . . or the legion of commentors on either her blog or the Philly Mag piece. BUT I’ve certainly got my eyes open.
Open to how much “God” really does play a role in the Gosselin household – even as they attempt to differentiate themselves from their TLC counterparts, the Duggars, with a limit on the Christian speak. Check out their Website. God this. God that. There’s nothing wrong with belief in God or even talking about God, but in all the episodes I’ve watched, I’ve never once seen Kate and Jon talk about religion. And apparently they make frequent visits to churches, where they allow the church to pass around the basket for a “free love offering.” They also charge the churches big money to come out – not just airfare but first class airfare plus a hefty speaking fee. That’s Christian?
I was also disturbed to see that the family put up a request list on the Web (akin to Nadya Suleman’s already defunct donation Website) before they got the guarantee of a paycheck from TLC. Remember, they had fertility treatments – they knew what they were in for.
Some things plain old did not shock me. The Gosselin house is ranked eighth out of one hundred forty-nine cable shows for product placement these days. Jon got free hair plugs. Kate got a free tummy tuck. They get free toys, free trips to baseball games, free trips to Hawaii. It’s all wrong, says Coppa and the parent commenters because it means the Gosselins are exploiting their kids. I tend to disagree. Most of us pay for these things (minus the plugs and tummy tuck), and the Gosselins get it for free. Jealous? Yeah – so are a lot of commentors it seems. Coppa too.
But as someone who has worked in journalism for the past decade, I know advertising is a necessary evil. The newspaper I work for wouldn’t be published without it! And I wouldn’t get a paycheck. The Gosselins “pay” by allowing cameras into their homes. The advertisers get a spot on a top-rated cable show. That’s advertising folks – that’s how it works. Rather than paying with funds, advertisers sometimes pay with product. And if they didn’t pony up the product, when the kids played with a (Mom- and Dad-purchased) Wii, you can bet that would get cut off the show by the folks at TLC. It doesn’t mean the kids wouldn’t get these things, and frankly, the big companies should HAVE TO pay somehow – either with product or money. Would it be better if TLC reaped all the benefits instead of the family?
I also confess to not being all that upset that the family charges for autographed pictures. They’re celebrities. Ever been to a meet and greet at a concert? Didn’t you pay for that? How about the autographed tees and pictures at one of the merchandise kiosks? You paid for that too, didn’t you? Although Coppa compares the Gosselins charging to her chance meeting with the OC’s Mischa Barton – who posed for a picture and didn’t charge, snapping your own pic with a celebrity is different from a signed celebrity photo. Those cost money to produce, and take time to actually sign. Personally, I wouldn’t buy one – but if people are willing to pony up $20 for pictures of the Gosselins, that’s their problem – not Jon and Kate’s.
There’s plenty more – some bad, some not-so-bad in the Philly Mag piece. It’s extensive and well-researched, so I’d recommend reading it all the way through.
When you’re done, come back and let us know – did it change your mind about the Gosselins?
Image: Discovery Store
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22 Comments
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI was sitting here and reading the comments and I cannot believe how hateful people are being. If you do not like the show then don’t watch it. I am a mother of 4 and my youngest 2 are twins. My daughter was born with many difficulties and beutifull. There is allot of work with childeren of any number and sometimes you cannot be perfect with your mate. I am not always nice and neither is my husband but we do love each other. I can’t imagine being in their shoes and having camera’s all the time in my house. Just if you do not like the show don’t watch it. They are doing what they have to and none of us live there to know everything going on in that home.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amWow, I just went back and read some of the comments from the other article. Sheesh… those chicks are mean! I couldn’t even finish the comments.
mchaos commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI took fertility drugs and had an IUI. My doctor would not have okayed the IUI if I had hyperstimulated ovaries as a result of the drugs. I had 4 good follicles, which was within the norm. However, I was extensively counseled about the dangers to mother and children in multiples. Given my desire to give my children the best start in life, and my desire to not leave my husband a widower I decided that if there would four I would reduce. If there were three, we would assess risk then decide. I got two, and the risks there are within acceptable range, even for doctors who want singleton births. I think if you are firmly against reducing you should take extra precaution that no more than two should result from medical intervention – for safety reasons if no other.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amOkay, the comments are pretty nasty. Thanks for pointing that out. But I was talking about the tone of the article itself. It portrayed her as pretty darn nice and normal. Now this post is still pretty nice, but she’s portrayed much differently.
I’m just amused. It’s not like she’s changed in three months.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amPeople who approve of one family and not the other are hypocrites too, in my opinion.
Uh, you do understand that 2:8 is a vastly different ratio than 1:14, right?
But no, there’s no explanation other than hate for single mothers…
JeanneSager commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amLaura: Read the comments on the piece you linked to. She wasn’t exactly being praised by our readers then either!
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI find this whole discussion hilarious because of this December article from BABBLE!
http://www.babble.com/Kate-Gosselin-The-mother-of-eight-says-parenthood-has-made-her-more-laid-back-Really-Jon-and-Kate-Plus-Eight-saving-money-changing-family-dynamic/She’s awesome three months ago, and now she’s evil incarnate? The mood swings on this site gives me whiplash.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI am curious where Trace got that information. I saw Associated Press on it but with the horrible spelling and grammar I can’t imagine it was all from AP.
The biggest problem I have with the extra blog information is that it repeats that Kate wanted mulitples. What does that prove? I wanted twins since I was 10. I wanted to have twins with every pregnancy, especially the last one. I never did get them. If I had been blessed with muliples, with or without help, would that somehow make me bad? Narcissitic? I don’t think so.
That extra blog was loaded with inaccuracies and lots of assumptions.
Just to be fair, Jon and Kate plus 8 did not air until the babies were at least one. So, alot of the help they had came long before a t.v. show. Kate was a nurse and worked full time. Jon still has a job as of the last time I saw the show. I am not an avid watcher of any reality t.v. shows (except Biggest Loser) so that could have changed.
If we learn nothing else from this, don’t let a camera crew follow you around your house or some old biddies online will tear your family down, quick and shamelessly.
AmyinMotown commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amA few quibbles: One, polycystic ovarian syndrome does not make it impossible to get pregnant in the “normal” way. How doI know this? A diagnosis of PCOS 15 years ago and two kids, conecieved the old-fashioned way, although it took awhile both times and we did do fertility treatment, which didn;t work.
Also, the first commenter said that they had been told only three eggs would fertilize, “which is standard.” ???? With any fertility treatment, the ovaries are stimulated using drugs, and produce follicles, aka potentially ready-to-be-ovulated eggs. You can have as many eggs fertilize as you have follicles. Most doctors will cancel you unless you have agreed to selectively reduce, or at least make sure you are VERY aware of the risks. Which is why I spare no sympathy for the Gosselins or Octomom; they knew EXACTLY what they were doing.
Also? if my church took my collection money and used it to fly Jesus himself first class for an appearance I would be livid, let alone some c-list reality television star. But of course, Catholics tend to prefer to give our money to those in actual need–when we’re not praying to statues and taking our orders directly from the Pope, of course.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amSam- I have to disagree with some of your comments. Yes, IUI is an elective procedure, but like others have said, multiples are extremely rare. IUI means Intrauterine Insemination. All it refers to is a procedure where sperm is injected directly into the uterus (instead of sperm having to swim through the vagina and cervix to get to the uterus). I wonder what part of this procedure you disagree with?
For people without access to fresh sperm (single women, women in same-sex relationships, infertile men) IUI is often the only way to get pregnant. Because thawed frozen sperm doesn’t live as long as fresh (24-36 hours compared with 3-5 days), getting pregnant with thawed sperm is very difficult if that sperm has to swim through the vagina, cervix, and uterus to get to the egg that is waiting in the fallopian tube.
I understand that people get frustrated with folks who have higher-order multiples and make lots of money because of it. However, the VAST majority of people who use these reproductive technologies are every day people who are hoping for one healthy baby and need some help getting there. Since the Suleman case went public I have read a lot of fertility-treatment-bashing and it’s beginning to get old…
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amTrace: Your husband is lucky that you must agree with him about everything and treat him like a king. Maybe you should be considered a saint.
They are normal. They don’t always agree. She doesn’t throw things. She just has a more sarcastic style.
Alice: Kate has said in interviews that not all of their family is supportive of their decision to do the show and choose to not take part in the family lives until the cameras are gone. Maybe seperate parties?
Just like anything else, if you don’t like it, don’t watch it.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amOK, I couldn’t wait, here’s the blog:
Some interesting little things about Jon and Kate: Kates mother, was quoted as saying that “Kate always wanted twins” so she was gonna have her multiples, no matter what.
Kate found a Dr that gave her fertility drugs, she HYPEROVULATED, and had the twins. Most conscientious Drs whose patients present as HYPEROVULATIVE will refuse to help get a second pregnancy for fear of a high risk pregnancy…
Kate didnt wanna hear this and she switched Drs and got her Drugs and her high risk pregnancy.
She did this on purpose.
It wasnt an accident she was unprepared for.
She did this with a man (Jon) who was unemployed, chronically so, and then expected the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pay for them…
People in their former hometown of Reading, Pa, volunteered, took classes, added an addition onto their house, donated tons of supplies and clothes etc
It wasnt enough for her…
She was nasty to all of the volunteers and MOST have a beef with the Gosselins after being treated so bad by them.
They had to move away and switch churches, cause of the bad taste they left in good ppls mouths.
Then they beg for more on every show and on their website.They claim that the kids do not have College Funds, but if you call up
the Treasury Dept of Pa, they have an open TAP fund for them.
The Gosselins have stopped working and now the kids are their source of income. So they pimp the kids out for THEIR profit…EXPLOITATION OF KIDS IS DISGUSTING!!
So youd think that by them not working that theyd be home taking care of those kids…NOT!
1 to 2 times a week they go on their PAID speaking tours, mostly in churches or womens groups.
In these “Speeches” they tell everyone that the Gosselins EXPECT “LOVE OFFERINGS” …Meaning CASH Donations…
They also sell autographed pics and postcards for $20.00 each…
CASH!
No WONDER Kates always EXHAUSTED!
But shes NOT exhausted from taking care of her own kids…Shes exhauted from being SUPERSTAR KATE on stage giving speeches…
After all it is alllll about Kate!
Why doesnt Jon get a job, Kate go back to work, turn off the
cameras, and live like regular people? Pay for their own children that
they made on purpose and stop begging for handouts. And stop abusing
those kids…and…What the show wont tell you, is that Jon and Kate get EVERYTHING FREE.
Free House
Free Clothing
Free Trips
Free IKEA Furniture
Free Food
Free Nannies (5 in all)
Free House Cleaning
Free Laundry Services (3 people do ALLL their laundry, fold it and put it away)
Free Recreation
Free Piano
and
Free Hair Transplants and Tummy Tuck.
Kate wanted allll those kids. Her mother says she always wanted multiples!So now she has em and all she has to do is cook them free organic food
and play with them, everything else is all done for her. So tell me why
she should be sooo exhausted, bitchy and beating up her hubby and
abusing her kids?Kate is a narcissist.Let’s not forget the free organic cook she has…
Mother of sextuplets wants nurse to stayShe says her family needs continued Medicaid help to care for the six infants and her young twins.
Associated Press
WYOMISSING – A Berks County woman with year-old sextuplets and
4-year-old twins will appeal for continued nursing help from Medicaid
beyond a one-year cutoff.Kate Gosselin, whose husband has a 90-minute commute to a state job in
Harrisburg, said she could not safely manage eight small children.The sextuplets – only the second set born in Pennsylvania and among
fewer than 30 sets born worldwide – arrived eight weeks premature but
are thriving as they near their first birthday tomorrow.“I will shout from the highest mountain that these are my children and I love them and I need help,” Kate Gosselin said.
While the Gosselins appreciate the volunteers who streamed through
their home in the early months, the children’s routines improved with
the arrival of Angie Krall, a licensed practical nurse who spends 30
hours a week with the family. Medicaid provides the temporary nursing
support for premature babies, Gosselin said.“She’s fine-tuned, and I trust her,” Kate Gosselin said of the nurse. “She’s as good as a parent in this home.”
The family cannot afford to pay Krall on its own, she said. Jonathan
Gosselin, an information-technology specialist who now works in the
Governor’s Office, was unemployed for much of last year.Kate Gosselin said she felt society had a responsibility to help
with the children, since modern medicine promotes the use of fertility
drugs, which can lead to multiple births.She has talked by telephone with Bobbi McCaughey, the Carlisle, Iowa,
woman who delivered the world’s only set of surviving septuplets, in
November 1997. McCaughey named the loss of privacy and the oversight of
volunteers as among her biggest difficulties, Kate Gosselin said.On the bright side, the Gosselin babies seem to have skirted the health
problems that can plague premature babies and multiples. Each now
weighs between 18 and 22 pounds.Yes Kate wanted multiples. She used her knowledge as a labor and
delivery nurse to con the first doctor into believing she had problems
and thus got the durs for the twins. The omg see what the the septuplet
family got(???) lets try again, maybe we can get all that too. Sure
enough no reduction here- bring it all on. Atleast if it fails they can
get us on state assistance and they are ethnic so we can use that ride
for college. Advertising pays for the show to stay on as well as free
stuff for the family. Why wouldn’t thye opt for free trips and such-
it helps the show go from boring “sit in the house watching the kids do
nothing” to actually somewhat interesting ideas.As for college
educations, trust me they are already taken care of. All they have to
do is milk the show out for another season and they will be set for
life. [editor's note: information removed due to privacy issues.]Keep
watching and complaining. The show keeps making money, they keep
getting paid and the complaining just keeps bringing in new viewers!!!Kate
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amJeanne this reminds me… I have a blog that talks about this, not sure if maybe it is th same source…. I’ll find it, one of my friends posted it, and it actually brings alot to the table…
Personally, Kate Gossellin or however you may spell it, appalls me… she is mean to her husband, and horrible at times to her kids. Now not for nothing, but CPS has investigated lesser situations than the abuse that Kate Gossellin puts on her family… I think it’s about time there was some justice to it all… I am not a fan of the show… haven’t been since I heard her speak to her husband the way she does….
with your permission jeanne, I’d like to copy and paste (add) that blog to this discussion….
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amAlthough I love the children and they seem to do a good job wiht the kids it has always bothered me that the children have little privacy. Children have so little as it is these days with our Big Brother schools and micromanaging parents. How would you like to be potty trained on TV? How about your husband? I was always bothered by the fact that the grandparents are never present at any birth day parties or celebrations. Even when they renewed their vows in Hawaii, no parents. It made me wonder about Kate and her relationship with her folks especially. I did admire her more when she worked part time though. As for the hair plugs and tymmy tuck those were given by individuals who wanted to help two busy parents with no money. I thought it was nice especially for Kate who had to wear a foundation garment all day to hold in her dog jowls, hanging skin folds. It was hard to keep clean she said and rubbed her raw when the skin moved. The hair plugs were just a bonus for her silly husband. I still love those adorable kids and they are still an isnpiration for moms who have just had it with their kids. If Kate can do it so can I.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI didn’t read the column. And I won’t. Why can we not find pleasant happy things to talk about instead of picking apart people’s lives? I sure as heck would not want an expose of my Christian home done for everyone to decide what is fact and what is a fish story.
It does sound as though people are jealous of their success. What is not to love about Jon and Kate? They are super normal and beautiful and seem very happy most of the time. I think Kate has made phenominal choices for herself and her family. She has found a way to stay home and raise her children in a very comfortable lifestyle. I am totally jealous!
As for if they discuss God enough or not enough. That is ridiculous. Being Christian does not mean that every sentence must reference the Creator. It is a lifestyle not a speech pattern.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amIt seems to me, if you are going for an elective procedure, which is what IUI is, then you should have the means to take care of the babies. Sponsoring out your children’s needs is not ok, neither is exploiting them. If you go through this procedure (which I really don’t agree with) you know you can have a large number of babies, knowing that, you should be prepared to handle this, or you don’t do it. Your family shouldn’t be used for product placement in order to get stuff. I don’t understand the whole church speaking thing, what makes this so Christan? What they did was science, not a miracle. “The first people they told were their church, because they wanted their prayers and emotional support.” Maybe this is true, but I think they wanted hand outs. Families don’t have to have to have a little of babies, it is not natural or even something 2 people can handle, they can adopt a child, like so many others do, and handle that cost much more reasonably. What is to stop other families from doing the same thing so they too can get sponsorship and freebies?
Beans Mom commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amIsn’t it is possible that God loves the Duggars and hates Suleman? Who are we to question his mysterious ways?
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amShannon – agreed 100%. the only difference is, Nadya Suleiman isn’t married.
It seems obvious to me that she was influenced by their success, and that of the Duggars. “Gee, they got rich and famous by having a huge litter of kids – maybe I should, too!”
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amIt is a surprise because it is rare for that many to fertilize OR split. I had IUI, and three eggs fertilized and implanted. (I lost one triplet at 10 weeks.) For three to implant was even rare. Twins are more likely, and even with IUI plus fertility drugs a singleton is the most common outcome.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI thought that if 3 eggs were fertilized there was a chance that the 3 could split? So how could they NOT know there was a potential for 6? How was it a suprise?
I agree with Shannon – they did a much better job getting someone else to pay for the kids. God or no God thrown into the mix.
Shannon LC Cate commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI’m not at all shocked by the God stuff. I’m sure conservative evangelicals view them as pro-life poster children for not choosing selective reduction. I just think it’s astoundingly hypocritical to call this family Godly for being huge and Nadya Suleman’s family is somehow evil (because she’s single and less telegenic and who knows what). Jon and Kate found a way to get their multiples paid for by others, Suleman is trying to do the same.
People who approve of one family and not the other are hypocrites too, in my opinion.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amThey did not know what they were getting into. They had an IUI and were told by their doctor that at most 3 eggs could be fertilized, which is standard. They were just as shocked as anyone else to find out they were having 6. The first people they told were their church, because they wanted their prayers and emotional support.
They regularly show the family going to church, their walls are covered with pieces of paper covered in scripture verses. When they travel for speaking engagements at churches they are paid, just as any other person would be. The Duggars do the same thing. Just like any other Christian band or special speaker would be. When we have guest preachers in our churches we pay them or give them a love gift, it is only fair to show our appreciation for the time and energy it takes them to do so.
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