"Jon and Kate + 8" is probably my least favorite tv show that I have ever seen. In the history of my television viewing. Now, I really hate reality television in general (except for The Amazing Race - that is the only one that I watch because I like seeing the different places they go in the world and I like how they integrate local culture into the tasks that they make the contestants perform), but this one rubs me the wrong way even more than the rest. Now, let me stop for a second to say that I have never actively set out to watch this show. My girlfriend used to watch it (while I was in the room) until she read some less than flattering articles about the Gosselins that made her decide to give up on the show (I was very pleased when she made that decision because it seemed like this fucking show was on 17 out of 24 hours a day). I will admit that the kids on the show were very cute. However, Kate just struck me as a very calculated, phony person. She tried to present a persona to the public how she was a loving wife, but every so often you could see a few cracks in this act that made it seem like maybe in reality she wasn't the nicest person. Also, I really couldn't understand why they would want to do this to their children - it has to be hard enough to raise that many children at once and making sure they have a normal upbringing without turning their life into a spectacle. I also find using your children to generate fame and fortune for yourself to be very slimy.
So, needless to say, I am enjoying the whole ongoing affair scandal with Jon and Kate to no end. Although, I really wouldn't enjoy it at all if the children were old enough to understand what is going on and see it plastered all over every tabloid in print or on the air. I mean, my schadenfreude has its limits. Since that isn't the case, I can take great joy in quotes like this from Kate (from The Huffington Post): "The next story coming out from the animals that stalk us is about our security person and his family," she said, referring to bodyguard Steve Neild. "Already the allegations they're making about me are disgusting, unthinkable, unfathomable, and I am horrified." Really? The "animals"? I'm sorry, but when you willfully turn your private life into a public spectacle in order to get on TV (since you do not have any talent or any other interesting trait that would allow you to earn your way on to TV), you forfeit the right to be outraged when it spins out of control and certain things about your life become public knowledge that you'd rather hadn't. Personally, I think the public should stay out of the private lives of celebrities. Just because we pay money to see them perform doesn't mean we have the right to invade every bit of their existence and plaster pictures all over the internet of how horrible they look taking out the trash. That's why I would never go up to a celebrity in a private situation - dining out, travelling through the airport, etc. - and ask them for their autograph (I think autographs are stupid anyway, but that's beside the point). However, this situation is different - these people asked the public to come into their lives and then didn't like when the public saw everything.
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