Jon and Kate, Divided by Two, Plus Eight? (A Rant)
Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 8:00AM I really do try very hard not to be a horrid, judgmental bitch. On the other hand, I think I've held out on this one long enough. Regardless of the tabloids, and what's true and what's probably not true, one fact remains very, very clear: two adults are getting a divorce and they are choosing to air it on TV.
So Jon and Kate are getting a divorce...surprise, surprise. I think I'd feel more sorry for them had they not a) willingly decided to have a litter of human beings (seriously, when the uteral count reaches over three, it's a LITTER. And yes, I made up the word, "uteral") b) willingly decided to document their entire lives on TV for money and c) willingly decided to go on record on TV about their divorce...again, for MONEY.
Look, divorce is an incredibly painful thing. There's a whole rift of hurt, bitterness, sadness and loss that goes into the ripping apart of a marital union. However, you lose your right to complain of exposure when you sign up for said exposure...when you accept free gifts and publicity at the expense of your brood...when you write a book and air your entire life on television without your children's consent, all because you crave the fame, that AS AN ADULT, you could very easily shun.
The problem is that eight--count 'em, eight--children are getting the old iron shaft in the ass from two incredibly selfish, bitter adults that should have checked in with their marriage LONG before popping out the Brady Bunch. BUT, there is still time...there is time for a mother and father to say "enough", to use their resources to move someplace boring, to hunker down in a hotel and ride out this storm for the safety of eight little chicklets that never asked to be on camera, who don't give a shit how much mom is bringing in with her book deal, who really, really don't care that daddy has a new girlfriend, and who honestly could do with what little normalcy is left to be had for a set of twins and a few tiny people who shared a space the size of a grapefruit with five other fetuses.
Grow up, Jon and Kate, please, before your kids do.
Aaaand, scene.
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Reader Comments (7)
I always assumed that they did the show because they needed the money to care for that many kids - which could be true, but you're right - they WILLINGLY decided to have a litter of children. Appalling, all around.
Um, yeah. I don't believe this "our kids are our first priority" crap. Because if they were, they'd be banking the millions they've already made, canceling the show, and trying to get through this with some dignity. And who knows? Maybe they could have even saved their marriage.
And this is exactly why I'm happy to not have cable. Or a tv.
I don't own a TV either, so I only heard of J&K+8 three weeks ago when my friends told me about the show. yeah, it must suck having those 2 for parents.
The kids are super cute though...
Wow- I agree and agree. And besides, we like hearing from people who are occasionally both judgmental and bitchy . Makes life interesting so fire away!
Oh, I'm glad you brought this up Red... I've stewed over this for a long time. I think Leah is right, when they first started the show they could hardly make ends meet so it was initially to help them financially, college funds and so forth. But their 15 minutes of fame went to their heads, big time. They make millions off the show now and they are pimping their kids childhoods to do so. They should both be deeply ashamed. But clearly they do not have the morals to say "enough" and do all this out of the public eye.
The cable channel (TLC, I think) should pull the plug (yes I know they controversy makes them all heaps of money) but the point has come where this is past just bad taste, its detrimental to the kids. That's the point where all this should be shut down and that point was reached a long time ago.
In regards to how many kids they had... in my view its way too many for most people to handle, however I am a mom and I have to say that if I had to use in vitro fertilization to have kids and somehow ended up with 6.. it would be hard for me to "get rid" of say 4 of them. God, how do you make that decision? (just for the record and I don't want to start a debate on this issue, but I fully support a woman's right to choose) but for me personally, that would be difficult. Really her doctor was totally wrong, and according to the "guidelines" regarding in vitro fertilization, to implant that many eggs, I think the guidelines call for 3 eggs if you are over 35.
So this entire thing from the procedure to the divorce has gone wrong since the beginning. I just so feel sorry for those kids and they will be in the tabloids forever because it will not surprise me when they are all in their 20's to be reading how the Gosselin children refuse to have anything to do with their parents (I hope that doesn't happen but I hate when parents pimp their children).
Sorry to go on so long.. but ugh! Have a good weekend.
Susan
Good stuff, guys. I definitely agree that they started out needing the money, but now it's estimated they pull in well over $50,000 PER EPISODE, not to mention freebies, book deals, appearances, etc. I'm sure if they did try to "disappear" for awhile, they'd still be stalked by the paparazzi, but if they go somewhere remote enough, the photogs wouldn't stick around for long. It's summer, the kids aren't in school, so they should just GO...though again, I'm sad to say it doesn't seem like that will happen.