Kate Gosselin in the eye of spanking storm
Is reality TV close to claiming one more victim? If the negative publicity that the Gosselin family of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 is generating is anything to go by, it would seem so.
After reports of animal cruelty, infidelity, child exploitation and what have you, Kate Gosselin, the 34-year-old mother of twins and a set of sextuplets, is again under the media lens for smacking her five-year-old daughter Leah on the bottom for misbehaving.
Pictures of Kate grabbing Leah and then the little girl holding her bottom have been published by In Touch magazine. The mag also quoted a witness as saying that Kate lost her head with Leah when the girl wouldn’t stop blowing a whistle even after being told to at least twice.
“The girl was screaming and crying. Kate just pushed her away and walked off with her coffee. Her older sisters were trying to make Leah feel better,” In Touch quoted the witness as saying.
The magazine also published pictures of Kate speaking to a police officer. However, her spokesperson from TLC said the reality star called the police because the paparazzi were going out of control outside the Gosselin home.
Responding to the images, Kate, without admitting to spanking her daughter, told Life & Style Weekly, “Whether the paparazzi are there or not, I am a mother first. I love my children and when they misbehave, I discipline them as I deem appropriate for the situation.”
Meanwhile, much is being said about the breakdown of her marriage to Jon. In April, the 32-year-old father of eight was reported to have left a party with an unidentified woman. He also spent the couple’s tenth anniversary on Saturday away from home and returned only on Monday.
Is the pressure of their lives being under constant scrutiny taking a toll on the family? If yes, this would hardly be the first time a marriage broke because of it. Earlier, celebrities such as Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, Kevin Federline and Britney Spears, Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra, Peter Andre and Katie Price, and Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston have all parted ways after their reality shows.
By » Rick Garner on 2009-06-20 06:58:40