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RSS FeedHave the Gosselin kids from "Jon & Kate Plus 8" been helped, or hurt, by the TLC show documenting their lives?
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| Helped | 19% | 21 votes | Total: 110 votes | |
| Hurt | 81% | 89 votes |
Helped
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Add to FavoritesIn 2007, The Learning Channel (TLC) decided to introduce America to a family created by science. The family was created by science. It was also created for profit as to financially benefit two adults we've come to know as Jon and Kate Gosselin. Jon and Kate Gosselin showed America how to love eight kids. But, they also showed them how to love fame, money and power a lot more!
Kate met Jon a few years ago. While pregnant, she was an overweight brunette sporting oversized tee-shirts and sweatpants. Jon worked hard in Corporate America. First, she gave birth to twins. And then, she gave birth to sextuplets. Thus began a massive marketing campaign.
The Gosselins were everywhere! Media outlets broadcasted the miracle births and audiences reached into their pockets. Soon after, the family had a large, furnished house, a brand new minivan, kid clothes and 15 minutes of fame. In addition, Kate was given a Hollywood makeover of plastic surgery, expensive clothes, French manicures, fancy haircuts, spa treatments and weekly tanning sessions.
Following the media blitz, husband and wife pitched their reality show idea to TLC. TLC launched it and "Jon and Kate Plue Eight" joined "Little People, Big World" as America's most watched family-friendly programs.
The children lived under a worldwide microscope. Being half-Korean, they were biracial. They acted as normal as any kids could. Their mannerisms showed little evidence of being rehearsed. Audiences laughed and cried with them. They celebrated their birthdays. They accompanied them on family outings such the one with Oprah Winfrey on her show. It was after that appearance, the public began to hear whispers.
Jon was caught in Los Angeles leaving an after-hours club. He was with a young brunette in her SUV. It wasn't Kate. And then, TMZ flashed photos of the same woman sunbathing on the Gosselin property. They filmed Jon leaving the woman's residence during early morning hours. InTouch, OK, Lifestyle and US Weekly confirmed reports of martial infidelity. These reports were made by the woman's brother, mother and best friend. Other reports came out of both Jon's and Kate's camps.
Kate wasn't immune to the cheating rumors. An ex-boyfriend came forward. He explained that at only 21 years-old, Kate got pregnant, used him for his money and repeatedly cheated throughout their relationship. TMZ also showed photos of the ever-present bodyguard of the Gosselins. Allegedly, Jon warned the bodyguard not to interfere in the marriage. It wasn't proven that Kate had an affair. However, Jon later bragged to People about his indiscretions.
He confessed to the affair with mystery woman, Deanna Tunnell. Afterwards, another young lady confessed to sleeping with him. And as of yesterday, he was engaged to a Jewish girl. His reasons were cheating stemmed from Kate "esmaculating and humiliating" him. Fans got to visualize his despair during the infamous "couch interviews". Kate patronized her husband. She spoke to him as a mother would talk to a child. Eventually, her overbearing behavior drove him from the marriage.
However, no negative stories came from the kids.
During Jon's sexescapades, Kate spent her mornings on a book tour. She meeted and greeted thousands of fans while promoting her book on motherhood. Allegedly, she charged each attendee $150 to sit with her. She received monies for personal appearances. She received free shopping from Costco stores and other retailers. She continued her weekly spa and tanning rituals. Her life evolved around making money rather than being a stay-at-home mother of eight children.
Earlier this year, the Gosselins received a $1 million, new home. Witnesses saw an outraged, Kate spank one of her daughters. Later in the day, she exploded on a police officer who came to investigate. People, OK and InTouch magazines displayed the photos of an enraged, media w* yelling at one of Pennsylvania's finest.
And still, there were no negative stories from the kids.
This controversy had a switching of roles. The parents acted as immature brats. Jon left to be with his younger mistress. Kate left to become the next, Mary Cleaver. The children maintained what childhood they had left. Not one humiliated themselves. They kept their dignity. Unfortunately, pop culture's microscope took away their innocence. Paparazzi even attempted to sneak the children's private moments. Thanks to TLC facility, the bodyguard and dedicated nannies, that maneuver was thwarted.
Last week, TLC personnel finally left the Gosselin mansion. They pulled their cameras and crews.
The kids were the last ones standing tall.
Learn more about this author, Marcus Brooks.
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Hurt
A lot has been written about the dangers of kids spending too much time in front of television sets. We've heard it all; it stifles creativity, causes overweight, etc. Less has been written about the deleterious effects on kids who spend their lives on the other side of the screen. The children who are exploited for entertainment value; what is the impact on them?
The eight Gosselin children, on The Learning Channel's "Jon & Kate Plus 8," now "Kate Plus 8," have lived most of the last few years of their lives in the glare of TV lights and cameras, and one has to wonder how that is affecting their mental and emotional development. With the recent antics of Jon Gosselin, dissected in detail by the media on an almost daily basis, the impact on the older siblings has to be devastating.
For all of these children, regardless of age, so much attention is probably unsettling. The world view they are developing out of this environment is warped and as they grow into puberty and adulthood, one can predict emotional crises. Look at what has happened to far too many of the child movie and TV stars of the past. Drugs, alcohol, petty crime; in general, an inability to relate to the world in front of the screen, and living in the fantasy world created by those who wrote and directed the scripts.
So, for each one of the Gosselin kids, TLC's program is creating in them a ticking time bomb that is apt to explode unexpectedly in the future in unpredictable behavior caused by their inability to adapt to the 'real' world. The world they know now will be the world that exists in their mind, and when it collides with the world inhabited by their many viewers, chaos.
For the older kids, there is the added trauma of having to read or hear about their father's infantile antics. Children in divorce are always traumatized. When the breakup of parents is carried out in such a public forum, one can only wonder what it does to the mind of a child who sees the adults whirling around him and has no clue what is happening.
TLC should carefully consider the impact such exposure is likely to have on these kids in the future, rather than the popularity of the show and all the money it is making them. Those who argue that the family is making a lot of money from this show should consider how much of that money will have to be spent later on therapy.
The best thing for all concerned would be to craft some kind of support package to ensure the children are taken care of, and pull the plug on the whole shebang.
Learn more about this author, Charles Ray.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
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