Jon Gosselin tells 'GMA' he despises Kate
NBC's "Today" show got the first big interview with Kate Gosselin, but ABC's "Good Morning America" got the more emotional, less seemingly rehearsed one with her divorcing husband, Jon, on Tuesday.

Jon Gosselin, who has been depicted as a slacker and party boy for the last several months, came out breathing fire in the interview with GMA's Chris Cuomo that aired Tuesday morning. He said he despises Kate and can't stand to sit on the same sofa with her to tape their reality TV show. More of the conversation will air Tuesday night on "Primetime: Family Secrets" at 10 on ABC.

From co-host Diane Sawyer to Cuomo, the GMA team set out to recontextualize the Battle of Jon and Kate in keeping with the dueling spouse whom they have access to. As Sawyer put it in her introduction, "... here for the first time, telling his side...."



" I was beaten down" by Kate, Jon said. "She would hold my kids over my head. I would want to spend time with my mom, and she would say, 'Don't spend time with your mom, spend time with your kids.' Why can't I spend time with my mom and my kids?"

Citing years of "verbal abuse" from Kate, Jon said he cannot stand being near Kate.

"I can't sit on the sofa with that woman [the couch on which the two sat during segments of their show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and talked to the camera about their family]," he told Cuomo. "I can't sit with someone I despise."

Jon Gosselin said TLC now uses "separate" crews for him and Kate to tape the show.

Jon also claimed Kate, who still wears her wedding ring, stole his. (Is this starting to sound a little trashy and tawdry?) "She took my ring," he told Cuomo, laying out an argument of supposition and circumstantial evidence -- but no real proof.

It wasn't all anger. Jon also told Cuomo that he has cried a lot in the past eight months: "I get frustrated -- pent up... I have no one in the media to tell my side."

You do now, Jon. You do now.

He also said he and Kate need to move on with their lives: "I would say, let's finish what we got to finish and move on with our lives," Gosselin said. "And stop feeding into the frenzy."

I think this interview is part of the feeding, Jon. I really do.

The GMA segment ended with the reading of a brief statement of response from Kate in which she said "for the sake of my children," she will not discuss specifics of the marriage.

I actually watched the first 2 seasons of this show,when I was unlucky enough to flip to it, and I'm on Team Jon. The way Kate constantly berated him and constantly put him down in front of the crew and the children had to have a emotional effect on the the guy, and that was just what was aired.

Sorry but if that's how Kate is on camera I can't imagine what hell is like when the lights are off.

Saying that, this train wreck before us is sad to watch for all involved.

Though I will say that Kate's PR team is amazing.
[Edited 9/8/09 22:02pm]

(no offense)

cborgman said:

Have you seen the ratings spike since the D-I-V-O-R-C-E went down, millions seem to.

Why the fuck would anyone waste time watching this? Since when is watching a married couple raise their kids an interesting and compelling thing to watch each week?

*hugs LOST dvds*

I'll be over here watching a REAL television show with an actual plot!

lazycrockett said:

i agree with you. but Kate has been a bit different this season.

lazycrockett said:

Ageed on all counts.

(Who'da thunk THAT? )

purplesweat said:

Well actually, I can't speak for anyone else, but I was interested in the first two seasons because it felt more in tune with what The Learning Channel used to be about; informational show content. The documentary the show was based on was an exploration of what it's like to carry and birth multiples. That's intriguing enough. It was more of a health oriented show, focusing on fertility treatments, advancements in medicine and how it can help pregnant women, etc. From public interest of whatever happened to the six little babies from TLC, the JK8 show sprouted, with the intention of focusing on child developement, which isn't so bad a topic in my view. Now the world being as it is, and the nature of man being as it is, this (formerly) health-oriented, family friendly show has now evolved into a sensationalist ratings grabber full of cheap content and exploitive tactics from all involved in its' production. Pity...

ehuffnsd said:

Realistically speaking, she has to be different this season.

There is no guarantee that she will be able to rely on this franchise for much longer. So if you look at this situation in a very cold, strategic way, she's going to have to do certain things to re-vamp her "brand" in the public eye so she can provide for her children. The first of which is atoning (or giving the appearance of atoning) for 4 years of assanine behavior she displayed in the public eye. It will be to her benefit (an the children's financial benefit) for her to heavily play the mommy card, the marytr card, the stoic heroine card, and most importantly all with the undertone of humility and epic resolve. The way she's playing this scenario now is a publicist's dream! She may be a ball crushing witch, but she's also a highly intelligent, strategic thinker. I imagine she's going to ride this season out dutifully and humbly all the way to the bank....and should the contract end after this year, trust she will have emerged from this untarnished, with more business tricks up her sleeve than the public has probably bargained for.

Ottensen said:

she's a brite one for sure. getting the gig on the view next week a good move.

Ottensen said:

Which is exactly what kate wanted to do. She wanted the fame, while jon really didn't he got bullied to quit his job and become part of the cable show. Jon's kinda stuck he hasnt been able to find a real job but yet so many people are throwing money at him to do things. That double edged sword attracts and cuts
[Edited 9/9/09 1:11am]

ehuffnsd said:

Yup. Look at how "effective" her pr moves are: within a month she's done yet another "I'm being strong and moving on" sit-down interview with Larry King, the early morning talk circuit, the glamourous semi-make-over pics in People. She's still hawking her Health Tex baby clothes, showing moms across America how to make instant ice cream by freezing milk in Glad Bags, now she's going to reach a major network of millions on a show that just made Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential" list. She may be Cruella de Ville (so much so that I long stopped watching the JK8 show), but I can't knock her hustle...at least the children won't starve, I guess.

lazycrockett said:

That is kinda sucky that he can't go back to a 9 to 5 or corporate gig. No straight laced company (the stomping grounds from whence he game) would touch him now. His visibility in the public eye is too much of a liability. At this point the only thing he can do is ride the wave with whatever endorsements are thrown his way and stuff that dough under his matress...and actually, the more I think about the "securities" side of a scenario like this...I wouldn't even have a new love interest in a time like this. Can't speak for anybody else, but my focus would soley be on "stacking paper" to carry me through the lean times. There's always time to find a new lover. But the window of opportunity to cement financial security from this fiasco will be closing fast.

Ottensen said:

Which is why people should STOP watching once it becomes that kind of drivel. But no....

cborgman said:

purplesweat said:

I actually haven't tuned in this season, maybe save for the first episode. Too painful (as in ridiculous) to watch (for me). From what I understand though, the ratings have fast plummeted this season, so it apparently people have stopped watching. Even if they didn't, it's a free country there and people should be allowed to watch what they want without being attacked for it, I'm not affected by their viewing choices, so what do I care?

I remember when reality tv first began, I must've been a teenager. It began in such an interesting way; lots of social commentary shot almost like documentaries. The informational shows were and still are cool. But I suppose after 20 years show ideas are stretched thin and they are scraping the bottom of the barrel to pique people's interest. However, reality shows are unfortunately here to stay. Whether the tide will turn and networks and production companies
return to a higher quality of show content remains to be seen. But these shows are too cost effective with too high a profit margin for them to disappear. So what we can hope for at most is that the trash will eventually bottom itself out, and the studios will eventually move with new market models to fit the fickle tastes of changing demographics...

Ottensen said:

Cuz I'm sick of people talking about these morons like they're important. They're not and they don't deserve this attention for doing NOTHING. Same with Heidi Montag even being allowed to perform at Miss Universe - why? What's she done to deserve screen time? ZERO. Octomum? PLEASE. Even as early as three or four years ago morons like these would've been completely ignored. Now we just give any old idiot standing around ridiculous amounts of attention (and eventually money).



I watched a show on youtube yesterday called MTV Fear. It was a reality show where they put 5 contestants in a haunted location with hand held cameras. Last person left wins $5000. It was on MTV probably about 8-9 yrs ago. It was sad watching it because it was enthralling, fun and interesting (not to mention scary). It wasn't ridiculously edited, the people were normal and real and stuck together as a team and it was ENJOYABLE to watch.

Nowadays we have HOT CHICKS IN SCARY PLACES. Where 3 perfect looking bimbos make fools of themselves while MTV goes apeshit with the windows movie maker effects and one shot a second editing so you don't realise NOTHING IS HAPPENING. There were no scares besides one slamming door and they made sure to show us the girls changing into skimpy pajamas. It was boring, pathetic and so obviously scripted and set up. The girls were vapid, bitchy and annoying.

Reality TV has lost its reality and its charm. THIS is why I hate pointless stuff like Jon and Kate. WHO decided "two parents raising kids" was an interesting idea for reality tv?



Fingers crossed. Til then, I'll stick with Lost and Bones.

ehuffnsd said:

Cuz she went from the bully to the 'victim'?