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Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
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Foster Kamer
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
Oh, man. This makes me sad. I just...they need to cancel the show. End it. They needed to pull the plug on this thing two months ago before the media (guilty as charged) could take their story and run the field with it. And while I'm willing to buy Kate's sincerity - especially in the face of Jon's manchild ridiculousness - it's still a bitter pill when considering her publicity-ready sheen, front and center. This is progress, though.
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Edited by Foster Kamer at 08/10/09 3:02 PM Foster Kamer was starred Foster Kamer was unstarred

dreamypisces
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
"The thing is, the same could be said of the Gosselins: after all, neither has been selfless enough to stop allowing family problems be played out in front of the cameras."
The thing is having their lives played out in front of camera is what is bringing in the money....if they ceased to be interesting to the public the network would lose interest. And after all the only way Kate is able to stay home and NOT work is by being involved in all of it. Sad but true...
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joops
08/10/09

@dreamypisces: It's not like Kate is sitting on her ass. Organizing everything, raising 8 kids, that's work. I really can't stand it when people accuse her of not working every day.
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BlinkyMcChuck
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
I'm on "Team No More Jon and Kate Plus 8".
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BlinkyMcChuck
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
To quote Bladerunner, "How can it not know what it is?"
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
Kate has become more sympathetic because Jon has become a weasel. And not the intelligent, awesome kind which is voiced by Michael Dorn and stars in underrated Cartoon Network shows of the late 90s/early 00s, the kind who dates younger women and wears Ed Hardy and then quits his job and moves to Oregon to study Russian while his new girlfriend supports him and then communicates with his children only by text messaged photos and passive aggressive emails sent to their friends about what horrible children he has to disown him...
He's also apparently the kind of weasel onto whom I can project some unresolved issues with my father.
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telecomic the thoughtful red panda
08/10/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: I AM WEASEL!!
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LongGoneCourtney
08/10/09

@telecomic the thoughtful red panda: I R BABOON!
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
08/10/09

@LongGoneCourtney: You're forgetting I B Redguy!
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mrsryan
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
My friend wore her ring for a really long time and, at the time her husband left her, she said it was for the kids, as not to scare them. Later she told me it was because she wanted to have faith that her husband would come back. He didn't. And the kids were scared plenty anyway. They really just wanted someone to talk to them in a way that made it not scary.
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BabyJane promoted this comment Edited by mrsryan at 08/10/09 11:55 AM mrsryan was starred mrsryan was unstarred

elephantshoes
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
For those of us who have watched their show from the beginning, and who've been Team Kate all along, let me just say FINALLY. And let me add, told ya so!
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Maritsa
08/10/09

@elephantshoes: I feel the same way. The constant KATE IS A MONSTER US Weekly covers enraged me (more than is healthy, considering I don't know the woman!). I never liked Jon but now he makes my stomach turn.
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That-Dude
08/10/09

@elephantshoes: @Maritsa:
Isn't this behavior indicative of a greater problem? That is, why would you care to be Team Kate or Team Jon? People on this site consistently rail against the tabloids, however, this is the exact reaction they (tabloids) hope to engender.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, good luck to the both of them and hopefully things work out best for all parties involved.
Note: maybe it has worked out for the best already -- they get to make some money and have their kids "paid for" until they are through college. Good on them.
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Maritsa
08/10/09

@That-Dude: My opinion was formed long before they were deemed tabloid fodder.
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FashionShowAtLunch
08/10/09

@That-Dude: I have never seen even a single second of the show, nor do have affiliation with either "team".
I don't think a reaction of the tabloid coverage is really about caring about the show or the drama of it; for me, it's outrage at the way it's covered at all: The woman is always the shrew. It's presented as a completely black-and-white scenario.
I don't give a crap because I have no loyalty either way -- but the blame for the whole fiasco, up until Jon (publicly) started acting like a total douche, was put entirely on her shoulders. Again, I haven't seen the show, but it's an old story; poor meek man is put upon by shrewish evil wife who has the audacity to be pissed off at him for his bullshit behavior. Gag me with a spoon. It's a marriage: both parties are usually culpable, to a certain extent.
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NefariousNewt
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
And just a note on the ring -- the kids are stronger than she knows, and aren't so easily fooled. Daddy's not around all the time anymore -- it's kind of obvious that something's wrong. She (and Jon) should be as honest with them as possible... with the cameras off.
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funnyface
08/10/09

@NefariousNewt: They lived apart most of the time they weren't filming, even before, as Kate travels around the country a lot, doing motivational speaking in large churches.
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MizJenkins
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
When considering what to think of Kate Gosselin I can't help but notice that winning public opinion still appears to be her highest priority in life, which is why she's out whoring to the cameras (with real tears!) rather than trying to figure out how to undo the fucked-up real-life mess she dropped 8 kids into. So my sympathies are unaffected.
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Maritsa
08/10/09

@MizJenkins: Going on one TV show and doing like one post-split interview means winning public opinion is her highest priority in life? You don't have to have sympathy for her, but wow. That's quite a leap you've made there.
How do you know what she does the rest of her time - all the pap pictures we've seen lately have been of her with her kids.
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MizJenkins
08/10/09

@Maritsa: I don't care what she does with the rest of her time frankly. I think letting cameras follow your eight kids for several of their formative years, having a very public divorce and then going on tv to whine about it speaks of a scary, embarassing and beyond tacky level of narcisissm.

I don't think it's a stretch to say every waking moment of her life should be devoted to those kids (and his too, but if he's going to be a shmuck someone better step up) but at the very least not a second of it needs to be spent on pleading her case to the general public.

I mean really...have we really lost that much comprehension of the appropriateness of boundaries between public and private life?
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Edited by MizJenkins at 08/10/09 12:30 PM MizJenkins was starred MizJenkins was unstarred

Sputnik_Sweetheart
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
Wow, this is a sharp contrast to Jon's In Touch interview. I skimmed through it yesterday in the grocery store and he pretty much blamed everything on Kate. Say what you want about Kate, at least she is taking some responsibility.
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midwestdesigner
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
I think Jon's d-bag behavior coming to light has definitely made her more sympathetic, but I also wonder how many more people find her relatable now that she's more "fragile", instead of looking like the more "in-control" person in the relationship. The narrative seems to have switched from "God, what a b-tch" to "Oh, that poooor woman! Look at that poor mom!", which to me, is almost as annoying. Yes, I have sympathy for her situation. But I had that same sympathy when she was yelling at her husband to take responsibility for his children.
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Laulau
08/10/09

@midwestdesigner: Total agreement. I have been on Kate's side (as much as anyone can, not knowing them personally) this whole time. She may not be a ton of fun to be around, but she was the grown-up, and if there is one thing I hate about our current society, it's how few public figures will act like freaking grown-ups. Jon has always been an aging "frat boy" and he only seems to be further regressing.
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rednrowdy
08/10/09

@midwestdesigner: The narrative seems to have switched from "God, what a b-tch" to "Oh, that poooor woman! Look at that poor mom!", which to me, is almost as annoying.
well, when the former husband states that "hey, i'm only 32!", anybody with half a brain smells an oncoming midlife crisis...and the classic narrative of leaving the first wife and getting a new wife and new kids scenario that has been played out how many times? millions of times. and yeah, strange as it may seem, i think jon would be that kind of guy, even if he already has 8 young ones. wait till the plus 8 are in their teens, and surprise! he'll be married with a new baby. such as.
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elliebean
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
As much as I feel that this is an inappropriate situation to be playing out on television, I wonder if some of it is fear that they won't be able to keep up the lifestyle (and not just the more luxurious lifestyle they are accustomed to either)that ensures their kids well-being. would they be able to keep the house? would they be able to feed everyone? I'm sure a lot of it has to do with keeping opportunities open for more work for both Jon and Kate, but I also don't think we know the situation either. Ideally, hopefully, they would like to not put their kids through this, although they seem to be in denial that it negatively affects them in anyway. But once you start it, how easy is it to stop and adjust to life after tv?
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greengrey
08/10/09

@elliebean: But wouldn't they have thought of that before having that many kids? What was their plan before the show?
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Laulau
08/10/09

@greengrey: But they didn't set off to have so many kids, so it's hard to say at what point that sat down and made that decision, if they did.
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Flackette Goes Retro
08/10/09

@elliebean: I also wonder what kind of contracts they are under that may obligate them to do media if they want to continue receiving income. I don't want to be too quick to judge her for appearing on television, as if she suddenly stopped I'm guessing the family would lose their main source of income very quickly.
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KrisP
08/10/09

@greengrey: I don't think they initially set out to have 8 kids in total, that's just how it worked out. From what I've gathered watching the show, they were budgeting for 1 possibly 2 more and ended up with 6 with the last pregnancy. Because of their religious beliefs, terminating some of the fetuses (feti?) were out of the question so they started looking at alternative ways to provide income.
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Theacracy
08/10/09

@KrisP: I get really annoyed when they say they didn't intend to have sextuplets - if you know your religious beliefs don't allow for selective abortion then you really shouldn't undergo fertility treatments that have unknown results. They had to know it was very likely that they would have more than one or two.
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rednrowdy
08/10/09

@Theacracy: if you know your religious beliefs don't allow for selective abortion then you really shouldn't undergo fertility treatments that have unknown results.
actually, if you know your religious beliefs, you wouldn't ever try to put more than 3 eggs at a time. ever. that way, you don't have the sextuplet problem.
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QoB
08/10/09

@Theacracy: and/or your doctor should have been more responsible, and checked before doing an IUI on a woman with 6+ follicles. (i'm assuming they did IUI but if it was IVF that's even more irresponsible).
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Maritsa
08/10/09

@Theacracy: Yeah, I generally agree that couples doing fertility treatments need to discuss these issues even if there is little chance high-order multiples will result.

We did IVF (unlike J&K, who did IUI) and our big debate was what to do if I got pregnant with triplets. We can afford it, but we worried about the health risks of a triplet pregnancy for me and the babies.

We knew we would selectively reduce if it was more than 3, no question. My clinic is VERY firm about how many you can transfer, etc. I could only have two transferred, so 3 or more it wasn't that big of a possibility. We discussed it nonetheless.
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Edited by Maritsa at 08/10/09 12:11 PM Maritsa was starred Maritsa was unstarred

Maritsa
08/10/09

@cpma282: They didn't do IVF. Unlike Nadya Suleman, who had a crackpot irresonsible doctor who should have his license revoked.
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Charlotte Rae's Web
08/10/09

@Theacracy: That's simply not true. With IUI and fertility drugs it is a total crapshoot.
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YourScreenplaySucks
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
I don't know much about these two but couldn't this just be an example of the general rule that women who are perceived, rightly or wrongly, as being "hard" and unpleasant will often experience a softening in public opinion towards them after they suffer a personal hardship, especially if they let some cracks show? One could take a charitable or cynical view of this phenomenon.
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wtfox?!
08/10/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: Your comment actually made me think of Hillary Clinton in the primaries; she was widely viewed as a hard, unpleasant woman no human being could possibly relate to... but then when she was asked about how she handled campaign stress, and got the slightest bit teary, national headlines were all OMG HRC IS HUMAN Y'ALL! SHE CRIES TEARS! and op-ed pieces went on and on about how Clinton "humanized" herself by being emotional.
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YourScreenplaySucks
08/10/09

@wtfox?!: Oh, Hillary's very familiar with this concept. I remember that when the news about Clinton's affair with Lewinsky came out, Hillary's poll numbers went way up and people became considerably more sympathetic towards her.
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funnyface
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
Until she cuts off the cameras and gets them out of her life, I won't believe that she's sincere when she claims that all of this is for the 8.
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NefariousNewt
08/10/09

@funnyface: Agreed, on that point.
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colormeroutine
08/10/09

@funnyface: Agreed. I can't help feeling like she's sort of milking this whole woman scorned thing for all it's worth
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kellieherson
08/10/09

In reply to Has Kate Become The More Sympathetic Gosselin?
As someone whose parents split less than three years ago, this whole thing is so awkward for me to watch. And I'm sure it's awkward for everyone to watch-- which is why, from here on out, I think it would be best to just do twice-yearly specials to check up on the kids, see them growing up, know they're doing okay, and leave it at that.

And Kate has always been a more solid parent and more mature than Jon.
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hortense promoted this comment Edited by kellieherson at 08/10/09 11:14 AM kellieherson was starred kellieherson was unstarred

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