JonGosselin-related stories
Posted Dec 29th 2009 8:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities
For those who were unaware, Jon Gosselin, of
Jon & Kate Plus 8 fame (or rather, infamy), had his New York City apartment ransacked during the holiday weekend. Evidence points to his new ex-girlfriend Hailey Glassman. Glassman is stating that
Gosselin did it himself for publicity.
The first question is: why would Jon Gosselin need publicity? This isn't the Balloon Boy family. He's got a fleet of paparazzi following him and he gets plenty of publicity whether he wants it or not. I feel kind of bad for Gosselin since he's starting to have a string of high-profile sour relationships.
This whole situation smells of bitter ex-girlfriend. If Gosselin needed additional publicity, all he would need to do is have sex with one of the Kardashians or perhaps one of the female cast members of
Jersey Shore and let the tape "accidentally" fall into the hands of the press.
Posted Dec 28th 2009 11:01AM by Hemal Jhaveri
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Celebrities
It's too easy to call
Jon and Kate Plus 8 a train wreck and leave it at that.
If ever there was a cautionary tale about the perils of easy fame, this is it. In the course of a year, we watched Jon and Kate
go from a benignly dysfunctional reality TV family to a textbook case of what happens to "normal" people under the glare of TV lights. The Gosselins seemed to lose themselves completely in the glare of the spotlight and jettisoned their values and morals for more camera time. Calling their story a "train wreck" doesn't even begin to surmise the dissolution of a family and the viewing public's fascination with its implosion.
Continue reading Top TV Stories of 2009: Jon & Kate
Posted Dec 21st 2009 8:02AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus because he knows exactly what every self-respecting television watcher wants for Christmas: a finalized Jon and Kate Gosselin divorce.
Despite claims from attorneys that the divorce wouldn't be final until next month, court records show that
the reality show couple's papers officially went through on Friday.
So want to know who got the house and who got the kids? Here's an update for ya: WHO CARES?!? The couple have no mind-grating show, no equally mind-grating presence on so-called news shows and now no quadruply mind-grating marriage to tempt the press with at every corner. It's finally over ... right?
Posted Dec 10th 2009 12:02PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Granted, I'm making a joke with the "Round 312" thing. It only feels like Round 312. However, the legal fight between Jon Gosselin and TLC, the network that made him famous, is going to a Maryland courtroom. TLC wants Gosselin to stop making media appearances and Gosselin argues that his job as a "media personality" is his sole source of income.
Yes, Jon Gosselin's career is now that of "media personality". While in the courtroom, I sincerely hope that the judge orders a psychological test on Mr. Gosselin to determine his fitness as a parent. Honestly, I don't even know who to side with in this divorce. Both of them seem like unfit parents these days.
For example, if Gosselin didn't want his children to be exploited on television, why star in a reality television show in the first place? Is "media personality" even a career? Can one put the title on a W2 form? Sound off in the comments.
Posted Nov 16th 2009 10:29AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd
Right now, I'm watching the Hayes family of
TLC's Table for 12 chat with Regis and Kelly. It's not the first time we've seen them lately; since the second season of their show premiered, they've been all over the talk landscape.
We're definitely seeing them a lot more than when the show's first season debuted; in fact, TLC seemed to premiere the story of the Hayeses, who have two sets of twins and a set of sextuplets, on the QT last March. The relatively soft launch was a bit of a mystery to me, given the network's love of multiples. I mean, these guys had Jon and Kate beat by a mile, right?
But now that I look back at it, there were two things keeping TLC from really pushing the Hayes family back then: 1) Betty and Eric Hayes actually liked each other (read: they're boringly happy) and 2) Jon and Kate were still a couple. Now that J&K have exploded into a
toxic tabloid mess, TLC needed
someone to promote, and the Hayes' relative happiness seemed to be the perfect antidote.
Continue reading TLC is really pushing the Hayes family as the anti-Jon and Kate
Posted Oct 16th 2009 9:37PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows
Who says that justice is a forgotten concept that only exists as a hope and no longer as an important facet of a fully functional society?
Jon Gosselin is about to have his day in court. Take that, evil!
TLC is suing for the former star of
Jon & Kate Plus 8 for breach of contract, accusing accused him of violating an exclusivity and moral clause in his contract. I was shocked. Reality shows have morals? Of course it makes sense that the only morals involved in reality shows would have to be enforced by a contract.
Posted Oct 7th 2009 9:13PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Video, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities
I'll admit it: I watch
Jon & Kate Plus Eight. In all of the episodes I've seen, I've never listened to
Jon Gosselin speak and thought, "You sir, have missed your vocational calling in the Rocket Sciences," but I also didn't think he was a complete
idiot. Recently, my view has changed.
Let's not even get into the wisdom of dating a 22-year-old, or partying on a yacht in France while your wife is back home in Pennsylvania caring for your eight children. The man simply does not know the meaning of the phrase, "quit while you're ahead." To wit:
his ridiculous defense on Larry King of his decision to halt production on
Jon & Kate as soon as it became
Kate Plus Eight, and his Ed Hardy-wearing ass got fired.
Gosselin also thought it would be wise to go on
The Insider and square off against caustic defender of "justice,"
Nancy Grace. In this appearance, he further defends his actions, and claims that all of the decisions he makes are for his kids. Spoiler alert: This does not go well for him.
Continue reading Proof the world is ending: I agree with Nancy Grace
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 6:16PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Celebrities
As
Jane wrote, last night Jon Gosselin was on Larry King Live with his side of the latest involving him and Kate. Here's my take: Jon Gosselin realized that the game was going on without him so he took his basketball and went home. Actually, that's a metaphor for what happened. In reality, TLC shut down filming
Kate Plus 8, the network's new incarnation for
Jon & Kate Plus 8 sans Daddy, when
Jon sent a cease-and-desist order to the network.
So now Jon has had the realization that maybe putting his eight children on a reality show wasn't such a positive experience. More likely he saw that he was being cut out of the fame game and figured he'd hold his breath until TLC let him back into the show.
Continue reading Another view of Jon Gosselin's latest move
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 8:30AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Video, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Talk Show
What a mess the whole
Jon & Kate Plus 8 Minus 1 debacle is. Apparently, after learning that TLC was
moving forward with a revamped show named Kate Plus 8, Jon demanded through his lawyers that the show cease production immediately or face criminal charges.
A letter from his attorney noted, "In the event that anyone enters the marital property, Jon Gosselin will notify the local authorities to effectuate police action against any trespassers." Keep in mind that Jon seemed fine with the kids being on the show last week, when he was still a big part of the show and was, in fact, filming an episode with the kids.
Continue reading Jon Gosselin does damage control on Larry King
Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:00PM by Brad Trechak
Things are getting a little heated for everyone's favorite dysfunctional family. No, not
The Simpsons. I'm referring to Jon Gosselin, the former patriarch of
Jon and Kate Plus Eight, who
declared on Good Morning America that he "despises" his ex-wife and former co-star, Kate. And here I thought "TLC" also meant "tender loving care".
People, do you remember all those "reality" programs that so many of you adore so much? They're all fake. This is the sort of reason I can't stand reality television. While there is no formal "script", the people on those shows are as much characters as those on
Battlestar Galactica, except the writing isn't as good.
As a note to anybody famous considering divorce: if you do decide to go through with it, practice some tact and don't make it the headline of every tabloid that points a microphone in your face. This entire situation is schadenfreude at its worst.
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 2:28PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd
Jon and Kate Gosselin have finally filed for
divorce papers, but shouldn't the two of them go through a few steps before getting there? I'm no doctor, but even I could see that getting upset at one moment and then having silence for several months is not a good basis for divorce.
Yes, there are a lot of outlying factors that TLC has not decided to show America. The portrayal of the couple in the whole fifth season shows that the two didn't communicate anymore, unless it's for the children. Shouldn't one fix the communication barrier before cutting the cord completely?
Continue reading Jon and Kate: Isn't divorce too harsh?
Posted Jun 19th 2009 2:08PM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Watercooler Talk
I've wasted many hours of my life watching
Jon & Kate plus Eight. We're given yet another promo about a
big announcement on the show. Since it's not until Monday, we get the weekend to make speculations.
With a reality show like
Jon and Kate plus Eight, one doesn't expect millions of plot twists like
Lost so I doubt that we're going to
flash forward five years or wake up and realize that it was
all a dream. Here is a list of sane and insane announcement ideas that Jon and Kate should announce.
Continue reading What should happen to Jon and Kate?
Posted May 21st 2009 2:00PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities
Even if you've never seen a single episode of the TLC mega-hit
Jon & Kate Plus 8, chances are you've been hearing a lot about it lately. Specifically, the rumors of
infidelities,
open marriage contracts, and staying together not for the kids, but
for the cameras. One should always take tabloid stories with a grain (or a pound) of salt, but when the issues make their way onto the actual show? Perhaps there is something to them.
TLC just released a
two-minute clip of the May 25 season premiere of Jon & Kate Plus 8 (video also after the jump), and, well, it's awkward, to say the least. One of the hallmarks of the show is that Jon and Kate always squeeze onto a love seat together to do their interviews. In the season premiere, however, each one is sitting alone on the couch. Gone is the playful banter; in its place is a woman who looks as though she's spending every ounce of her energy trying not to scream, and a man who just looks beaten down by life. It's not exactly the family-friendly entertainment viewers are used to.
Continue reading Preview of Jon & Kate Plus 8's new season: Two minutes of crippling sadness
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