After the ruling came down, Laurie Goldberg, spokeswoman for Discovery/TLC, continued to argue the company line that they were not required to get work permits for the children; this, despite the fact that the agency had determined and ruled that the children were, indeed, working.
Although they were found to be in violation of Pennsylvania Child Labor Law, Discovery/TLC and Figure 8 Films got off scot-free, with no fines imposed. That gave the appearance that the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania didn’t want to ruffle any feathers or jeopardize future filming projects. Film and television industry projects bring in big bucks to states; therefore, many states work very hard to provide tax breaks and other incentives to attract production companies. It certainly wouldn’t look very inviting if Pennsylvania had decided to take legal action against Discovery.
There is a question about whether it had ever occurred to anyone that the kids needed permits to film Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht. Discovery/TLC continued to hide behind their excuse that they were filming “reality.” Kate pleaded ignorance and said she “didn’t know they needed them” in the first place.
It is important to understand that Kate Gosselin was not only controlling, but was in total control of anything and everything having to do with the family business. She did the talking and the negotiating and the deciding. She gave the orders, and Jon went along and did what he was told – or else. So when it came time to sign the family’s first big contract with Discovery, Kate was in her glory. Contrary to Kate’s statements that she didn’t know she needed to obtain work permits, and that nobody ever told her to get them, and she “thought Discovery would take care of them…,” the bottom line is that Discovery did, in fact, tell Kate and Jon that they were responsible for obtaining any necessary permits and/or licenses. Discovery went so far as to build specific wording into the contract with the Gosselins – which Kate signed.
I have all of the Gosselin family contracts. The exact wording regarding the work permits, from the contract dated October 4, 2006, is: “Family has obtained and will maintain at all times during the service term (and any extension thereof) any and all work permits, immigration clearances necessary to enable family to perform services hereunder.” It is wording that was designed to protect Discovery in case any legal issues arose from the Gosselin sweatshop, which was about to open for business
Kate Gosselin decided to thumb her nose at the legal system and forgo fulfilling her obligation to the Network to obtain work permits for the kids, as contracted, because she was arrogant, and she wanted to give the illusion that her children weren’t working at all, and were “just going about their daily lives, doing what they would normally do in a day.”
Discovery, of course, knew better. They knew the kids would be working. They knew that “reality” television required more than reality. When they installed permanent studio lighting in the Gosselin’s house for filming, it was one of many telltale signs that the house had become a fully functional television studio. There would be schedules; direction; takes and retakes; lines to be read; and coaching, prodding and trickery to get the kids to do what the producers wanted. There would be product placement and cameo appearances, and a host of manufactured storylines. Yes, Discovery knew the kids would be working and that they would need permits to do so. Their crack legal team would surely have researched Pennsylvania’s child labor laws, including age restrictions on filming, so it worked out well that they could place the responsibility for the permits elsewhere.
In addition to addressing the work permits, the L&I ruling specified that a trust fund had to be established for the kids. Kate had never set aside any money AT ALL for the children to get from seven seasons of giving up their childhoods and being forced to work. She was legally forced to do so when the Murt investigation began, but she did it very reluctantly. The trust fund was set up just two months before the Murt hearing. I have a statement from the trust fund account. Here is some basic information about it, including the name of the account:
“THE CHILDREN’S HOUSEHOLD” at Kate’s P.O. Box in Sinking Spring, PA.
LPL Financial
Brown Funds
Gosselin Childrens IRREV Trust – Conception Date: February 17, 2010
Read that carefully. Conception Date: February 17, 2010. So it would appear that one hundred and sixteen (116) episodes of Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht were filmed with absolutely zero money being put aside for the children. Only twenty-seven (27) episodes of Kate Plus Ei8ht were filmed after February 17, 2010.
Now look more carefully at this part of the L&I ruling:
“…at least 15 percent of the gross proceeds, due to the children, must be placed in trust funds until they reach the age of 18 or unless needed for their safety, education, welfare or health.”
Guess who gets to decide on the “need” to withdraw the kids’ money for “safety, education, welfare or health” necessities. That would be Kate Gosselin, and there is no system in place to question her as to why she’s removing the children’s money. Just her word. It is like the fox guarding the hen house.
The only reason Kate Gosselin has her wealth today is because she was paid handsomely for allowing her eight children to be filmed and exploited for our entertainment. She couldn’t, and can’t, earn a living from TV herself because she has no talent and is supremely unmarketable. Her spinoff solo show, Twist of Kate, never even made it out of the testing stages. A TLC employee told me off the record that “It was a total failure from the get-go because she is terribly boring and annoying and nobody wanted to see just Kate Gosselin. They want to see the kids.”
And yet those kids have almost nothing to show, financially, for their years of work. Even though Kate was forced to set up a trust fund, the sad truth is that, if only 15% was put aside for the kids, it means that out of every $1,000 dollars the kids earned from filming, Kate got $850, while each Gosselin child got $18.75…even less if Kate decided to take any of it to fulfill their “needs.”
Kate got $850 per $1,000.
Each Gosselin child possibly got $18.75. If they were lucky.
DANCING WITH THE STARS . . . AND KATE
When Kate signed on to do Dancing With The Stars (DWTS for short), there was a lot of talk in the media and on the blogs about Kate being away from her children for extended periods of time while practicing and flying back and forth to Los Angeles to film the show.
Kate nipped that talk right in the bud and declared in television interviews that she would only be away from the kids for three days a week at the most. She would rehearse at home, with the kids there to support her, and then she would leave on Sunday night to fly to Los Angeles and return home on a late flight after the Tuesday filming. Three days. Not a bad gig for a single working mother of eight, who would be banking about $300,000-$500,000 for the short-term job.
While the plan sounded good on paper, it never even came close to happening the way Kate spelled it out. I was at the Gosselin house all day, every day during the DWTS period, and I kept close tabs and detailed notes on Kate’s comings and goings. It wasn’t pretty if you were one of the Gosselin kids hoping to spend time with your mother, that’s for sure.
The Sunday to Tuesday trips quickly turned into Saturday to Wednesday excursions, and sometimes the flight back home from Los Angeles would skip Pennsylvania all together and take Kate straight to New York City for rehearsing, or for stylist to the stars Ted Gibson to spend an entire day working on her hair for several thousand dollars. It seemed evident to me that Kate was looking for any excuse she could find to not be with her kids.
The saddest part was the obligatory photo op in the front yard, in front of the paps, where Kate would appear to be playing with and spending quality time with her children. I say photo op because the fun romps in the front yard, in front of the cameras, where the pictures turned up in every tabloid and entertainment website, lasted about three or four minutes – which was just about long enough for Kate to pat the kids on the head like dogs and have photos taken to s
how the world that she was, indeed, home with them like she promised she would be. Those photos, like Kate, lied.
These are my notes from all day, every day, during the Dancing With The Stars days at the Gosselin house.
Jon & Kate Gosselin PA Reporting
March 4 & 5, 2010
Kate has been away from her kids for two weeks.
After Jon left on Sunday, the kids have been with nannies and sitters all week while Kate is seeking fame.
Kate hasn’t seen her kids since Saturday, February 20th. She left the house at 6 am on Sunday morning. Jon took over custody at 7:30 am that day. Jon left the house and kids on Sunday, February 28th so the kids have been without either parent all week. They’ve been with Judy and various babysitters and helpers.
Jon & Kate Gosselin PA Reporting
March 6, 2010
Kate arrived home sometime overnight on Friday night. She and Steve went to Maryland from NYC in a limo.
Judy the nanny arrived at 11:15 on Saturday morning to relieve Kate of her parental duties.
Two DWTS people arrived at the Gosselin house just before 11:30.
Tony the dance partner arrived at 11:35, driving himself in his Porsche Carrera.
The kids played outside most of the day with nannies while Kate and Tony rehearsed in the basement.
The two DWTS staffers left the house at 6:30 pm. Tony and a second nanny where still there at 8:45 pm when I got removed from the street by police.
Tony is staying at the Homewood Suites where Kate stayed often – not in the apartment above the garage.
Dance rehearsal resumed at 8 am today (Sunday) with Judy at the house taking care of the kids.
Kate arrived back home sometime overnight on Friday night. She left NYC with Steve Neild in a limo at 11:30 am on Friday and I’m speculating that they had to go to Maryland first to drop Steve off and for Kate to pick up her car. I don’t know what they did between NYC and Kate arriving back home.
The kids would normally be in bed at 9 pm on a Friday night so I’m guessing that Kate didn’t see them until they woke up on Saturday morning, usually around 7 am. That gave Kate only a few hours to get reacquainted with them before handing them over to Judy who arrived at the house at 11:15 am.
A few minutes before 11:30 am, a white rental car with Mass. plates came to the house with two people in it. A twenty-something blonde got out of the driver’s side and went to the front door to ring the bell while a dark-haired twenty-something guy stayed in the passenger seat waiting. Kate came to the front door wearing a skin-tight, light blue tank top and directed them to go around the house and enter through the basement entrance. The blonde went back to the car to grab her things and the guy and they went inside through the back door. I’m guessing one was a DWTS staffer who brought music and the other, probably the guy since he stayed inside the car and acted like a primadonna was perhaps a dance instructor or choreographer. They brought a few bags with them and a rolling suitcase. Inside the bags I could see (through binoculars) a box of triscuits, some Starbucks bottled coffee drinks and some iHome products. iHome is audio equipment for plugging an iPod into. They went inside and weren’t seen again until they left at 6:30 p.m.
Ten minutes later at 11:35 am, Tony the dance partner arrived in his black Porsche Carrera. He went to the front door and Kate welcomed him inside the house with a hug and a huge smile. (the other two got sent around the outside of the house. Kate must think they’re not important to her.)
A minute later Tony came back outside to grab a bag from his trunk. He was wearing a long sleeve, skin-tight white shirt and tight black pants with bright white socks. He had no shoes on. (Kate made him take off his shoes) He hurried to the car and back in the house with his cargo.
Just before Noon, all eight kids and Judy came outside to play. They were allowed to play in front of the house where they could be seen and photographed. This was strange because Kate has been going out of her way to make sure the kids were hidden around back, out of the view of the paparazzi. For the next three and a half hours, the kids were outside playing in the cold. They didn’t seem to mind though. Half of them had their coats off and Judy was carrying them around. They played lacrosse, rode bikes, scooters and played various other games with each other.
At 3 pm, a new nanny that I don’t know came to the house to take over for Judy. They both stayed outside with the kids for twenty minutes and then Judy tried to get them to come inside by announcing “snack time, come inside”. That got six of the eight running but Aaden and Joel wanted nothing to do with it. They just stopped and stared back at Judy as she was trying to get them to go in. Their defiance lasted another two minutes until Judy yelled “your mom said to get in the house.” That did the trick. They ran inside.
The kids were inside for 45 minutes and then back out to play until dark. None of the dance group made an appearance outside all day.
The two staffers left the property at 6:30 pm. Tony and the other nanny stayed at the house until well into the darkness. At 8:45 pm the police finally told me to leave the front of the property and that made it impossible for me to know when anyone else left because there are several ways to exit. I kept driving by the house but Kate had all the lights off up by the front door and garage and it’s 100 yards from the fence to the house so you couldn’t see anything.
I checked Austin’s several times throughout the night to see if they ducked out for a bite to eat and I also drove by the house to make sure that Tony wasn’t staying in the apartment above the garage. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be up there because I was in there a week ago with Jon and it’s filled with Jon’s crap and it’s a mess.
I found Tony’s car in the parking lot of the Homewood Suites at Midnight so we know where he’s staying.
Jon & Kate Gosselin PA Reporting
March 7, 2010
The nanny arrived at 6:30 am to help Kate with the kids.
Tony and the crew arrived at 7:30 am to begin rehearsal.
Rehearsal wrapped at Noon and Tony left town.
Kate left the kids crying with a new, mean nanny at 12:20 to go tanning.
Kate came home an hour later for five minutes and left again with Leah and Colin to go to Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Kate left the kids again to go to Target – which is connected to Dick’s where she was a short time ago.
Kids totally ignored new, mean nanny when she gave them instructions.
Kate got home at 4:45 but the nanny stayed until 6 pm.
Kate spoke to pap she hates for first time in 8 months. I’m sure it’s in her DWTS contract to be affable.
Judy the nanny arrived at the house at 6:30 am to help Kate get the kids up and ready for the day. Tony was at the Homewood Suites until he left for Kate’s house at 7:15am. He and the crew arrived at 7:30 am to begin rehearsing for the day.
Judy had the kids outside playing – in front of the house again for most of the morning. They sporadically ducked inside for potty breaks but were outside the rest of the time. At Noon, rehearsal wrapped and Tony and the crew left for the day and Judy was relieved by the new, mean nanny. She even looks mean and the kids hate her.
Kate came outside at 12:20, having not spent any time with the kids all morning, and she was about to get in her car when the little girls started yelling and crying for her to stay. I’m a good distance from the house but it’s dead quiet out there and it was very easy to here the conversation. The little girls yelled “Mommy, why do you have to gooooooo?!! When will we see yooooooou?!” And Kate said “I’ll be back soon” and she got in the car and drove off.
I was certain that she was leaving her kids at home for a DWTS emergency or something very important but guess where she went? Wait for it. TANNING! She saw her kids for a few minutes today and left them with a new nanny to go tanning.
The minute Kate drove down the driveway, the mean nanny yelled at the kids to get in the house. They wanted to stay outside playing and she yelled at them again to get in the h
ouse. After a second refusal, she started counting to 5. I have no idea what happens when you get to five but the kids obviously do because that made them jump and she gathered them up in a group on the front steps and marched them inside. After that, I went and joined the pap at the tanning salon where Kate stayed inside for an extra fifteen minutes. She usually does a half hour but today it was forty-five minutes. For the first time in eight months, Kate responded to the paparazzi (that she hates with a passion) when he asked her a question. I told him before hand that I thought she would say something if he asked a DWTS question, guessing that it’s built into her contract in some way. Sure enough, when he asked her something about how well she thinks she’ll do, her response was “you’ll have to wait and see.” And with that, the pap was so thrown by her uttering a syllable that he backed himself right into the tanning salon in front of her while walking and taking pictures and video. Funny.
After tanning, Kate drove the twenty minutes back to the house where she stayed for less than five minutes as she picked up Leah and Colin and drove right back down the same way she came and went to the Target shopping center and went into Dick’s Sporting Goods. She was inside for about 15 minutes looking at Under Armour brand workout clothing. Tony was wearing Under Armour yesterday and he may have recommended it to her to keep her muscles warm and loose. I couldn’t see what she ended up buying but that’s all she looked at and came out with a bag.
On the way to the car the kids were looking at the pap taking their picture and Kate said to them “Don’t worry. They know who you are but you’re safe with me.”
After they got in the car, Kate sat in the parking space for fifteen minutes reading something she had in her lap.
KATE GOSSELIN: HOW SHE FOOLED THE WORLD - THE RISE AND FALL OF A REALITY TV QUEEN Page 53
