Mel B Ordered To Pay Stephen Belafonte $40K A Month The judge in Stephen Belafonte and Mel B’s divorce proceedings bought his sob story about being too broke to function, because he just granted his request for emergency spousal support. If you’ll recall, Stephen was asking Mel for around $18k a month to pay for housing, clothes, food, and his cell phone bill. Mel called that amount into serious question due to the fact that it seemed exorbitant and unnecessary. However, according to TMZ the judge granted him over two times that amount — at least for the time being — and actually did Mel a favor, since he could have told her to cough up $15k a month more, based on documents filed. So for now, Mel has to pay Stephen $40,000 a month to make sure that he stays fed and fly until their divorce settlement is final, on top of a one-time payment of $140,000 for his legal fees. SHEESH. You would think that with all Stephen allegedly put Mel through , and the fact that he’s just one man without custody of his children…the amount would be exponentially lower. But the law is what it is, we guess…. WENN/Splash
In a talk show appearance, television personality and former model Katie Price suggested that she'd consider hiring a sex worker for her autistic son, who is currently only fifteen. There is so much to unpackage here. Because there's so much wrong , here. We have the video for you, below, with full context — but no amount of context could make this anything but controversial. But first, here's what's going on. Katie Price is a television personality these days, but she used to be one of those “top-heavy” models, and she'd model topless. Essentially, she made millions off of her megaboobs. She has three children. Her son, Harvey, is fifteen. Harvey is on the autistic spectrum. While there are plenty of autistic folks with basically zero issues in a neurotypical-dominated society, there are some people with autism who need daily assistance to go about their lives. Harvey, at least for now, needs a fair amount of accommodation, though part of that is because he was born blind. And Harvey also has Prader-Willi syndrome, which can have a few symptoms such as impaired brain-function — but the primary symptom is an insatiable appetite that can easily lead to massive weight gain. Katie Price appeared on a talk show, Loose Women , along with a woman who has an adult autistic son and has written a book about her experience as his mother. The woman's son also appeared on the show and, honestly, we thought that he did an ample job of speaking for himself and we'd rather have just heard from him. That woman shared a story about how she'd considered hiring a sex worker for her son when was in his early 20s. As she tells it, she even drove into what she calls a “red light district,” only to get cold feet. Her son ended up meeting a young woman on his own and dating her — he was just awkward at the time. (We get the feeling that his mother was panicking that her son would be alone forever, and honestly that whole anecdote is just a huge red flag about the mom) Katie Price jumps in with her own story, based on Harvey having entered puberty and something that Katie Price's husband (for now) had suggested: “Kieran said, ‘Shall we get him a prostitute when he turns 18?’ But I said, ‘But that’s my little Harvey and I don’t want him to do that!’ What do I do? Do I leave it? Or do I let him experience it?” You'll see that and the chatter in response in the video below. This is hardly the first time that Katie Price has made controversial statements on parenting , but still. But we need to unpack these issues. Okay, first of all, because this is the most important thing to address: It's pretty screwed up that these women seem very content to just talk about autistic folks like they're wild animals that sometimes end up in people's houses. People who have autism are people. They exist on a very wide and varied spectrum of abilities and experiences. Television and film tend to portray autistic people as either nonverbal robots “who might be dangerous” or as slightly shy white men who are really, really good at solving crimes. If you want a better glimpse at some positive and frankly realistic portrayals of an autistic adult, maybe look at Abed Nadir on Community . Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was essentially just a male, magical version of Temple Grandin, a famous autistic woman who advocates for livestock welfare and has changed industry standards in the process. These examples might serve people better than listening to the horror stories of Mommy Bloggers. Most of the parents in that category are more interested in exploiting their family stories for profit than giving an honest representation of people on the autistic spectrum. It's no wonder that this episode proved to be so controversial, right? A lot of the controversy, however, wasn't centered upon the weird fetishization of “autism moms.” No, a lot of the Twitter backlash was about the idea of hiring a sex worker. Not because Harvey is disabled or still a minor or a real person who may or may not want to have sex in a few years, regardless of what his parents assume. But because there are still people, many of them well-meaning, who believe that sex work is inherently bad. That's really no surprise — just think of the ridiculous freakout over Teen Vogue 's anal sex guide . In this case, though, only some of the people who rail against sex work are just people who are generally tightly wound about sex. Some people who probably think of themselves as sex-positive act as though all sex work is the same thing as sex trafficking. Not even a little. It is absolutely true that sometimes women are kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery in an operation that resembles voluntary sex work. Except for the voluntary part. That does not make all sex work involuntary or abusive or anything else. Like, we know that Qatar has used slave labor in construction. That does not mean that all construction workers are slaves. Not all sex workers are desperate to get into a different line of work, either. Not all porn stars want to be actors and not all escorts dream of a white picket fence. People who rail against sex work are so often shouting over the voices of actual sex workers. So a lot of ire was misplaced, basically. Katie Price, to be fair, is far from the worst offender here. She only brought this up because the other mom had already shared her story. But unless it's something that Harvey actually says that he wants when he's an adult, she shouldn't even consider it. Hopefully the backlash, misguided as much of it might be, will make that clear.
One year ago, Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner had a tragic miscarriage four months into the pregnancy. The Married At First Sight stars grieved and mourn and shared their loss with the world. Now it’s a year later, and while they are excited to be expecting again , they haven’t forgotten their son who would have been, Johnathan. We see a photo of the two of them standing by Johnathan’s memorial tree in their backyard, but it’s the heartfelt caption that really hits home for fans of the family and for those who understand their loss. In an emotional message, punctuated by emojis, Jamie Otis took to Instagram to share how she and her husband are feeling, one year later. “A year ago from today was our last full day pregnant with our first born son.” Calendar dates can be wonderful for birthdays and anniversaries; for remembering a loss, they can be cruel. “Johnathan was delivered on July 13th, 2016 at just 17 weeks, 1 day. He was way too little to survive outside the womb.” That must have been agonizing in ways that most of us cannot even imagine. Though we have seen Jamie and Doug in that hospital photo , seeing and feeling are different things. “I remember feeling so helpless – there was nothing I could do to help my baby.” That’s every parent’s nightmare. “I swore to myself, to my hubby, to God, to my baby boy, and to ANYONE who would listen that I’d never let him just be forgotten.” She’s really keeping that promise. She also talks about coping mechanisms, which are important to have and also important to share with others who might need them. “I blogged a lot to help cope with the loneliness; to numb the pain.” No matter how loving and supportive a spouse and family might be, a miscarriage hits home in ways that most people can’t understand or provide comfort for. “I will forever be thankful & I’ll never forget the countless Frans – and even strangers – who reached out to me to offer love & support.” “Frans,” as in fans who are friends or like friends. It’s cute. And then she talks about the memorial. “…I planned ways to honor our angel baby’s short, sweet life.” There are a lot of ways to do that. “One of the ways I wanted to remember him was by planting a tree for him & watching it grow.” That will only grow more meaningful as the years go by. “Now that we finally have our own home and our own backyard we can plant that tree. We researched and found a tree that blossoms all summer long.” That’s absolutely beautiful. She then invited fans and followers to join her in keeping her son’s memory alive, last night but also always. Everybody grieves and mourns in their own way. We’re sure that part of Jamie looks forward to the day that the hardest thing that she has to do is confront body-shamers . It’s not for us — or anyone — to say if someone’s grieving too little or too much. (Besides, you don’t know what’s going on internally) But in Jamie’s case, it looks like she’s found a good balance and a healthy way to cope and to move forward with her life. And such a sweet, tasteful way to immortalize her son’s memory. View Slideshow: 27 Stars Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage
It's been a longer wait than usual, but Game of Thrones Season 7 is finally upon us! Based on rumors from the set and speculation from obsessive super-fans we know a little bit about what GoT Season 7 has in store , but now that the show's off-book there's really no saying what might happen as the fates of the final claimants to the Iron Throne begin to collide. Check out the first photos from the show's long-awaited season premiere in the gallery below, and don'f forget, you can always watch Game of Thrones online at TV Fanatic to get caught up. But hurry. Winter in July is almost here, and the spoilers will surely be flying like Dany's dragons. 1. The Khaleesi In Westeros Daenerys Targaryen is finally in the West, and it seems she has her sights set on big things. Literally. It looks like she’s looking at a dragon here. 2. Brienne and Podrick In Battle We’re sure they’re just training. Still, these two going toe-to-toe should make for an interesting scene. 3. Dolorous Edd and Company The men of the Night’s Watch seem perplexed. Which is saying something, because it takes a lot to perplex them. 4. Meera Reed … At The Wall? Bran’s pal Meera appears to have arrived at the Wall. Which means Bran has probably arrived at the Wall. Which means huge developments are afoot. 5. Daenerys in Dragonstone The Khaleesi has returned home. To be honest, Essos looked to have a much more hospitable climate, but what do we know? 6. A Giant Map in King’s Landing Elsewhere in King’s Landing, some dude is making a giant map. Why? What’s the significance? We don’t know! View Slideshow
Nobody outside of Sister Wives seems to actually like Kody Brown. He’s obnoxious and hella rude, and it sounds like, lately, his behaviors been getting worse and worse. To the point where he may lose everything. We don’t know if he’s spiraling in a quest for ratings or if he’s authentically preparing to crash and burn, but frankly it doesn’t really matter — he doesn’t deserve his wives. They don’t deserve to have to put up with him. And according to a new report, all four of them have started to realize that, too. So, as we already talked about, Kody Brown is rude and maybe even verbally abusive to his four wives. That, by itself, is more than enough reason to drop him in the garbage where he belongs and move on with your lives. And there’s the boundless tensions brought up when he added his fourth wife, Robyn, to the fold. But it’s also sounding like Kody might be looking for more young women to marry. At this point, he’s seeming less like a man committed to polygamy and more like a man who’s less interested in his committed partners and more interested in chasing new, young women. That doesn’t sound like a “polygamist role model.” (Not that he’s ever lived up to that aspiration) That sounds more like … that hot mugshot guy’s recent antics . And the results aren’t pretty. Specifically, it looks like Kody Brown’s wives want to leave him . But that same report mentions that Kody might be wanting to leave them anyway and build himself a new family. Now, we’ve heard stories about Kody Brown’s wives leaving him before. So we always try to take these things with a grain of salt. It was only a few months ago that Robyn seemed adamant that she wasn’t leaving Kody . But is it possible that she was just putting on a brave face? And while the idea of him wanting to set aside his current wives and build a new family from scratch sounds far-fetched. Like … Kody Brown’s behavior has always been out there. And it’s been getting worse, lately. If he’s having some sort of midlife crisis or whatever, who knows what he’s planning? A lot of reality shows are a mixed bag. Sister Wives is not. It’s bad. See, polyamory — non-monogamous relationships involving more than just two people — can be wonderful. Many thruples and triads and other groups of partners find that it makes their lives wonderful. And while the term polygamy implies that it’s just one many marrying multiple women and that’s the extent of everyone’s relationships, that can still work and be a good thing, too. The whole reason that Kody and his wives wanted to do Sister Wives in the first place is because they wanted to increase acceptance of polygamy . That’s a very noble goal. It might make taxes and inheritance and insurance and a few other things a little complicated, but is that really a deciding factor? We can’t really think of a legal justification for preventing a group of committed adults from making their relationship as official as everyone else’s. And Sister Wives was supposed to help normalize this in the minds of middle America. Unfortunately, because this relationship has Kody at the center, they may have set back the fight for polygamy by a few decades. And, by extension, the push for wider acceptance of polyamory. So … thanks, Kody. As always, we won’t take any stories at face value until they’re substantiated. It’s especially easy to believe stories that the wives are planning on leaving Kody, because every viewer wants them to run off. Confirmation bias is the psychological phenomenon that describes why we want to automatically believe things that fit our worldview. And nobody’s worldview finds Kody Brown to be an ideal mate. No matter what this story says, we more than suspect that Kody Brown’s wives know that. But that doesn’t mean that they’ll actually take the steps necessary to leave him.
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