Kate Gosselin haz a new job - blogging!

[BlueberryBird]

Wow. That letter is something. "not a good fit with the wonderful team," not so subtlety implying that Kate isn't so wonderful.

They didn't like her much there, did they?

How much could they have possibly been paying her to warrant her pseudo celeb status (she wouldn't have done it cheaply, I assume) and a support staff?

[Vex]

I don't understand the talk about contracts not counting if they're signed by kids under 18. For one thing, I believe it was Kate who signed on behalf of them, which she's allowed to do - when I was a child actor my parents would sign my contracts along with me. I remember we would sit down as a family and carefully read through all the stipulations and talk about them. I remember signing at least 3 contracts for separate projects - a movie where I had a fair-sized speaking character role, a nationwide TV ad campaign and a voiceover for a cartoon with Nickelodean at ages 10, 12 and 15 respectively. The Nick cartoon didn't require my parents' signature.

I also signed contracts with SAG, Actor's Equity and my agent. My contracts weren't the exploitative kind - they included stipulations about how I wouldn't be allowed to film without membership with Actor's Equity so I would have someone unrelated to me to protect my rights, to ensure I was paid fairly, to make sure I wasn't exposed to anything inappropriate and so I would have an onset tutor where applicable. I always had the feeling they were very much legally binding.

I did all my acting in Australia, so I don't know if that changes things, but I DO know there just aren't laws out there to protect kids in non-scripted TV shows outside California so I wouldn't be surprised if the contracts Kate signed for the kids will be legally binding unless they signed them in CA. I hope they do sue and get out of them. They have an unhealthy reliance on filming/TV attention if Kate and the older girls' responses to the ending of the TV show are anything to go for.

[nokoanna]

I guess she'll have to find another way to make money now. Do they get paid for reruns? That show is still on TLC here in Norway. I must be bizarre for her kids how she now looks like a completely different woman. Imagine being a child and your mother slowly morphing into someone different.

[Burris]

I have been looking through photos of Kate Gosselin, starting with stills taken from her first television special in 2004. It's clear that fame has not only driven Gosselin to alter her physical appearance since then, but chewed her up for the effort.

In the space of ten years, from 1999 to 2009, Gosselin had tied the knot, borne eight children, and become famous. She then saw her world and her family change – and not for the better: Her marriage fell apart. Her children were too young and too many for someone of her temperament to care for adequately without a strong support network and ongoing psychological help. (The “best†she got in terms of, ahem, "help" was an appearance in the Dr. Phil Show wherein the host offered Gosselin up as a role-model to “Octomom†Nadya Suleman.)

Now, at age 37, Gosselin faces the challenge of parenting teenagers balanced against her own unhealthy desire to remain relevant to the entertainment industry.

I'm not defending this woman. I see her as a chronic abuser who is less interested in her children as individuals than she is in the publicity and financial stability they bring her. I do see her as something of a tragic figure, however - as the lead in a cautionary tale about the noxious admixture of children, parental ambition, personal instability, and fame.

As a member of the supporting cast in this drama, Coupon Cabin CEO Scott Kluth comes out as being utterly contemptible.

Kluth hired Gosselin over protests from regular users who feared the reality TV star's controversial brand would be a poor fit at CC. He either disagreed with that assessment or else hoped Gosselin's own fan-base would be large enough to justify both the hassle and the expense of bringing her aboard.

Over nearly a year of paid work for the site, Gosselin produced such tedious columns as Saving on Pools and Swimwear, from which I collected the following gems:

Obviously, having a pool helps to cut costs of joining the local pool as many families do to beat the heat and the unavoidable long school-less days of summer.

...and...

Over the years, I’ve collected and saved swimsuits to re-use. I also buy the next size swimsuits at the end of summer when they go on clearance to save for the following year.

(I'm sure the idea of reusing swimsuits had never before occurred to the coupon-clipping, cost-conscious majority of those inclined to bookmark and use a website like CC - but then again, nor did the idea of maintaining a private pool rather than buying summer passes at a public pool.)

Going by the above example, as well as by the feedback some readers provided in response to Kluth's announcement, it's easy to see how Gosselin's advice could seem at least unhelpful.

Kluth kept her on - the televised shout-outs she sometimes provided were probably the reason for his patience - until Gosselin's bad press became too much of a liability to ignore. Only then did he dismiss her, backhanding her with a grossly unprofessional public announcement that included not only personal digs but also overt ad material for his own product.

It's clear that Kluth's agenda in this situation is far murkier than his stated desire to provide "authenticity" with "no gimmicks."

Even if I were interested in coupons beyond what I find in e-mails and inserts from area service providers, I would not use CC after seeing that. It's gross, like so much else related to this situation.

[valsa]

Even if I were interested in coupons beyond what I find in e-mails and inserts from area service providers, I would not use CC after seeing that. It's gross, like so much else related to this situation.

I can understand why you might come to that conclusion. However, after so many years of watching Kate throwing everyone under the bus- her abused husband, her abused children, her family, her helpers, and (in a lot of ways) her fans- I not only have no sympathy for her, but am amused to see someone else throw her under the bus for once.

[Palimpsest]

This news just in. PA is passing the Jon and Kate Law. Now we need to work on Arkansas to protect the Duggarlings.

:clap: :dance: :clap: :dance: :banana-dance: :banana-guitar: :banana-linedance: :banana-linedance: :banana-linedance: :banana-rock: :clap: :dance: :clap: :dance:

http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-16/news/34500599_1_child-actors-child-labor-laws-thomas-murt

Bill to protect young reality-TV stars goes to Corbett

October 16, 2012|By Amy Worden, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

HARRISBURG - The state legislature has put the kibosh on round-the-clock work schedules for child stars of reality shows.

Call it the Jon & Kate Plus 8 law.

Under a bill approved Tuesday and expected to soon be signed by Gov. Corbett, production companies must extend the same protections to child actors who appear in reality shows as those given on the sets of movies and other television programs.

"This is a major victory for the state's children," said the bill's lead sponsor, Rep. Thomas Murt (R., Montgomery). "The entire General Assembly has stated emphatically that those employed in film and television are indeed working and must have rights and protections."

Murt began efforts to change the state's laws in 2009 after issues arose involving the 24/7 video shooting of Jon and Kate Gosselin's eight children in their Berks County home.

Those who testified during hearings, including Kate Gosselin's brother Kevin Kreider, raised concerns about the extent to which the children's private lives were being exposed on the internationally popular show, telecast on TLC.

Kreider cited video cameras rolling in the children's bedrooms, taping of toilet training with full nudity, and lack of parental supervision on the set.

Murt said he realized that the child-labor laws, written long before the reality-show era - in fact, predating color TV - needed to be updated.

The bill mandates that children may work no more than eight hours a day or 48 hours a week and no later than 10 p.m. on school nights. Those under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times, and a teacher must be present on the set.

The bill also requires that trust accounts be established for minor actors. The employer must deposit 15 percent of the child's gross earnings into the account.

"It's the only way to make sure a portion of the child's earnings are there for them when they reach adulthood," Murt said.

A Corbett spokeswoman said the governor would sign the bill.

PS, for those interested -- I have the Hoffman book on my Kindle. I've been really busy lately and haven't had time for visiting FJ or reading.

So I've literally only skimmed through it mainly looking for contract info. My initial reactions: It is really badly written, very repetitive and, to put it mildly, the author is not objective. :roll: He comes over as an obsessed, sleasy, dumpster diving, not nice person, and some of his claims are unsupported and seem potentially libelous. Particularly chapter 33.

However, it contains what appear to be genuine "journal" entries by Kate Gosselin that are fairly mindblowing. No surprise to Gosselin watchers who have long suspected that she is abusive. The contract info also seems authentic and shocking in its clear exploitation of "reality TV" families and their children.

That's why the passing of the PA legislation is so important. Now we need to replicate it nationally and look into amending Federal Legislation too. Now I'm going to return to my happy dance.

:clap: :dance: :clap: :dance: :banana-dance: :banana-guitar: :banana-linedance: :banana-linedance: :banana-linedance: :banana-rock: :clap: :dance: :clap: :dance:

[chaotic life]

Kate Gosselin is an RN. Her kids are sextuplets are now 8 and her twins are older. The only support staff she *needs* is childcare to work 3 12s a week. She could find one nanny who would do before school routine and after school care for all of them at their ages. That can EASILY be covered under an RN salary.

There was talk that the mansion came with an trust fund to cover the cost of maintenance. If not, sell the blasted thing and get something smaller that will still MORE than adequately fit the family. I HAVE eight kids. You do NOT need a mansion to house them. Yes, I have larger than the average house but 4000ish square feet with eight bedrooms and four bathrooms does me just FINE. I even have an empty bedroom and could fit us comfortably in six bedrooms if necessary.

If ALL of the gravy trains dried up, between salary as a RN and child support from Jon, she could live a perfectly normal, middle class life. Yes, EVEN with all of those kids and EVEN if all of the funds she runs her mansion, private schools and support staff with was gone. The problem is NOT that Kate cannot care for her kids. The problem is that she wanted to be famous and those kids were her ticket to fame and fortune.

She doesn't WANT to go back to a normal middle class life. She's become irrelevant and she can't stand that. However, when you build your brand on your wholesome, Christian, intact family and you don't live that brand, eventually the house of cards will fall down and the followers will turn their backs when you betray that brand.

[chaotic life]

I have to add this. Years ago, TLC was trying to do a show on extended breastfeeding. We were screened for the show and spent weeks discussing it with the producer. THEN, I discussed that my child's privacy WOULD be maintained. They could discuss it with me and ask her if she was willing to talk. They could film the family. I would not allow them to film her actually nursing unless SHE was okay with it. It felt invasive and inappropriate.

Not only did they drop us, but they tried to BLAME me for it. I simply never thought I HAD to exert my child's privacy until someone reminded me to *make sure* I held control over it. When I mentioned it, it was in passing, 'of course we will respect her right to privacy' which turned out to not be in passing AT ALL. Nope, not only would they not respect her right to say no, but they wanted me to GUARANTEE she would nurse on camera. Yeah no, that's not how we roll in our house.

We were screened a few years later for a birth/adopted blended family show that someone else gave our name to for Discovery Health, which I believe is under TLC. That time the producer worked with DH and I reminded him to exert the privacy issue. That producer was not hostile but said he could not make that agreement without network approval. He tried to get that and they refused.

What amazed me was that there was NEVER talk of money. Both times we were prepared to do one show as an advocay thing and both times they still demanded the right to override my children's privacy AND our ability to protect their privacy. We didn't give our names for the second one, and I never had a good opinion after the first experience. My opinion after the second experience is that these networks are predatory and it really will take laws to include reality TV kids under child actor laws to stop it.

I had a couple of friends ask since then if we would ever let ourselves be screened for such concepts again and my answer is no. Kids have a right to make mistakes and learn without cameras there to record their struggles. I was really concerned with the second experience that they would say they were coming to feature a unique family like ours but in reality would be trying to catch the kids making mistakes on camera. My kids make more mistakes than most kids. Even years home, my kids sometimes have struggles that are still very specific to their histories. They have a right to not have those mistakes follow them as they grow, learn, and heal.

IME, TLC is not interested in protecting children's privacy and it's not unique to any one of their programs featuring children. It's pervasive. They think it's great TV to capture a child's mother manually extracting poop because he's constipated (a procedure that was SO inappropriate when it occurred on the Goselin's show) and never think about the fact that the child will now live with that invasion of privacy the rest of their lives.

[Grace]

Kate Gosselin is an RN. Her kids are sextuplets are now 8 and her twins are older. The only support staff she *needs* is childcare to work 3 12s a week. She could find one nanny who would do before school routine and after school care for all of them at their ages. That can EASILY be covered under an RN salary.

There was talk that the mansion came with an trust fund to cover the cost of maintenance. If not, sell the blasted thing and get something smaller that will still MORE than adequately fit the family. I HAVE eight kids. You do NOT need a mansion to house them. Yes, I have larger than the average house but 4000ish square feet with eight bedrooms and four bathrooms does me just FINE. I even have an empty bedroom and could fit us comfortably in six bedrooms if necessary.

If ALL of the gravy trains dried up, between salary as a RN and child support from Jon, she could live a perfectly normal, middle class life. Yes, EVEN with all of those kids and EVEN if all of the funds she runs her mansion, private schools and support staff with was gone. The problem is NOT that Kate cannot care for her kids. The problem is that she wanted to be famous and those kids were her ticket to fame and fortune.

She doesn't WANT to go back to a normal middle class life. She's become irrelevant and she can't stand that. However, when you build your brand on your wholesome, Christian, intact family and you don't live that brand, eventually the house of cards will fall down and the followers will turn their backs when you betray that brand.

THIS. I'd also add that there is no reason they couldn't have managed all the money they made while doing the show so that they had a nice big nest egg to pull from or to pay for all 8 kids to go to college. If they also sold that giant mansion and bought a normal-sized house (even a nice one in a nice neighborhood with good public schools so they didn't have to pay for private) they wouldn't be paying a mortgage, private school tuition or saving for college. Certainly they could live of an RN salary at that point. And all those kids would probably be healthier psychologically in that type of lifestyle!

[FundiesInMyFamily]

My opinion after the second experience is that these networks are predatory and it really will take laws to include reality TV kids under child actor laws to stop it.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. The network sees families who are struggling (The Duggars, The Gosselins, and now Honey Boo Boo) and says all you have to do is smile pretty for the camera and we'll do this and this for you. They don't care about these people, especially the children. They don't care that when the Gosselin kids are 30 and have their own families and professional careers there will still be film of them potty training at 2 out there. 3 year olds can't consent to being naked on tv. They don't have the protection of SAG an other unions in the acting profession.

That being said, I think Kate is pure evil. She knew what she was doing all along. Her doctor didn't want to do another round of IVF (or IUI I don't remember which one she did) so soon after they had twins, so she went to a different doctor who would. She looked like an innocent harried housewife at the beggining of the show, but even then behind the scenes she was networking 24/7 trying to get free shit and 'love offerings'. She makes me sick.

[mkitten]

What hospital or clinic would ever hire Kate as an RN after having seen her verbally abusing her children on TV? I wouldn't let her within 1000 miles of any of my family in any circumstance, much less in a situation where they were vulnerable and needed care.

[DarkAnts]

I have to add this. Years ago, TLC was trying to do a show on extended breastfeeding. We were screened for the show and spent weeks discussing it with the producer. THEN, I discussed that my child's privacy WOULD be maintained. They could discuss it with me and ask her if she was willing to talk. They could film the family. I would not allow them to film her actually nursing unless SHE was okay with it. It felt invasive and inappropriate.

Not only did they drop us, but they tried to BLAME me for it. I simply never thought I HAD to exert my child's privacy until someone reminded me to *make sure* I held control over it. When I mentioned it, it was in passing, 'of course we will respect her right to privacy' which turned out to not be in passing AT ALL. Nope, not only would they not respect her right to say no, but they wanted me to GUARANTEE she would nurse on camera. Yeah no, that's not how we roll in our house.

We were screened a few years later for a birth/adopted blended family show that someone else gave our name to for Discovery Health, which I believe is under TLC. That time the producer worked with DH and I reminded him to exert the privacy issue. That producer was not hostile but said he could not make that agreement without network approval. He tried to get that and they refused.

What amazed me was that there was NEVER talk of money. Both times we were prepared to do one show as an advocay thing and both times they still demanded the right to override my children's privacy AND our ability to protect their privacy. We didn't give our names for the second one, and I never had a good opinion after the first experience. My opinion after the second experience is that these networks are predatory and it really will take laws to include reality TV kids under child actor laws to stop it.

I had a couple of friends ask since then if we would ever let ourselves be screened for such concepts again and my answer is no. Kids have a right to make mistakes and learn without cameras there to record their struggles. I was really concerned with the second experience that they would say they were coming to feature a unique family like ours but in reality would be trying to catch the kids making mistakes on camera. My kids make more mistakes than most kids. Even years home, my kids sometimes have struggles that are still very specific to their histories. They have a right to not have those mistakes follow them as they grow, learn, and heal.

IME, TLC is not interested in protecting children's privacy and it's not unique to any one of their programs featuring children. It's pervasive. They think it's great TV to capture a child's mother manually extracting poop because he's constipated (a procedure that was SO inappropriate when it occurred on the Goselin's show) and never think about the fact that the child will now live with that invasion of privacy the rest of their lives.

The gosselin book has an example of the contract that they signed when the filming started. The contract said that they could not join any union including the screen actors guild, had to guarantee the children's performance and obligations. There was also a prevision excluding them from workers comp and released discovery of any liability in case of an accident or death. The family got a total of 7 sick days. Discovery could sue the family if anyone failed to meet the obligations. Also, Discovery could cancel the show for any reason at any time.

[BoomerLynn]

The gosselin book has an example of the contract that they signed when the filming started. The contract said that they could not join any union including the screen actors guild, had to guarantee the children's performance and obligations. There was also a prevision excluding them from workers comp and released discovery of any liability in case of an accident or death.The family got a total of 7 sick days. Discovery could sue the family if anyone failed to meet the obligations. Also, Discovery could cancel the show for any reason at any time.

The bolded would be a huge red flag for me. Actually, the whole contract would, but especially the bolded. I would have torn that thing to shreds and told those producers to get lost. There is no way I would violate my children's privacy like that. I remember catching the potty training episode (was never a regular viewer of the show) and wondering how they got away with putting naked children (using a potty, no less) on national television. No decent parent would have ever allowed that. I'm quite sure that neither Jon nor Kate would consent to themselves being filmed while using the toilet, yet they were perfectly fine with doing that to their kids. It makes me sick.

[Coconut Flan]

Do they get paid for reruns?

Short answer is no.

Residuals have to be negotiated and in general only members of the trade guilds get them as it's a struggle and requires some power and negotiation.

I'm still smiling over Kate getting publicly fired. I know it isn't exactly nice of me, but Kate is someone who I think has earned that and a lot more.

[HOTW]

Well acording to this article she no longer has the job!!

http://ca.omg.yahoo.com/news/kate-gosse ... 36181.html

[pixydust]

What hospital or clinic would ever hire Kate as an RN after having seen her verbally abusing her children on TV? I wouldn't let her within 1000 miles of any of my family in any circumstance, much less in a situation where they were vulnerable and needed care.

I could see her giving vitamin shots at a hollywood weight loss clinic.

[mkitten]

I could see her giving vitamin shots at a hollywood weight loss clinic.

I hadn't thought of that... I was thinking more locally (I live in PA, though not near Kate.) She could probably find work in a plastic surgeon's office in LA or maybe NYC though...

[Buzzard]

I hadn't thought of that... I was thinking more locally (I live in PA, though not near Kate.) She could probably find work in a plastic surgeon's office in LA or maybe NYC though...

I think thats a VERY good prediction. It would drive traffic to the DR (from teh krazees) and she'd have access to botox and b12 injections all day long. Regular hours, no sick people, can still dress like she's 22...

[emily]

So, it looks like Coupon Cabin finally figured out that Kate is full of shit.

A series of recent events have made it clear to me that Kate Gosselin and her contributions do not align with the authenticity which we set out to build almost a decade ago, and that Ms. Gosselin is simply not a good fit with the wonderful team and culture at CouponCabin.

Source: http://www.couponcabin.com/blog/2012/10 ... cabin-ceo/

[swissbeauty]

I really dislike her. She's always struck me as a nasty, irritating person who makes a big shitshow about everything. I feel so bad for her kids.

[moreorlessnu]

I remember catching the potty training episode (was never a regular viewer of the show) and wondering how they got away with putting naked children (using a potty, no less) on national television. No decent parent would have ever allowed that. I'm quite sure that neither Jon nor Kate would consent to themselves being filmed while using the toilet, yet they were perfectly fine with doing that to their kids. It makes me sick.

Even worse, during one of those scenes (the potty chairs outside on the driveway), Collin was obviously uncomfortable w/ the lack of privacy, and Jon even commented (laughingly) on the fact that Collin wasn't comfortable. Those kids didn't have a chance...

[Daisy]

Kate is just an awful, awful mother and human being. I have no idea why she even wanted more kids after the twins, she never seemed to enjoy her kids at all. Her kids were never anything but 8 little moneymakers to her IMO.

[IceQueen]

I'm watching the episode where they potty train the boys on youtube, and holy cow that show is a snoozefest. How did I watch that when it was on TLC?? She treats the boys like they are the stupidest children alive. How was/is this entertainment?

[Vex]

It IS a huge red flag that their contract said they couldn't join any actor's advocacy groups. Contracts - especially for kids - for scripted work will include clauses to ensure the child belongs to an advocacy group. Contracts are supposed to be there to protect both parties. If they're one-sided, you simply don't sign it.

I really do think the contracts apply even if they're under 18. I think that if the rumours about the contract being in perpetuity are true, they might have to sue their way out of it by arguing they never consented, their mother did, they were too young to comprehend the commitment and so forth.

Kate could easily support those kids as an RN, but that would be mundane. She would be just Kate, not Kate + 8. I bet she could have - at one point - convinced TLC to follow her as she restarts her nursing career, to show her as a caring and compassionate (*snort*) nurse going about her job. Shows that follow doctors/hospitals are extremely popular, and she would have had a unique gimmick. But that would involve her being a nurse and doing all the things involved in nursing - changing bandages, doing obs, giving meds, answering call bells, bathing patients, talking to family, more or less being a doctor on less pay with less perks. I wonder if she was an OR nurse? My aunt was the head RN of a hospital and she worked the OR specifically to avoid dealing with patients when they were awake.

[Arete]

TLC has exploited too many reality kids for these "contracts" to not come back and bite them. It's one thing to put a sleazy "journalist" in his place with some high priced lawyers, it's another public relations ballgame all together if one of the children affected comes forward as an adult. Much more credibility and ability to raise awareness and money for any legal shenanigans.

Their time is coming.