Thursday, October 01, 2009

Jon & Kate Plus Real Jobs (we can only hope)


Yes, this is the return of the Jon & Kate thread (in which, ahem, I humbly called the demise of this entire family months before any public reports of marital trouble. I may not be Madame Cleo, but exercising common sense goes a long way. If you watched one episode of this thing, it was so predictable.)

I was trying to hold off on posting about these two because I'm as tired of them as the rest of you are, but it has simply come to the point where something must be said, yet again.

The latest updates are that the show's name was changed to 'Kate Plus 8' as TLC had been having trouble with Jon since these two split. It's gotta be hard promoting yourself as a family channel when you have a guy running around town drunk with ladies half his age, spending his CHILDREN'S earnings on a phat bachelor pad in NYC, and wearing those god-awful Ed Hardy shirts. Clearly, PopSpiracy could not let this charade go unnoticed! I am not, in any way, on Team Kate either, as you all well know. I think we should put them on a desert island and tell them it's a new reality show and forget to bring the cameras (and crew). Oops.

Within moments of the show's name being changed and Jon's obvious deletion, he is now taking legal action to stop the show, his lawyers sent TLC a cease-and-desist order which claimed police would be called out if anyone stepped onto the property.

According to Jon's lawyer, "Jon realized his family was like a train wreck, so he decided to put the brakes on the divorce and on the show..."

Let me get this straight. Jon Gosselin is just NOW realizing his family is a train wreck?!!
Ok, gimme back my Madame Cleo title, please. Either I'm a rocket scientist or Jon Gosselin is a tool. Or, in this case, maybe both. Kate is not halting the divorce, and dare I say it, I actually agree with her for once.

Jon's lawyer's continued statement:

"I am totally confident that [Jon] will be completely successful in his quest to take back control of his family and preserve, protect and ensure their future and well-being by putting the brakes on his divorce and pulling the plug on TLC, the media giant that he perceives as a monster that has exploited and manipulated his family and has been partially responsible for the breakdown of his marriage. Jon is resolved not to allow the TLC Corporate machine to devour his family and promote the monster's best interests over those of his family. TLC and Discovery have been reputed to have generated approximately $186 million dollars for the quarter – compliments of the Gosselin Family, and Jon firmly believes that their greed to continue that cash flow will be trumped by his courage and determination to protect his family."

First of all, I take it this lawyer hasn't seen one episode of the show or he would know Jon Gosselin was never once in control of his family and the notion that he could protect his children is highly implausible. He couldn't even stand up for himself once the entire time the show taped. If Jon and Kate were concerned with their children's wellbeing whatsoever, this show would have never taped a single episode.

Secondly, to hear Jon Gosselin whine (once again) about TLC exploiting and manipulating his family, contributing to his dissolving marriage, and describing TLC as a monster devouring his family is the best I've heard yet. (In case he needs to be reminded, the Gosselins are the ones who decided to drag their 8 children through this nightmare, no one else. It's not as if there aren't plenty of examples of reality television families torn apart or sextuplets thrown into a circus atmosphere and the long-term devastating effects of this many times over for them to have made a more informed decision.)

Now, I'm not absolving TLC of any blame here. While it has brought us entertaining shows like 'Police Women of Broward County' and 'LA Ink', it definitely had this one coming with all the constantly exploitative shows involving children. From Gosselins and Duggars to 'Toddlers & Tiaras', the whole thing couldn't be more designed to ensure a horrible fate for its young performers all the while masquerading as a wholesome family network. (Note to TLC: What's up with your programming in general? All these awful children reality shows and then rad shows about police women and tattoo shops? A sense of direction is in order here!)

In this statement, I must say I especially love the part where Jon's lawyer mentions the hundreds of millions of dollars the show has raked in for TLC 'compliments of the Gosselin family' as if this were all a wonderfully packaged gift the family never profited from in any way. Meanwhile, Jon is off buying a new car, an NYC apartment, and entertaining clearly desperate young women. (By the way, Jon doesn't work. And he mentions TLC being greedy!)

I think it's highly amusing that he decided to halt this show the second his name was dropped off the title. Egotastic! That said, I have been calling for the cancellation of this show for a year now. Jon's first logical (and correct) decision, made for all the wrong reasons. It's about time those poor kids get off the air and try to have a normal life, though growing up with Jon and Kate will guarantee that can never happen. I can't imagine what these kids have had to go through. Divorce is hard on any kid, and the actions parents make after the divorce have a large impact on how children will feel and cope. Jon's actions have not at all reflected any concern for his family, if what he's been doing the past few months is 'protection', we all have cause to be concerned. Everytime I think he can't possibly make himself look worse, he finds a way to outdo even my next-to-nil expectations.

I seriously hope the Gosselins can get their children into therapy and stop spending their money like it's going out of style. Those kids have been working since they've been in pampers and deserve a stab at normalcy like any other kids. Instead of focusing so much on this nightmarish couple, their children should be the first priority they deserve to be.

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