NBC may have been the first network to feature America’s most famous new mother, but don’t expect it to be the last. A spokesman for Nadya Suleman — the 33-year-old Californian who gave birth to octuplets in January — says she’s fielding multiple offers to star in her own reality series, appear in a film documentary, or write her own book. (Suleman has six other children, all under the age of 7.) “People who made the offers are very serious,” stresses Michael Furtney, one of two publicists who began representing Suleman before her recent interviews on Today and Dateline. “As soon as we can get Nadya to sit down and focus on them, she will certainly take advantage of them.”
If it’s a TV show Suleman wants, TLC seems like an obvious destination. Home to reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8 and 17 Kids and Counting, the cable network is building its brand on the public obsession with supersize families. (Look for Table for Twelve, about a New Jersey couple with sextuplets and two sets of twins, to bow next month.) “We’re certainly watching [Suleman's] story unfold,” says TLC president Eileen O’Neill, who confirms that several production companies affiliated with the network have contacted Suleman. “There are a lot of decisions that go into greenlighting a family for any of our shows. What kind of characters are they? How would they come across on TV?”
Some TLC fans don’t seem eager to find out; plenty have already flooded the network’s website with threats to boycott any show that might feature Suleman and her 14 children. (Typical post: “I beg you not to support anything this woman has done or will do.”) Public sentiment for the woman dubbed “Octomom” has run the gamut from total fascination to outright disgust. According to People magazine, even Suleman’s mother, Angela — who’s been caring for her daughter’s other children — is losing patience with her, and says she’s “leaving” once Suleman returns. All of this means any network, publisher, or studio will have serious issues to consider before going into business with Suleman. “Our audience is pretty vocal,” admits O’Neill. “There is a [waiting] period here to see if there’s something that we as a network feel makes good sense. There are so many things going on in that woman’s life right now — we’re all waiting to see what happens next.”
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I agree. Any show she is on is not a show that anyone should be watching. She seems extremley out of it in the interviews and I saw her other children last night and they were so needy and just wanted her attention….my heart breaks for them. She needs help, but it is not going to come from tv, movie or writing a book.
I loved that the sponsored link to this article is “Monthly Birth Control: Forget to Take Your Pill?”
I’ll admit I totally watch Jon and Kate, and likely always will. But if they put that scary woman on the air I will stop watching TLC. I watched the interview with her and it frightened me for her children. She has done this on purpose for the attention, honestly she needs help, real psychiatric help. Even her mother seems to find this whole thing distasteful.
Forget the outrage swirling around this whole situation (outrage which, IMHO, is totally justified), I personally wouldn’t watch because Suleman creeps me out!
I love TLC and will absolutely boycot the channel if they give credibility and money to this freakshow and horrible woman. all she is looking for is freebies and i hope they wouldn’t validate her
Oh sure, Mr. Publicist, I’ll bet the offers are rolling in (wink, wink) You just keep trying to convince us. I’m sure you’ll hit on SOME angle that will work.
Add me to the list of households that will permanently turn off TLC if they succumb to the temptation to further glorify Nadya Suleman’s self-delusion by allowing her to exploit her family for fame and fortune. Just because she seems incapable of thinking of her children first doesn’t mean O’Neill and her network should do the same. It’s time for Child Protective Services to get involved, because clearly Suleman’s own parents are at wit’s end with her.
If only people would actually boycott something like this. You know just as many people will watch that will boycott, so it wont make any difference. And if this woman becomes a millionaire off of this…..make me a fertility specialist appointment ASAP. Cause im next.
I can see clearly now: She did it for the money.
Disgusting. I won’t be watching. I’m not contributing a penny to her completely irresponsible and deluded existence.
She even has her own website now asking for donations. No one should give this woman any help and let her realize how hard having 14 kids will be.
this woman is deluded, she completely turns my stomach. i can’t wrap my mind around how completely irresponsible she is. if she gets her own show, i’m going to consider canceling cable. i have enough issues with the family with 17 kids, and jon and kate, this is the tipping point for me.
I love the publicist quote “as soon as she can sit down and focus on them [the offers]…” How about sitting down and focusing on your kids lady instead of how you intend to turn them into cash cows?
This woman is a idiot. no money and still having kids. Not only is she a slut but a leech on society. she should not only have her tubes tied but should be humanly euthanized. and not receive any publicity or help from the goverment
Does anyone have a contact e-mail where we can e-mail TLC about NOT giving this woman a show? Or is there a general contact page on the site? Glad to see people are already sending letters. Just need more back up.
I love watching Jon and Kate and will continue to watch them. But this lady sounds so freaky. She just wants attention and money and doesn’t care for her kids. I feel sorry for her kids! I hope she doesn’t have a show of her own! I won’t watch it!
the media should not reward this woman’s actions. It will only attract more psychos to give birth to 50 kids! I too feel bad for the kids but she doesn’t deserve pitty or a penny from anyone. what a dumba$$.
How is she a slut?
I agree, she’s a leech, and exploitive of her children, and pretty much a media whore…oh wait, I think I just answered my own question. Heheh…never mind…
I refuse to watch shows such as ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8′ as they tend to glorify multiple births, and appear to ‘reward’ the parents for having so many children.
Have any of you (who criticize Nadya but watch those shows) ever stopped to think that you may be helping to encourage this very thing?
I will absolutely boycott TLC and every single one of their advertisers if they give this psychotic piece of trash a show!!!!!
ok I fail to see how this makes her a “slut” (chase), since all the kids were IVF. However, it does make her very irresponsible.
She lied about being on public assistance. She lied about her obvious plastic surgery to look like Angelina. the other shows on TLC involve FAMILIES. People in this country are not about to watch a show about a single mother who obviously did this for the 15 minutes of fame. The best favor anyone could do for her would be to ignore her. If she gets fame for this, beware of the women who are going to see this as an easy way to make money not realizing that not carrying to term is almost guaranteed and most of babies born this early have severe disabilities. Her mother has already said that one of the six is autistic and needs to be fed and BEGGED the doctor not to do any more in vitros.
I hope she does not get money and fame for doing this either.It would only encourage others to do the same.I feel sorry for her mother and the children.
If Suleman was black, living with her parents, on welfare, and had plastic surgery to try and look like Whitney Houston (or whoever) the networks wouldn’t even be considering this.
Boycott TLC…yes. No wonder the networks and film companies are running scared from Netflix and You tube. Do they not understand that they need a new schtick? No one wants to see this trash anymore.
One upside to this is that if they put Suleman on the air, many people will just give up on TV altogether and cancel their cable and these people will all finally be gone.
That girl is pathetic I say since the government will be raising her kids anyways they should just take them out of that home.
This chick is wack! I feel the kids. It’s a shame.
14 lost children to add to our society..thanks Mom!
I can’t believe that any corporation or media entity would be so foolish as to reward and enable the brazen irresponsibility and selfishness of Nadia Suleman by offering her any deal, but time will tell. Any company that does so deserves to be boycotted, and any money Ms. Suleman receives should be used to repay the California and U.S. taxpayers paying for her dubious disability claim and $3 million IVF procedures and hospital stay. This woman has a serious psychologically disorder, possibly several, not to mention a major narcissist complex.
P.S. Ms. Suleman already has a website set up to “donate” money to her cause. A cold day in hell!