TLC is billing next week’s Jon & Kate Plus 8 as “You Ask, Kate Answers,” in which Kate Gosselin will answer viewers’ lingering questions. Okay, I’ll bite: Is there actually anything left that we don’t know about Kate Gosselin?
We know the details of her marriage, we’ve watched her parenting skills, we’ve seen her get surgery, we’re in the process of watching her get divorced. We’ve seen her at some high highs and strange lows. We’ve watched her substantively change, and in the process we’ve sort of changed, too; First we loathed her, then we sympathized, then we sort of just winced as she and her soon-to-be-ex-husband aired all their dirty laundry on any news outlet that would have them. It wasn’t that their personal business was particularly tawdry. If anything, it was disappointingly banal, its own self-perpetuating cliche about fame and ambition.
My question, I guess, is less for Kate and maybe more for you and for me then: What is it that makes Kate Gosselin a person of interest? Why do we watch her shows, why are we following — and in doing so, creating — her story? What part of ourselves do we see and are we afraid to see through the lens of a Jon & Kate fame cycle?
I’m guessing you have some questions of your own, though, PopWatchers. Right?
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“Why DO we watch?” Simple! Plain nosiness. Just like slowing down to gawk at an accident on the side of the highway. Humans are nosy. We want to know the most mundane details of anything that captures our fancy. When it is then in the focus of a television camera, the nosiness then becomes an all-consuming addiction.
That’s why Reality Shows have become so mainstream on almost every televised network, as well as some Internet sites…
Even boring, bland, people and situations become something to follow and opine about. And, if ANYTHING of “interest” happens, like a divorce, or, heaven forbid, some idiot with an oversized Mylar balloon that escapes, it evolves PAST “reality tv,” and now becomes “NEWS!” The fact that the Gosslins’ adventures manage to make it onto the newscasts of many stations is testament to our innate nosiness.
i liked there show back before all of the drama started but i dont watch it any more it almost makes me sick to watch it now dont they know they are only huting the kids.
I liked the show too, before the drama. It was clear Jon wanted to get back to regular family life at the end of last season. Just as clear was Kate’s desire, fake tan and all, to continue toward greater fame. It was at the cost of her family. We all watched the show, we saw how she was. I used to say that if she is this horrible to Jon ON camera what must life be like OFF camera! Man.
I won’t go into all that we’ve seen since the new season began. Now, all of a sudden, Kate is warm and fuzzy? Getting messy with the kids? Yeah, okay, tell me that is not for the camera & public opinion.
Now I can’t even watch the promos for the show. The kids shouldn’t have to be divorced on the air. Kate says they love the crew. Well, that’s was we call life. People come and go, it is normal. What is not normal are cameras following you around as children, including the papps. Sick. They need to be rescued. My 2 cents.
I like the J&Kplus8 because they show everything (reality) The good, bad and ugly. It has now become a different kind of reality, but none the less reality (divorce) 1/2 of us are also divorced. Honestly this divorce make me not feel so bad about my own. Their children reminded me of my own, bossy Kate and child (snake) Jon remindes me of myself and ex. I like that Kate is herself even if some people are going to rag on her. No one is perfect LOL except for the Duggars and I love that show too. TLC did do a great job in keeping it as real as possible. I hope they continue even if its Kate plus eight I think its entertaining and a great way to support all those precious children.
me too, kim and stephanie. i don’t watch any of the new episodes because of the drama. i liked the show before all of that. now i don’t watch it anymore.
I enjoy this show! I dont get caught up in the tabloid drama. Its a good clean show and the kid are darling and Kate is such a good Mother!
Totally agree with you Stephanie and KimR. I used to watch but no more. I was growing weary of watching Kate verbally abuse Jon a couple years ago. As for her Q&A show, who could possibily believe she’ll answer truthfully? She’ll answer to win pity votes, make herself look good, and Jon look bad. It’s the nature of divorcing people and control freaks. I’d only be interested in what she had to say if she said she was getting a real job, buying her clothes at Sears, and not going on any more freebie vacations.
I watch this show! I like it and NOTHING any of you say can change that!
Loooooser!!!!
I love this show! Go Kate and kids!!!
I think you said it perfectly!
I’m really just more concerned about the motorcycle that O.C. Choppers built for Jon. Ask Kate if she has it now.
you can bet Kate has his motorcycle! TLC is keeping it under lock and key-for Kate. I feel for Jon and the kids. I haVE WATCHED IT FROM DAY ONE-kATE WAS ALWAYS A B____!
madeline osborne, that was a great description!
It’s amazing how much I’ll watch if you’re willing to show. Most of us spend our time masking the boring minutia, hoping to look a little more interesting or charming. But these people are willing to show all–which I have to say is fascinating. It is train wreck TV and whether it’s inherent human programming or something weird in our culture, I can’t stop watching.
That is a great point, “it is no longer reality tv, but news”. What is our news really even about today? Nothing.
Will your millions be worth it once your children stop talking to you?
I agree!! Also Kate, is the ambition for fame really worth destroying your family? Are you happier now that you have cash and fame? Think hard. Pictures tell a thousand words.
Yeah with 8 kids and a lost, dead-beat, thieving husband I don’t see why waitressing can’t pay the bills.
Whatta greedy broad…
??
Imagine the babysitter, alone.
8 kids x $7.50/hr (minimum, lols) = $60 an HOUR.
PS – Kate’s a hottie.
I agree with Phil. I think Kate is a good mom who has A LOT of weight on her shoulders. I applaud her for maintaining a career and making something from nothing. She has a family of 9 to provide for – not something most of us can related to. She is ambitious,hard working and… HUMAN. Yes, she chose to have her life (dirty laundry) aired to masses. And if that is how she provides for her family, so be it. It’s really none of our business. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Who are we to judge?
Wow Phil…it’s clearly apparent you have no idea how the babysitting thing works. If you pay $7.50 PER child for your daycare…then I have a Nigerian uncle who will pay you many thousands of dollars to help him get access his millions.
“DAYcare”
does not equal
“babysitters”
seams like that is all they care about is the money both her and jon they are selfish and think of themselves
Being poor sucks! Poor Kids stop talking to their parents too.I think tis will always be a close family just not with Jon because his kids will hate him forever for doing what he is doing to their Mother.
The kids aren’t going to hate Jon for what he’s doig to their mother, they’re going to hate him for what he’s doing to THEM! Out posing for a romantic buggy ride with a homewrecker while he should be at home with them is what’s hurting the kids.
well, i can honestly say that I don’t care much about her. I used to watch the show, but that was purely for the absolute adorableness of those kids. once all this stuff happened, I pretty much stopped watching the show, even the reruns of much older episodes. it’s not that the kids stopped being cute, the adults just got to be too annoying and I didn’t care to be subjected to all the drama when I wanted cuteness.
I don’t watch. I can’t think of one single show that I would waste my time on and yet this garbage is all the various stations offer us. My satellite hasn’t been on in months and in March it will be shut off. I won’t waste electricity on it.
And yet you waste your electricity and time reading and commenting on this article…
Yes! An article explicitly asked her opinion, and she gave it. Horrors!
And she’s not the only one. A high of 9.8 million viewers is a lot for a cable reality series about a family. But most people aren’t watching this crap – like most subjects in the news, the media over-sensationalizes the Gosselins. Give it time and no one will care anymore, just like they never did BEFORE the divorce.
It is sad though that 30 Rock struggles to get 6.3 million viewers in its premiere compared to Jon & Kate’s 9.8 million. Watercooler is watercooler, but too many middle Americans just don’t have taste.
Zettie, I have no problem with Catherine’s down-sizing to save money, yet continuing to have an opinion. She sounds efficient to me.
There divorce was not any different than mine or many others I know..anger at each other, terrible things said, and after many years, it is not even important. But I and my friends weren’t on TV or being watched by neighbors or friends…
We are all so nosy about any one else to make our own situation better and not as bad as “theirs”…shame on us for making it easy for Jon especially to act like an AXXXXXX and Kate to carry most of the load and responsibility. So she gets her hair cut and some people don’t like it. Oh, well! But it is all on TV. Shame on them, shame on us. Now, find the off button on your TV and love your own family, not someone elses.
In just 2 years no one will remember Kate or what’s his name. They will simply fade away a lot faster than old actors from the past did during the 30’s and 40’s just like the lady who wrote above people are curious and once that wears off it is on to something else and I can say thank goodness when that day arrives…..
Because spreading your legs is all Kate has done? Nice.
Only an ignorant man…
Are you confusing Kate with the Octomom? Kate wanted kids – that chick wanted fame.
are you gay Matt.
are you mature john
No, she didn’t just want kids. That’s what she wants everyone to think, though.
Why, that’s all she did. You sound like an ignorant man yourself. I’m sorry, did it take skill to become pregnant or take fertility drugs after she already had twins. You are a dolt and embarrasment to men everywhere.
And where there is one ignorant man, another follows.
You’re disgusting.
If by “another follows” you meant yourself then I agree. GL in life.
Matthew, it seems as though you’ve made more than one comment about “ignorant” men. What is your deal? It appears as though you have a man’s name, yet you seem to be labeling our entire gender as being ignorant. I think you should probably look up “ignorant” in the dictionary and then take a good, long look in the mirror. For extra credit, you can also look up “self-loathing,” “psychotic,” and “ignoramus.” I agree with PF… Good luck in life. You’ll need it.
Also look up man, you may not have testes, lol…
Maybe if Jon Gosselin had done his job in the bedroom, she wouldn’t have been so cranky.
Maybe, if Kate had not been so embarrassingly mean to Jon on the show, and, perhaps more accommodating in the bedroom, this show would have had a different ending. What is important now are the kids. They are the innocent victims. They love both parents unconditionally, and my heart goes out to them. Their parents are selfish people who care only about the money and what it can do for THEM!!! I will never watch the show again and I hope Jon sees that it goes off the air SOON. We have enough problems right now, without going through a nasty divorce. Get a life, both of you, and think of those children who never asked to be born!!!
What are you talking about? If Kate was better in the bed room? Really??? Wow Im glad Im not you. YOU better go and please your man or he will leave you! Hurry go, fix him breakfast, give him sex,let him hold the remote. God forbid you get any pleasure. Ha Ha this mentality cracks me up.
Maybe Kate wouldn’t have had to be so embarrassingly mean to Jon if he didn’t just stand around with his hands in his pockets with a blank look on his face? They both have their faults, neither is “better” and the odds were stacked against them the moment Kate conceived sextuplets.
brebelle,
how or why would you make a comment like that? Sounds to me like Jon wasn’t the one not giving it up! And if you were married to an ice queen how often would you want to give it up???
Richard – are you serious? DO HER DUTY? You’ve got to be kidding me.
About the topic at hand – I, too, used to love this show. I think it’s sad to realize that someday the kids will be able to look back at all of this and realize how immature both of their parents were. I think it is for the best that the show is ending; it will be good to let these children live a normal life for awhile. I do hope we get a chance to see how they’ve grown someday in the future.
Richard, you are a jerk. “Lay down for a few minutes to do her duty, even if she is not enjoying it.”??? Would that be alongside washing your socks, picking up your dirty drawers, cooking your meals, washing the dishes and picking your beard hairs out of the sink? How about doing all of the housework and child care, ’cause I’ll bet you think THAT’S her duty too! What have you done for your wife lately (if she hasn’t left you already)? Do you do YOUR duty? Do you make sure that “the duty” is as pleasurable for her as it is for you? Could you tell if it wasn’t? Do you care? Because I can tell you something bubba – it’s not a “duty” when we enjoy it. Make her a meal, clean up the mess and give her as much pleasure as you expect for yourself and you’ll have more action than you know what to do with you dumb jerk. My man certainly does…
Get over it Paula. You think she does her own housework anytime recently? And c’mon…. bet you are not married anymore yourself since we are engaging in irresponsible speculation. All take and no give I’m guessing. What man wronged you in life? Get over it. The rest of us have.
You are delusional any women with 8 children and 2 dogs is a busy women. Heck she didnt even sleep the first few years of their lives. Dont worry about Kate she gets the job done and probably better than most men. She will support her Children and make sure they have everthing the world can offer and dont worry about her love life or ability to love.She has 8 children that she loves more than herself! You have never been a mother so you are not even allowed to have an opinion on that!
Not defending Richard but what you are saying is untrue. There are many relationships where the effort, love, affection, etc. flows only one way or in an unbalanced way. It’s unfair sto say if a man did the right thing all women would be perfect. C’mon… Oh and anyone can have an opinion on motherhood regardless of sex, you ocmment on John fatherhood I’m sure.
Jane, who are you to tell someone that they cant have an opinion? Grow up!! Everyone is allowed an opinion!! If you are married I feel sorry for your husband since he is a male and shouldn’t have an opinion and if you are divorced I can see why!! Come on you aren’t the only one to have a view and just because you don’t like someone else doesn’t give you the right to tell them that they are not allowed to have one!! Grow up!! Kate is not all that and a bag of chips!! And women need to start seeing that!! And Jon is no prize either!! I feel for the kids!! And as a female and a mother of two I AM ALLOWED TO HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS!!!!!!!
Paula, kate goes to a tanning bed travels all over the world basically for free has her own body guards and probably hasn’t broke a nail in the last two years! She spends more time on book signing tours and going to the beach than she does on house work!! And stop banging on guys!! I am a female and I love to have sex with my husband any time and anywhere he wants and I DON’T CONSIDER IT A JOB!! AND IT ISN’T ALWAYS ABOUT IF THE MALE GETS PLEASURE EVERY TIME OR THE WOMAN GETS PLEASURE EVERY TIME!! It is about being connected and sharing passion with the person you love!!
Do you give them coverage because the public interested or does the public read it because you cover it? I’ve never watched the show but I read these articles, mostly to wonder to myself if Ken Tucker is really that interested in it or if he watches because he’s assigned to it, and how the answer to that question colors his opinions of legitimate television.
Amen brother!
I used to watch the show until June, then stopped because from that point I could not stand to look at his ugly face or listen to his whiny voice. If/when “Kate Plus 8″ does go ahead, I will definitely watch that. I’ve always been fascinated by multiples, and I greatly admire Kate who is a strong, intelligent, independent, highly organized, fiercely determined woman. I’ve dealt with crappy men in the past too and I’m rooting for her 100%. She’ll look back and say “what was I thinking?” (when she married the twit). She’s probably saying that now and has been for a good while.
let’s be real here, first of all she should have kept john and second what man will want her with all that baggage….except the money of course….she should have tried harder
I agree she is very used goods, she might as well become a lesbian.
Jon go sow you seed elsewhere
Women burned by men who have not healed from the hurt should be careful about making comments. It makes them sound ignorant, especially if they have not considered the whole story. Have you considered the whole story?
OK JON, the initials aren’t a very good disguise…..Get over your midlife crisis, go crawling back to your respect and dignity
You are fascinated by multiples. Are you an idiot?????
Why is that odd to you? I’m a twin, and when people find out, they pepper me with questions. It gets a little tedious, but I never thought their curiosity was idiotic.
It’s the car wreck thing. You know you shouldn’t stop and look, but you just can’t help it.
And I don’t watch anymore. It is boring without the interaction between the Jon & Kate.
Ok who is in control of “keeping it clean” Richard Morefield your a creep. Steve what you said is just plain stupid. You two put together are just about as bad as Jon Gosselin. I watched because I thought it interesting how a couple could manage 8 kids(multiples) now I see that they can’t. And I stopped watching. I do like Kate and I hate Jon. Love the kids.
Kate who?
what would you do if you were left with 8 children and their dead beat, chick chasing rooster of a father was no where around………but he after all is only 32 years old and hot to trott. I would hope that I would be like Kate and continue with what I knew, after all it takes a lot to raise 8 children. But I think that she will do a really good job. Her goal is to raise her 8, so unless she has her hand in you pocket, shut your mouth. Might help to say a prayer or two for this family……………
Way to go Jan – couldn’t agree more. It is so easy to be hateful and mean – but she is doing her best and could use all of our prayers.
Jan… what do you consider a dead beat? What has shown you he hasn’t taken care of his kids… Are you jaded because you were burned by a man. I am a single father rasing a son with a true deadbeat MOTHER. She hasn’t talked or seen her child in over two years and has never paid her support. That to me IS a DEADBEAT parent. It is no longer for MEN anymore. Get your facts straight before using the term deadbeat and yes she DOES have her hand in my pocket. I pay for cable TV to have entertainment not she her OR Jon on the TV on 20 different channels. I don’t care what parent does what as long as the kids are # 1. And until the parents get out of the TV business then the kids are NOT #1. Also… don’t mention prayer in the same paragraph as you running down someone you don’t even know… You need a talk with God and ask him would he treat you the same way. Don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house as I am sure your life is not perfect either.
Well said Joseph ! Thank you !!
I’d put my kids first and get them off the television, which is what caused the problems in the first place. There are plenty of ways to make besides reality TV, people! She’s whining because SHE likes being famous, not because she’s going to be destitute otherwise.
Oh yeah, you would! Sure thing.
do you have ANY idea how much it costs to raise a child?
D.
I agree completely Jan-well said! I do not blame Kate in the least for doing what she has to do to support her children. Jon has proven himself to be a selfish, attention-seeking, insensitive ingrate…he’s never going to step up to provide those children with what they need-financially or otherwise. Kate is a tough woman and has to be with the situation she is in.
Jan, Jon was the only bread winner supporting his family for the longest time, only to come home to a witch. Who is dates has nothing to do with who he is as a father. He shares joint custody, so Kate is NOT the sole parent. Her goal is not to raise these kids but to live like a celebrity and making her kids pay for this life of privilege. The kids didn’t ask to live in a mansion. Kate is a phony. If she really had her kids’ best interest she would take them off the spotlight. She has plenty of money to raise them.
Oh, my God. You want to be Kate? You want to be a horrible person? You want to be a fame whore?
I don’t agree with Jon trotting around town with a young thing while going through a divorce, but he is not a deadbeat dad. He stated a long time ago that he wanted to let go of the show and be a normal family. Yet Kate had to have her way (as always) and lost her marriage in the process. Now she’s suddenly the victim? I don’t think so! Jon has been the victim for a long time, and I’m a woman making this comment. Again, both have made mistakes, but don’t stereotype a man or anyone until you’ve walked in their (or in this case “his”) shoes.
Hoo-Rah!
Seems like Kate + Jon followers aren’t the most experienced users on the Internet if they fall for such an obvious troll like Richard.
As for why people watch, viewers seem divided into two categories – those who like to watch people wreck their lives in public for our consumption, like myself, and those who are all fired up over the plight of Kate, obviously seeing something of their own lives reflected in her situation.
It’s almost gotten past the point of being interesting, though – I mean, aside from some sort of criminal legal troubles, they’ve gone about as low as you can go.
I got hooked when all this crazy dirty laundry started to hang on the line. They both are liars and probably drunks. Kate is not lily white …Steve not a boyfriend … then why does he stay overnite in her hotel room and they sign in as Mr. & Mrs? All of this is a crock!
Yeah, you have the Michigan DJ making claims that he saw Kate and Steve holding hands while they were heading to the hotel elevator and you have the waitress making claims that they made dinner reservations under the alias Michaels and the waitress said that they were really close. Jon and Kate are both BSers. Plain and simple.
Kate is a money grubbing ho-bag, nice book. I hope Jon goes out and lives a great life, nice trade up Jon.
KK you are a sexist pig who is probably a hair-plugging overweight 30-something single dweeb…. get over yourself
Well, I’m officially grossed out. Did it ever occur to you that maybe Jon didn’t do HIS job in the bedroom? We already have one report from one of his lovers that he “wasn’t the best she ever had”. I don’t really care either way, but a divorce is never that simple.
WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE TO BE IN BED WITH AN OVERBEARING SELF CENTERED CONTROL FREAK THAT CANT GIVE A COMPLIMENT TO HER HUSBAND TO SAVE HER LIFE?? I WOULDN’T WANT TO HAVE TO TRY AND MAKE LOVE TO A PERSON LIKE THAT!! WHAT JON DID WAS VERY WRONG BUT IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF FEMALES WANT TO BLAME HIM FOR EVERYTHING!! I AM A FEMALE AND I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT HOW KATE TREATED HER HUSBAND ON NATIONAL TELEVISION IS INEXCUSABLE IN EVERY WAY!! HOW MUCH BELITTLING IS A MAN TO TAKE BEFORE HE SAYS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
I DID watch the show for A) the adorable kids and B) how real Jon and Kate were (or at least how “real” I thought they were). They had been a normal family, with cranky kids and parents that weren’t perfect and got upset, but at the end of the day they were still a family.
How times have changed. And now I don’t watch.
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I watched at first because the kids were so cute. They have now outgrown ‘cute’ and are not very entertaining. Kate started checking ways to get $$$ as soon as she had the procedure for the tups (so I’m not so impressed with her there). Jon was treated miserably throughout the show, but now is acting like a jerk. Kate is playing the role of single mother and doing a lousy job of it. She hasn’t had enough practical experience at mothering to know what to do. The show are now boring, either we’ve all done it ourselves (dr/dentist/barber) or we feel sad that our kids can’t get even one trip a year now and theirs get a trip/event every week and they don’t appreciate it. They are very seldom smiling when out (although almost seem to enjoy Jon’s at home outdoor fun-no mom screaming about a mess). They have both had the chance to be fooling around and we have no proof that they have or haven’t (Kate is just lucky that she travels and it’s not as easy to catch her). She’s all into the ‘celebrity’ status she seems to think she has. Them +9, Her =8, Him, Her, there is NO show of interest with any of those titles.
Oh geez. Why do I watch. Well, I think any time we’re allowed to be voyeurs, we often take that opportunity. And having seen the family go through so many big and small moments, you sort of start to care about their lives and have some sort of investment in them. My annoyance with the Gosslins is matched with an affection, and I think that’s why I keep clicking on articles like this one.
Good point. I would like to see an end to this entire show – and the new show (Kate +
to end. The recent Heene FAA controversy just goes to show how folks are easily influenced by Jon and Kate. Octomom wanted a show. We idolize shows like Little People Big World, 18 Kids and Counting, and so on. We need to stop the madness. We ought to be pointing the finger to TLC for perpetuating this type of “voyeurism” into lives we really waste time on. TLC may end up being sued by the Gosselin children, Duggar children, and Roloff children for exploitation as minors. Do they really have rights? Or a trust fund? Me thinks not.
I don’t idolize shows like Little People Big owrld etc….I think all reality shows are stupid. On the Kate and Jon front, I think Jon was right to leave. If I had to live with her and the way she treated him on the show I wouldn’t be there long. She wasn’t nice to him. I am a married woman and I treat my hubby with more respect than she ever did to Jon.
I think someone hijacked my name. That, or there are two Lynn’s posting now. I figure it was the person I was disagreeing with last night…
O.K. My wife and I used to enjoy the show, and yes it is because we are voyeuristic. I had told my wife for 2 years that Jon would leave if Kate didn’t check her attitude toward him. I don’t condone Jon’s behavior either, but it takes two to fight. Kate has become a bit of a diva, hasn’t she? Check out her speaking and book signing schedule and you will see that Jon spent more time with the kids than Kate (Who only seemed to be home when the cameras were there). Jon wanted Kate to feel his life and you know, she is still traveling and promoting herself. This is what happens when people become celebrities and their live become “handled” by interested (invested) third-parties. We will continue to follow this story to it’s inevitable end… It’s very sad. A lesson to all of us.
Those who watch do so for a simple reason. Their poor pitiful lives look good compared to the losers on TV. Those who watch that garbage, just, have no lives!! It really is that simple.
I yearn for the day we can say Jon and Kate who?
I don’t watch.
As a matter of fact, I turn the channel at any hint that it may be on soon so I am not electronically counted as a viewer, ever.
I think people watch whatever you give them to watch because the average american is apparently stupid and has little selective reasoning or a personal compass of what is acceptable to their brain – so they watch.
They would probably watch dog poop sit in the yard for 3 seasons if that is all television has become.
Oh oh oh, billy bob cyrus is probably going to check his yard to see if there is some dog poop he can turn into a pop diva now – oh wait, he already did that! Dog poop has been claimed!
Kate Grogglin is uninteresting and so is her divorce from a very immature guy. Poor kids.
Wise up people and don’t watch this trash and maybe tv will actually provide us some entertainment for a change!
Hmmmmm, cat poop?
Uh, Heather, do you even know how ratings work? They don’t magically know you’re watching. You seem very hostile about television. Have you considered therapy?
Do you take facials?