What Will the Gosselins Do With Their Free Time Now that ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’ Has Suspended Filming?

The New York Post reported this week that, in the wake of Jon Gosselin’s demand that his kids no longer be featured in a TLC reality show (the one that made the Gosselin's a household name), it's entirely likely that we've seen the last original episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8. "This is the last episode for which we have completed filming," a TLC spokeswoman told the Post. "We remain suspended."

The Post reporter read between the lines and offered this: "It's believed that, behind the scenes, neither the network nor Kate are pushing Jon to rescind his ban on filming the kids."

That leaves the separating/divorcing Gosselins with some extra times on their hands. What should they do with that time?

While one of Jon’s girlfriends, 22-year-old Hailey Glassman, has told The Insider that Jon already spends a good bit of his time having “mantrums” (man tantrums), taking his temper out on her and lying (“Sometimes he has trouble with the truth and he will dance and dance around his lies,” Glassman said), it’s being rumored that Jon will go out on a date with the Octomom as part of a reality show. (And if they brought all their kids along on the date, they'd have the equivalent of the population of Rhode Island in tow.)

Meanwhile, Kate has told the media that she doesn’t think anyone would want to marry into her situation and is contemplating returning to her nursing career. (Wonder how her bedside manner would compare to Edie Falco's Nurse Jackie?)

In case Jon and Kate are looking for something to help them to fill their days, which were once spent in front of TLC cameras and promoting the show and their "happy" family, I've got some suggestions for them:

Jon could try to improve his reputation as a devoted father of eight young children by writing a book about how challenging it is to be a divorced father while in the glare of media spotlight (at the same time he's courting said spotlight . . . but he doesn't need to mention that.). When he’s done, he can have his publicist arrange to hold his book launch party poolside at a Las Vegas hotel next to svelte bikinied women, seeing as though “hosting” a party at a similar locale earlier this year did so much to boost his loving daddy image.

Or Jon could take a page from the father of Sarah Palin's grandson and give a tell-all, scathing interview about his soon-to-be ex-wife to Vanity Fair, pose for photos while holding a photo of Kate’s head on a stick with the eyes cut out (as Levi Johnston did with a photo of Palin),  then offer to pose naked for Playgirl, continue to give interviews where you taunt the person who you now loathe (in Jon’s case it would be Kate who he’s already trashed on ABC by saying he “despises” her) and say that you’ve got “huge” stories about that person that you've yet to reveal, as Johnston did on CBS' Early Show this week.

Given that Kate has told the media that she feels comfortable in front of the camera, maybe she could consider becoming a third co-host of the 47th hour of the Today Show, accompanying Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. Kate and Kathie Lee can take turns rolling their eyes, cracking wise and making exaggerated arm motions as they discuss the news of the day.

Do you have any suggestions as to the next career moves for Jon and Kate?

Image credit: TLC via the Examiner.

Kate Shows Her Sense of Humor on 'Leno,' Jon Not So Much

THIS is the way the Gosselins should go. Forget the whining on ABC News about how you "despise" your estranged spouse. Forget about complaining to the Today Show about the status of the joint bank account. Forget endorsing milkshakes or cupcakes or Twinkies or whatever the heck Jon was shilling the other day.

Go on a CHARM offensive. The Gosselins have heard of charm, right?

Kate's appearance in the video spoof on The Jay Leno Show -- of "paparazzi" hounding her, and her treating them like children -- is exactly the kind of thing Jon and Kate need to start doing to distract from the whole mess o'ugly they've been dishing out to the national media. This video makes her look like she at least gets how the public sees her and indicates that she's got some kind of a sense of humor.



If Jon appeared in a similar kind of spoof, maybe I'd warm back up to him too (though he's committed so much self-inflicted damage to his image that he's got his work cut out for him, rebuild-wise). Instead of doing some comedy, Jon agreed to be interviewed by Nancy Grace. Bad move dude. Seriously. She smoked you.



Do you think Kate's appearance in a Leno spoof was a good idea or a bad one? Should both Gosselins do more of this or just keep a low profile for the time being?

Trashy Celeb Dirt: The Dueling Gosselins, Jon Makes TLC Show Stop Filming

Production on Jon & Kate Plus 8 -- which TLC had announced would be renamed Kate Plus 8 -- has ground to a halt because Jon Gosselin is steamed. And his estranged wife Kate wants the show to go on. Here's what various news outlets have to say about the power struggle going on between the dueling Gosselins:

TV Guide reported on Jon's lawyer's statement:

"Jon Gosselin sees TLC as a 'monster' that has greedily cashed in on his family and even partially caused the breakdown of his marriage with Kate, his lawyer says.


. . . '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,' Jon Gosselin's lawyer, Mark Jay Heller, said Thursday in a statement.

. . . The attorney claims that TLC 'failed to designate the appropriate compensation to be allocated to the children' and 'it may ultimately be determined that TLC has not provided for compensation for the eight children over the past four years.' Heller also alleges the network 'never secured location permits' to film on the Gosselins' property."


The New York Times reported on TLC's reaction: "In a statement on Thursday, TLC said, 'We are aware of Jon Gosselin’s recent statements and remain deeply disappointed at his continued erratic behavior.'"

The Associated Press relayed Kate's response:

"I'm saddened and confused by Jon's public media statements. Jon has never expressed any concerns to me about our children being involved in the show and, in fact, is on the record as saying he believes the show benefits our children and was taping on Friday with the kids.

. . . I do the show for my family because I believe it provides us opportunities we wouldn't otherwise have. Jon used to share that belief until as recently as the day the network announced the name change of the show and indicated that Jon would have a lesser role in the show."


Bottom line: I think this is an attempt by Jon to dig himself out of the pathetically desperate PR debacle he created for himself with his highly public womanizing, frat boy behavior, hosting a Las Vegas pool party with bikinied babes and mouthing off to the media (including telling ABC News that he "despises" Kate). He's suddenly acting like he wants to "save" his family. Why else would he, during the same week, also say he wants to suspend the divorce and then tell In Touch Weekly (via Huffington Post) that, "'I regret my conduct since Kate and I separated [on June 22],' Jon tells In Touch exclusively. 'I used poor judgment in publicly socializing with other women so soon.'"
 
I'm sorry, but I'm not buyin' it. Are you?
 
Image credit: INFphoto.com via this web site.

Column in Which I Tell Jon Gosselin and Levi Johnston to "Man Up and Shut Up"

I went a little nutty this week in my Pop Culture & Politics column over on Mommy Track'd.

You see, I was more than a tad annoyed, by Levi Johnston, who dumped all over his kid's family in the October issue of Vanity Fair, and by Jon Gosselin, who has whined to ABC News' Primetime, telling the world that he "despises" the mother of his eight children and that he lost his 20s to childrearing. Cry me a river Jon. None of the pregnancies were accidents. I used to be sympathetic to you, dude. No more.



And as for Levi, the 19-year-old tattletale, what a portrait of class and chivalry, dumping all over his son's grandparents to a national magazine, dishing dirt about Sarah and Todd Palin's sex life and complaining about THEIR parenting, or lack thereof. Yeah you're gonna be a great specimen of parental excellence Levi.

Trashy Celeb Dirt: Kate Gosselin Speaks Out on 'Today'

Enough with the stories about which twentysomething is Jon Gosselin dating today. Now Kate Gosselin, his soon-to-be ex-wife, has taken hold of the PR nightmare that is their divorce and went on the Today Show to provide her side of the story. And the Today Show pulled out all the stops to try to get Kate to cry because crying makes for good TV.

When Meredith Vieria asked Kate why she was still wearing her wedding ring, Kate said, "For them," meaning her children, who she said she's trying to gradually ease into the new situation. Her eyes welled with tears that didn't quite fall down in a shower, though Meredith did pointedly, dramatically, hand her tissue. "I don't want to upset them."

"This is not what any mother sets out for for her children," Kate said of the divorce. "This does not feel like the best for my children, but it's necessary."

Vieria asked Kate about a post-break-up interview Jon had given in which he said Kate was the one who gave up on the marriage last year. To her credit, Kate replied, "Clearly, we both have completely different takes on what happened between us but I feel like the details of that, for the sake of my kids, need to remain private."

"Clearly, his goals are not my goals," she added.

However the heartless Vieria kept pressing -- trying to get Kate to full-on weep perhaps? -- asking Kate how she felt about the fact that Jon was dating the daughter of the plastic surgeon who did Kate's tummy tuck which was televised on Jon & Kate Plus 8. How the heck do you think she felt Meredith? "It's got to be hurtful," Meredith goaded. She then proceeded to ask Kate what she did to contribute to the downfall of the marriage saying, "Marriage is a two-way street. Divorce is a two-way street. What role do you think you played, if any, in what happened?"

I actually felt badly for Kate while watching this interview and got the distinct impression that she was being used to goose up Today's ratings, as the words "Exclusive" were plastered on the screen. This is one reason (among the many) why I stopped watching the Today Show. The interviews started to feel too exploitative.

But certainly Kate knew that this would happen before she set foot on the set. Her live interview had been promoted for days. So perhaps she was simply trying to eek out some sympathy, acquire more people to side with her on Team Kate, as opposed to with her immature husband. Meanwhile, their children are the ones who'll really suffer the most.

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Suburban Mom's Pop Culture Week: Weeds, Jon & Kate, Mrs. Washington, New York Times Mag on Julia Child

This past week has been sheer madness at my house. We celebrated my youngest son's birthday and then took a seven-plus round-trip car ride to New York to adopt a 3-month-old puppy who has yet to sleep through the night yet in his crate without howling all night long . . . kind of like my youngest son did. Until he was three.

Here's what I've been able to fit into my pop culture consumption in the past week+, that is when I'm not taking the puppy outside in an attempt to housetrain him and keep the six-pound ball of fluff from being dinner to larger animals in the neighborhood.

TV/DVDs:

-- In order to prepare for writing a column about Showtime's Weeds, I ODed on it, watching several seasons via Netflix and On Demand. After watching the evolution of Mary-Louise Parker's character Nancy Botwin, while I remain entertained and intrigued by the current season of the mom-pot dealer comedy, I liked Nancy's character a whole lot more in first season, before she got seriously dragged down into the muck and immorality of the drug trade.

-- Jon & Kate Plus 8 returned with two new episodes this week, only with a lot less of Jon and more of Kate-as-a-single mom. As I sympathize with Kate more each day as I read more about the heel that is her soon-to-be-ex-"Hey I'm still young!" spouse, Kate sure doesn't make it easy with her queen-like, dismissive attitude displayed in the show's first new installment since they announced that they were filing for divorce. In one scene where Jon and Kate were consulting with kitchen designers about renovating their kitchen (a room which I think looked awesome and didn't need massive changes, but what do I know?) she was wretched when she gestured toward a vase of flowers and dismissively told Jon, "Can you get rid of those? They're really distracting and ugly." Then, in a strategic feat of editing, the show's producers soon went to a cut where Kate -- who now sits in a white chair, not a love seat, for her one-on-one interview, Jon does his separately from a leather chair -- said, "I'm not as ridiculous as I used to be."

I also really did not like how the show's editors mocked Kate's attempts to camp outside in her backyard with the kids in two tents by getting her children to make fun of their mother and say she didn't know what she was doing in putting up the tent. It was disturbing to watch to say the least.

-- In a moment of weakness, I DVRed and watched the Hallmark Channel's original film, Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith, about a woman who quit college during her junior year in order to get married, worked to put her husband through dental school, raised their children to adulthood and was unceremoniously dumped by her husband for another, younger woman. In a life-altering decision, the character, Alice Washington, decided to go back to school and live in the dorms in order to complete her final year of college. She hoped to then become a high school English teacher.

Why would I watch a completely predictable but satisfying TV film -- akin to gorging on a salty bag of chips -- which had at least one totally fantasyland situation (there's no way a fifysomething woman would make the Smith College hoop team, at least that fiftysomething)? I watched it becuase it starred Cybill Shepherd, whom I've always liked -- especially for her sitcom Cybill -- and was surprised to find that her love interest/college English professor, was played by Jeffrey Nordling, who was in Once and Again and, more recently, 24. Sure, it was a chickflick in its purest form, but it was one with an upbeat, positive message, "This is the next big step in the rest of my life," Shepherd's character, Alice Washington said. The Hallmark Channel is re-airing the film numerous times.

-- I'm up-to-date on Entourage and have found myself getting increasingly irritated with the man-boy that is Vince.


-- In preparation for a Mad Men-themed column, I'm immersing myself in the Mad Men Season 2 on DVD, especially the special features.

Magazines/News:

-- This past weekend's New York Times Magazine was so chock full of articles that I haven't even finished reading it all yet. Among the pieces was a solid one on the dearth of female superheroes for little girls to embrace and a thought-provoking one about the contradiction between the fact that while the Food Network seems to be doing well and people are much more sophisticated about food in general, we're making fewer and fewer meals on our own, instead preferring to outsource meal prep to the grocery stores and restaurants. Julia Child's revolutionary 1960s PBS cooking show was featured prominently in the piece, given that the film Julie & Julia comes out this week. (I'm hoping to see that movie soon and write a column on.)

The lengthy Michael Pollan food article was a fascinating read. Here's a sample:

"It’s no accident that Julia Child appeared on public television — or educational television, as it used to be called. On a commercial network, a program that actually inspired viewers to get off the couch and spend an hour cooking a meal would be a commercial disaster, for it would mean they were turning off the television to do something else. The ads on the Food Network, at least in prime time, strongly suggest its viewers do no such thing: the food-related ads hardly ever hawk kitchen appliances or ingredients (unless you count A.1. steak sauce) but rather push the usual supermarket cart of edible foodlike substances, including Manwich sloppy joe in a can, Special K protein shakes and Ore-Ida frozen French fries, along with fast-casual eateries like Olive Garden and Red Lobster. "

-- Last week's issue of New York Magazine arrived at my house just yesterday -- thank you snail mail -- and I got the chance to enjoy Emily Nussbaum's ode to the chameleon-like Madonna who's now entering another phase of her life and of her public persona. While Nussbaum's favorite phase was the "Ideal Brunette Madonna . . . saving Black Jesus in that incredible slip," (mine was the "Express Yourself" Madonna), she wrote:

"Maybe it’s because I’m getting older along with her, but watching Madonna strut past 50—hips grinding in high heels, posing legs spread—brings out anxious, contradictory emotions. It’s become taboo to criticize stars for plastic surgery—both because it is their choice and because they have no choice—but each time I glimpse that grinning mask, I wonder why it’s impossible for Madonna, with all her power, her will to shock, to ever stop 'giving good face'? I try to persuade myself to admire her most New York qualities (ambition, workaholism); I tell myself she’s a dancer, and this is what dancers do. But I feel exhausted just witnessing the effort it must take to maintain this vision of eternal youth. This didactically selfless Madonna is less inspiring than the selfish one in so many ways."

The latest New York arrived today and I can't wait to dive into the Mad Men pieces, including an interview with Christina Hendricks, a defense of Pete "The Snake" Campbell and an abridged guide to the first two seasons. Not that I'm obsessed with Mad Men or anything.

What are your pop culture fixes of the week?

Image credit: Alexx Henry/Hallmark Channel via the New York Times.

Trashy Celeb Dirt: Jon . . . Plus Galpals, Jack Bauer is Free, Mouthin' Off May Make Izzie Sick Again & Arnett Channels Judy Blume

Jon . . . Plus Galpals

I tried to give Jon Gosselin the benefit of the doubt. Really I did. I tried to sympathize with him and his soon-to-be ex-wife Kate Gosselin and the terrible predicament they're in. I imagined that, years ago, the money dangled in front of them by the cable network to follow them and their eight children with cameras must've been a lot, must've offered their family with some financial security in an insecure world. I imagined that the Gosselins thought the TLC folks would be kind to them, treat them like family, not exploit them or any difficulties that might crop up in the future. (Jon and Kate likely never imagined when they started this thing that they'd be getting divorced.) Then I further tried to put myself in their places -- marriage falling apart while the world is watching and judging, the paparazzi in ruthless pursuit -- and that Kate realized that if she and Jon divorced, they'd still need an income to support all these kids.

Then Jon "I'm only 32 and I just want a life so I can screw around and act like I'm not the father of eight," started appearing in public with different, much younger women, including a woman who says she wants to work with him to launch a children's clothing line and who told People Magazine about the cool, fun things she and Jon do together. The New York Daily News has even taken to calling the new Gotham resident, the "octodad playboy."

Jon Gosselin, man, you're freakin' tryin' my patience. Is it too much to ask that you just be discreet for a little while? For a guy who didn't seem to like being in the spotlight, it doesn't appear as though you're doing much to turn off those klieg lights.

Jack Bauer is Free

Assault charges against Kiefer Sutherland for head-butting of a fashion designer in New York were dropped this week. Jack Bauer fans -- who feared the probationing Sutherland could do more jail time following the months he spent incarcerated after his DUI conviction -- breathed a sigh of relief. However fashion designers were left quaking in their boots, forewarned never to commit any wrongdoing in the presence of Jack Bauer.

Mouthin' Off May Make Izzie Sick Again

*Spoiler alert for Grey's Anatomy's new season*

Kathering Heigl will be back as Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, after a 12-hankie, manipulative season finale that left it unclear whether she and T.R. Knight's character George O'Malley had died. It appears as though Izzie did not die. And Heigl -- whose famous complaining about the lack of juicy, Emmy-worthy material for her character was believed to have led to her character developing a near-fatal case of skin cancer -- was on David Letterman this week complaining about her first day back on the Grey's set. "It was -- I'm going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them -- a 17-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean." She was snarky about the working conditions and joked that they're "very Oliver Twist." Apparently Heigl's angling for Izzie to be massively disfigured in a sudden, brutal car crash. No wait, that was Knight.



Arnett Channels Judy Blume

I don't know how Jimmy Fallon convinces celebs to do these things, but he got comedian Will Arnett -- hubby to the awesome Amy Poehler -- to read aloud a section of Judy Blume's classic, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (Reminded me of when he got Michael Emerson -- aka, Ben Linus -- to recite an ominous rendition of Little Boy Blue.)



Image credit: INF photo via ABC News.

Salon's Satirical Spoof of the 'Jon & Kate' Debacle

Saw this video on the Salon web site by Scott Bateman and laughed, in spite of myself. (Contrary to popular opinion, I feel badly for everyone in the Gosselin family about what's happened to the Gosselin marriage.)

However, this is great satire, particularly the line about the sextuplets possessing nuclear weapons.

Kate: 'The Show Must Go On' . . . Despite Divorcing Jon

There was a stark black screen with plain white lettering which said the following:

"On Monday, June 22, 2009, legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the ten-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin."

We knew it was coming. We knew they'd be calling it quits, but Jon and Kate kept it under wraps until the night the episode, "Houses & Big Changes" aired. They didn't even file their divorce papers until very late on the day on which the episode was slated to air in order to preserve the surprise and boost the ratings. But nonetheless, there was something deeply sad about watching the one-hour "special" episode of Jon & Kate Plus Eight where Jon and Kate confirmed that they were splitting up.

Here are a few observations:

-- It seems as though Jon is psyched to move on to a new phase of his life, noting that he's only 32 years old. Why else would he say, "I'm excited and hurt." Excited? Excited to have to live elsewhere and swap custody of eight kids? He said he was proud of himself for standing on his "own two feet" and not letting Kate "rule the roost" any longer.

-- Kate, by contrast, seemed deeply devastated. "Jon has a lot of anger toward me and I'd love to discuss it with him but he won't discuss it with me," she said, adding that she'd recently sobbed harder than she'd ever sobbed. Denying that this reality program and their careers associated with the show played any role in the disintegration of her marriage, Kate said that their "goals are different now."

-- "We've always done the show for the kids to be able to provide for them . . . The show must go on," Kate declared. Viewers will now get to see what it's like to be a single parent caring for eight kids. If we thought it seemed tough caring for eight kids when there were TWO parents at home, imagine how much more difficult it'll be for Jon on his own or Kate on her own, even with a babysitter. "I know there are many families out there going through this," Kate said.

-- Other assorted questions: Are the cameras going to follow Jon and Kate into divorce court? Are they going to follow them on dates? How will they handle the kids' reactions to seeing Jon move out?

What'd you think?

Image credit: TLC.

TLC Using Gosselins' Marital Turmoil for Ratings: Monday's 1-Hr Special

This just in . . . TLC will be giving Jon and Kate Gosselin -- the parents of sextuplets and a set of twins who all star in their own reality show, Jon & Kate Plus 8 -- a whole hour of primetime TV. For a Jon & Kate Special. And they'll make "an announcement."

As I've written before, I feel badly for the Gosselins, who clearly didn't bargain that their marriage would collapse in front of national TV cameras. They likely needed the money the show affords them (plus the new house, the ability to snare book deals, etc.) to pay for the care of eight kids under the age of 10. (I don't know the details of their contract with TLC and whether they have the ability to get out of this show if they wanted, given the turmoil in their home.)

But what I do know is that many media outlets, like TLC and Us Weekly (which put a Gosselin-related story on the cover for seven consecutive weeks) have been reaping the benefits while this family is falling to pieces. What will happen during Monday night's Jon & Kate special? One thing's for sure, TLC will likely pull in monster ratings while the Gosselins' hearts, and marriage, are breaking. (Link to TLC promo here.)

Is TLC Exploiting the Disintegrating Jon & Kate Marriage for Ratings?

A couple with eight children is going through an incredibly emotionally wrenching time . . . and this difficult period is being crassly exploited by a national network for ratings. I speak, of course, about Jon and Kate Gosselin, of Jon & Kate Plus 8, the parents of twins and sextuplets who star in a TLC reality show about their lives. For the past several months, the Gosselins have been besieged by paparazzi and have denied reports of marital infidelities and rumors that they're living separate lives as they teeter on the brink of divorce.

After I watched the season premiere of the fifth season of their show last night -- which garnered 9.8 million viewers, a series' high -- I felt like I needed to take a shower. I was heartsick thinking of what those eight kids will think when they grow up and realize that their parents' marriage fell apart in front of a national television audience, never mind if it gets ugly with regards to child custody issues. The premiere felt incredibly manipulative as it pushed the couple way beyond their comfort zones because, as we need to keep remembering, the TLC folks are not on the Gosselins' side. They're on the side of ratings.

I muse about the sadness that is now Jon & Kate Plus 8 in this week's Pop Culture & Politics column on Mommy Track'd.

Suburban Mom's Political Fix: Deconstructing/Piling On the Betrayed Wives

It is with a grave amount of sadness that I've been watching the media coverage of three high-profile women whose husbands have been accused of/have admitted to being unfaithful. While the stories, blog posts and analyses about the betrayed wives generally start out as sympathetic, inevitably things take a turn and the women are blamed, mocked, or worse.

My Pop Culture & Politics column this week examined the mainstream news media's coverage of women/mothers in the week leading up to Mother's Day. While I analyzed Time Magazine's list of 100 influential people (only 29 were women, a third of the women's write-ups mentioned that they are moms, as compared to 5 percent for the dads), I pointed out how folks have been laying into well known women whose husband have (or reportedly have) cheated on them. Last week, the media was largely focused on sympathizing and vilifying Elizabeth Edwards and Kate Gosselin in particular.

Edwards, wife of two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, is promoting her new book Resilience, in which she addresses many issues including her husband's infidelity with a woman who's rumored to have given birth to John Edwards' baby. And while folks feel badly that she's struggling with terminal cancer, that hasn't stopped people from slicing and dicing her recent decisions. To stay with him. To intentionally expose him and their three kids to further public scrutiny by writing her book.

In an interview with the Today Show this morning after listening to some harsh comments opinion writers had made about her, Edwards explained that she'd been asked to write a book about overcoming obstacles BEFORE she knew about her husband's dalliances. Not that that fact will matter to her critics.



Meanwhile Gosselin, who, with her husband Jon, stars in the TLC reality show, Jon & Kate Plus 8, has recently been subjected to humiliating reports that Jon has been stepping out on her. While she's out promoting her new book, Gosselin has faced questions about her husband's reported affair and she told Meredith Vieira on the Today Show that she's "hesitant to believe" that her husband strayed.

This deconstructing of the wives' motives and actions and whether they "made" their husbands stray, what good is it doing for anyone? The vitriol is being directed at the wrong people.