Octomom Nadya Suleman is kind of like eczema -- she's just so irritating. Of course it’s the media that keeps causing the painful outbreaks. A few days ago, In Touch Weekly magazine published a piece about the struggling single mom of 14, in which she was quoted as saying, “I hate babies, they disgust me” and “my older six [kids] are animals,” and admitting to suicidal thoughts.
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Suleman was quick to deny the statements. In fact, she insisted the entire interview was fabricated! The whole brouhaha landed her on the Today Show this morning for a ten-on-one interview with Ann Curry. (She brought the two-year-old octuplets as well as her 10-year-old daughter Amerah.)
It was the first time the octuplets have ever appeared on live TV, and it was easy to see why: They were all over the place! To be fair, considering their age and the fact that they were kept cooped up in the green room for a few hours waiting to go on, they were relatively well behaved. But as any daycare employee can tell you, watching a group of two-year-olds is exhausting. Considering that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends a ratio of one caregiver per four toddlers, Suleman has her work cut out for her.
During the nine-minute interview, which also included a pre-taped segment at her dilapidated four-bedroom house in California, there was almost an injury: One child ended up face down in a corner and was rescued by Curry. In between all the kid wrangling, Suleman yammered. In fact, she seemed kind of manic. (I guess you have to be in order to keep up with 14 kids!)
Among her revelations:
- Taking care of her family costs $15,000 a month. Before you faint, take note that TMZ recently reported that she raked in $28,000 in June thanks to a “celebrity” boxing match, an upcoming appearance on HDNet’s Celebridate, bikini shoots and paid interviews. (She denied that Today was paying her for this particular sit-down.)
- She once again denied the In Touch Weekly quotes, but gave a noncommittal answer when asked if she planned to sue. “We were contemplating suing…we are considering it,” but that her “management” was still figuring it out.
- She was equally wishy-washy when asked about her in vitro doctor, Dr. Michael Kamrava, who recently lost his license. She said that she still “defended him” because without him she wouldn’t have any of her children, but that she didn’t have the “authority” to say more. (She also said she lacked authority when it came to commenting on the Casey Anthony case. Any excuse for the media to work that in, huh?)
- She insulted all people on public assistance by saying “I’ve never been on public assistance, and never will be. I’d feel like a failure as a human being.”
- She explained that her kick-ass body (which, frankly, is the No. 1 reason that I hate her) comes from doing 40 miles of climbing with StairMaster every day. StairMaster, are you listening? I think you’ve found yourself a new spokesperson.
- She’s in the process of becoming a certified personal trainer and is almost done with a book, which she “wrote without any help.”
- She also insisted that she’s “happier and stronger and more free” than she’s ever been.
It’s easy to hate Suleman and nearly everyone it seems does -- especially moms. It’s understandable: You’re supposed to enter into parenthood with at least a bit of a plan, and it’s always seemed like Suleman was in it for the notoriety. After all, even if the In Touch Weekly article is bogus, Suleman doesn’t need to drag nine of her kids across the country to be on TV unless she wants to. She could choose to live a life out of the spotlight. Of course if she did, there’d be no income to support her large family.
What’s most upsetting to me is that she comes off as simultaneously well-spoken and defensive, capable and completely crazy. Listening to her makes me angry -- how many couples struggle to have just one kid? -- and she seems intelligent enough to have made better choices. But I feel for her children and wonder what’s going to happen to them. So instead of hitting her with more hate, I’m trying to send positive vibes her way—although Suleman, if you’re reading this, I won’t be sending money!
