You had to see this one coming.
From the very first minute I saw Dr. Drew Pinksy’s new primetime HLN show last month, I knew it would be just a matter of time before his peeps from MTV would show up to chat.
For the record it took exactly 29 days.
The good doc had to wait less than a month to parade out the mega-popular teen moms, who went from complete obscurity to tabloid fodder after getting knocked up by their boyfriends, and letting MTV document the tumult that ensued in the series “16 and Pregnant” and the spin-off, “Teen Mom.”
I suppose it would have seemed a bit trite for Dr. Drew to ask the very young moms to be on his new show during his premiere week. Instead, he waited until tonight—the 10th annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
How’s that for a primetime tie-in.
And speaking of coincidences, MTV waited until today to announce that its blockbuster series “Teen Mom” will be back for two more seasons. Season three kicks off on July 5th with the original very young moms — Amber Portwood, Catelynn Lowell, Farrah Abraham and Maci Bookout -– facing life with toddlers on the brink of the terrible twos.
I happened to be on the treadmill when Dr. Drew and the teen moms were discussing sex, pregnancy and prevention on tonight’s HLN show. I watched the entire 60 minutes, but wasn’t completely satisfied with Dr. Drew’s “digging.” I figured if anyone could get these girls to open up it would be him. After all, Dr. Drew is the host of all of MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” reunions and has know these girls for a few years now.
Still, he seemed to skirt around the money issue. Despite court documents showing that each of the girls earns a reported $140,000 per season, all of the moms maintained that they were not doing the show for the money; rather, they chanted in unison that their goal is to keep taping so they can inspire other teens in the same position. Never mind that several members of the cast reportedly used their earnings from the show to get breast implants.
Another part that bothered me was that much of the show was dedicated to contraception and the perceived glamorization of teen pregnancy. It wasn’t until the closing minutes that Dr. Drew piped in that it was “okay” for teens to actually hold off on having sex until later in life.
Then, again, the show’s less than an hour, the topic is one that has fueled debates that have been raging for decades, and these girls are just that, teen girls, who are getting paid to tow the company line, and whose lives have been inexplicitly changed forever because of the way they decided to handle a situation typically reserved for adults.
Did National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy inspire you to talk to your kids about sex?