I confess. I don't care about Jon. Or Kate. Or the eight. I know a lot of people get caught up in the lives of the highly fertile procreative, and I like sports talk, so I will definitely not disparage you if you're one of them. I'm no better than you. I know celebrity wise it's a big deal because in my periphery I've seen multiple articles on Kate's hairstyle. People obsess over hairstyles. Jennifer Anniston, Princess Di, etc. If Kate can be mentioned in the same breath as them, that's great news for Kate (if she wants to be famous) and great news for TLC as last Monday's ratings bore out with Jon & Kate Plus 8 averaging 9.8 million people will lead everything on cable for last week other than the NBA playoffs -- and it didn't trail those by much.
Multiple sites reported on the the potential issues of child labor laws for the show last week, and I ignored it mostly because I don't think there's really much point in being a "me too" blog for those types of memes. But today Radar Online is reporting that the show could be shut down altogether:
Jon and Kate Gosselin could be criminally prosecuted and their show faces being shut down as a result of an ongoing child labor law investigation by the state of Pennsylvania, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
Jon and Kate Gosselin could be criminally prosecuted and their show faces being shut down as a result of an ongoing child
Timothy M. Kolman, a Pennsylvania attorney specializing in labor and employment law for more than 20 years, told RadarOnline.com that last season's 41 episodes of Jon & Kate Plus 8 could be considered the equivalent of temporary employment for the Gosselin kids. "The (state) law forbids temporary employment. The state does not authorize temporary employment under any circumstances for children this young," Kolman told RadarOnline.com.
And if the state investigation categorizes the 41-episode as temporary employment, the Gosselins and the show face possible stiff penalties. (The Department of Labor will make the determination about temporary employment, says Kolman.)
I'm only hopping on board to say this: there is ZERO CHANCE this show is getting shut down. Chances that Timothy M. Kolman (and it won't surprise me if politicians in Pennsylvania crawl out of the woodwork) likes publicity? 100%! Chances that TLC smiles every time it sees stories like that? 100%!
America's fascination with Jon & Kate might abate, or they could simply get sick of the circus and bail out on further seasons. But the money involved with so many people preoccupied with them seems to make that unlikely for a while.
You know they have so many kids because they are not highly fertile, right?
I don’t see them being shut down but I bet they move to CA next season.
haha, I know that:
it’s Jon, not John and that apparently one or both cheated on the other. And that’s about all I know. They may have not NATURALLY been highly fertile, but with the assistance of technology they were certainly highly procreative!
I’m no labor law expert (nor am I licensed in Pennsylvania), but this IS a fairly contentious issue with reality shows. If memory serves, CBS tried to do a reality show starring little kids (Kid Nation was it?) and it produced quite a bit of controversy, and they were required to jump through a billion hoops in order to meet Texas’s child labor laws. This situation is a bit different, because of the fact that cameras are apparently present in the Gosselin’s home 24 hours a day. So the kids get no respite.
My prediction is that the PA authorities will allege violations of child labor laws. TLC will then put out a press release emphatically denying any wrongdoing. A few weeks later, TLC will agree to pay a fine and to make changes to the show’s production going forward to address PA’s concerns, and will issue another press release to that effect.
It’s okay. They’ve got it under control. Next season, the whole family’s moving to New Mexico.
Well I love the Duggar Family also on TLC in that show “18 Kids and Counting”. Now that couple is truly highly fertile! No fertility treatments for them.
Child labor laws for being followed around by cameras? Good luck making THAT stick. It’s not like they were the ones working the cameras, or in the editing room.
Wonder if the octo-mom is following this so her own newly minted attempt at reality TV is going to steer clear of such a potential controversy.
You know, maybe all of these multi-children shows should move over to NBC (Nothing But Children) network so they are all in one place
Bad Robert! Bad Robert! Many typos! You’re becoming as bad as Matt Yglesias!
“I’m know better than you.”
“I’m only hoping on board to say this…”
I’m not normally a grammar Nazi, but I don’t want you to become another Yglesias, whose posts are almost unreadable some days! LOL!
I actually caught those but couldn’t correct them at the time and was just about to.
I admit that was pretty sloppy (though I’ve seen far worse from myself), and I take 95% of the blame and pawn off the other 5% on Julia. But I think the real problem is there aren’t enough recent posts where RSH can bash Friedman for ruining TSCC!
Saw a hillarious idea on another website. Jon and Kate get divorced, Jon stars in the next season of The Bachelor, OctoMom moves in with Kate, become lesbians and move to Iowa or some place and get married – the shows name changes to KATE AND OCTOMOM PLUS 22 (I think thats the total number kids they have).
Seriously, I cant understand the fascination people have by watching these people and their spawn.
I’d be very surprised if this crap show was shut down. It would certainly be a small victory for television if it did though.