Jon Gosselin sat down for an interview on CNN’s Larry King Live, Thursday, October 1, to explain why he decided to pull the plug on TLC’s Kate Plus 8.
Gosselin, accompanied by his attorney, Mark Jay Heller, told King, “It’s not healthy for my kids to be on the show… it’s detrimental to them. It’s my right as a parent and as a father of my kids to determine whether the show is good for my family. I don’t think it’s healthy for them because we’re going through a divorce right now. I don’t think it should be televised and I think my kids should be taken off the show.”
According to Heller, Jon is also concerned that the children are not being compensated.
This is a far cry from what Jon was saying just a few months ago.
In a videotaped interview posted on RadarOnline in July, Jon vehmenently defended the show after Kate’s brother and his wife said they believed the children were being exploited and the show should be shut down.
Jon called their claims “ridiculous,” saying the kids are having a “great time,” and are only being filmed 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day, 3 days a week. “They just do their normal thing,” he said.
“They aren’t being forced to do anything they don’t want to do.”
As for the children’s compensation, Jon said in the earlier interview, “We’ve always contributed to their accounts. That was the whole premise of the show. How do you afford eight kids? I mean, that’s what we do. They have accounts set up, and we contribute money to them.”
So, why the sudden change of heart? Gosselin says, “I had an epiphany one day. I looked in the mirror and I said, ‘I don’t want to be this person anymore.’”
In a statement issued by Kate Gosselin, she says Jon has never expressed concern about the chidren’s involvement prior to being dropped from the show:
“I’m saddened and confused by Jon’s public media statements. Jon has never expressed any concerns to me about our children being involved in the show and, in fact, is on the record as saying he believes the show benefits our children and was taping on Friday with the kids.”
I check in regularly with each of the kids to be sure they want to participate in and continue with the show and will continue to do so,” Kate, 34, continues. “I do the show for my family because I believe it provides us opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have. Jon used to share that belief until as recently as the day the network announced the name change of the show and indicated that Jon would have a lesser role in the show. It appears that Jon’s priority is Jon and his interests. My priority remains our children and their well-being.”
View Jon Gosselin on Larry King Live below: