In Sad News

Amber Portwood of MTV's Teen Mom fame [if you wanna call it that] tried to commit suicide this week. You may be aware [but for your sake, I hope you aren't] of her struggles with the law over the past year due to a domestic abuse incident that was captured on the show. Amber is one BA Biotch and repeatedly hit her sometimes boyfriend and full time baby dady in front of their baby, on camera. Genius! She has spent some time in jail, lost custody of their two year old daughter Leah [who is simply precious], and been in anger management courses [a good idea if you ask me]. I think it's so sad that things have gotten so troubling in her life that she felt the ned to do something dramatic, but it leads me to a bigger point.....

What the heck is MTV thinking??

Since the phenomenal success of the hot messes on The Jersey Shore, MTV seems to have turned into a full on Jerry Springer type of network that exploits and profits off of young people embarassing themselves on camera. I think The Jersey Shore is one thing because those idiots are adults [well.......you know what I mean], but a show like 16 & Pregnant is clearly about young people who are going through a challenging time.

To be clear, I don't necessarily agree with the people that complain that 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom condone and endorse getting pregnant at a young age. I think the shows themselves initially raised awareness to teens about how hard it is to be a teen parent. On the other hand, I think the media and subsequent attention and endorsements that these girls received are what make the idea of this show, these characters and this predicament appealing. I also think that, at some point, MTV has got to step in and intervene. Some of these young mothers [like Macee] seem to be striving, living responsibly, and growing into great adults. But when people like Amber and Gary start screaming and hitting each other in front of their baby, it's time for a producer to step in, cut the cameras, calm the situation down and maybe even dismiss them from the show. Safety is more important than contracts and ratings, and I think that is where MTV has done these girls a disservice.

We hope that they find a solution to this problem as quickly as they can, and we wish Amber and her family all the best.

And yes, I did just do a post about Teen Mom.