In the News
What’s Next for Octuplet Mom?
Why, an agent of course!
-Mean Betty
I recently expressed my incredulity that one woman deliberately grew her family to 14 children. Well, the plot thickens, darlings. Nadya Suleman – aka Mother Goose – has hired herself an agent – obviously the next step after giving birth to eight premature infants, while your six other kids wait at home for mommy so they can start penciling in their 15 minutes of daily personal attention.
It’s hard to imagine the story could get any more bizarre, but I’m betting it will.
So far we know that the unmarried Suleman used a sperm donor to conceive. She lives with her parents, who themselves have had a hard time financially (as in a little thing called bankruptcy), in a modest home on a modest street in California (talk about there goes the neighborhood). But not to worry – Mother Goosie has a plan to support her bakers-dozen-plus-one! The Early Show reports that Suleman hopes to make money through TV interviews and even by working as an on-camera child-care expert.
Yes! Of course! Who would NOT want to take advice from such a paragon of maternal sensibility?
And of course – inevitably – there the hundreds of book deals and interview offers pouring in on a daily basis. As the Los Angeles Times so aptly says, “Move over, Brangelina and your $14-million twins. There are some new babies in town.” The floodgates have opened as everyone salivates over the thought of being the first to distribute snapshots of the latest circus freaks. Rumor has it Goosie is being offered up to $2 million for an interview.
Why stop at $2 million, Dearie? That’s only $250K per baby.
Come to think of it, Goosie and Natalie Dylan (the young lady who’s hawking her virginity to the highest bidder) should get together – maybe they can co-write a book on how creative ways to make money with your body. Hey – it’s a recession after all.
Just this morning, Suleman’s “spokesperson” Joann Killeen went on Good Morning America to explain that her client is “not overwhelmed” (Gee, why would she be? Piece of cake!), Killeen said, “She’s smart, she’s bright, she’s articulate, she’s well educated and she has a wonderful sense of humor.”
Well, that’s a relief. A good sense of humor would be the key to this whole thing.
So, in much the same way that it’s soooo hard to tear one’s eyes away from the scene of an accident, I look forward to the inevitable Oprah appearance, the People magazine news spread, and – who knows – maybe even the reality show.
And in the meantime, I hope the California Medical Board is doing some hard thinking about a little thing called “ethics.” Because, if it’s true what Forbes reports – that it’s illegal for a fertility specialist to refuse treatment based on his or her opinion of the mother’s ability to care for her children – then something needs to change.
And it’s not just the 80 or so daily diapers Suleman can look forward to once she gets out of the hospital and back home with her media attraction/family.