"Toddlers and Tiaras" Star Is Retiring from Pageants

[shan]

I saw a profile of Eden and mom on a Primetime Live or 20/20 show the other night. The mom was completely offended at the expressions on the faces of the hosts of that show. I was at how awful it was.

I just watched "Underpuppy" which I didn't understand until I saw the video. That is one of the stupidest things I've heard.

[Anita18]

They did. Someone on TWOP posted a link to an article asking for extras for that video.

Please forgive me:
Antz in our pantz (horrid)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMNU1gFgIs

underpuppy (oh sure)..making fun of sharon osbourne who sneered when she "sang" cutie patootie on the talk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq77zKed5do

I hate you.

I hate myself even more for watching them.

[shan]

I hate you.

I hate myself even more for watching them.

Uggghh me too!!!

I want to stick 50 pencils in my eye and rip off my ears...

[jenniferlyon]

She could always play Baby June in Gypsy. Sounds like she's already living the role.

But Baby June could actually sing and dance.

[my little pony]

But Baby June could actually sing and dance.

and poor june knew that act her mom stuck her with was awful

[mkats]

Ex-boyfriend went to a skating competition with me a few years back and was horrified speechless by the makeup, hair, and dresses put on the little girls (probably aged around 4-6), as well as the attitudes, overzealous parents, etc. That's nothing compared to this...

[Latte]

McKensie on T&T is such a out of control brat that she seems like a seriel killer in the making And her mother never reacts, just has the same creepy smile on her face all the time.
That duo are truly scary.

[Cachoo]

True, I don't understand how any parent would let their kid out of the house looking like that. JonBenet's pageant get-ups look tame by today's standards. She had the dyed blond hair, but as far as I can tell from the photos it was all her own hair and not a weave. She didn't wear a flipper and I don't think spray tan had been invented yet. Eden Wood looks like a miniature version of that televangelist lady Jan Crouch. I can't see how she'll make it in Hollywood. What kinds of roles could she play? Nobody is going to cast her as somebody's daughter in a TV sitcom or a click flick. Maybe someone will do a sequel to Little Miss Sunshine and she can play one of the bratty pageant kids.

I forgot how much I enjoyed Little Miss Sunshine---maybe I could appreciate T and T more if the kids had the reaction to participating that Olive did. I do remember seeing one episode where a little boy seemed to genuinely enjoy the whole experience. But I see crying and tantrums. The Oprah episode where she is talking to molesters is on as I type this. They still worry me.

[overedge]

Please forgive me:
Antz in our pantz (horrid)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMNU1gFgIs

This "video" looks like someone filmed it on their cellphone. After about five minutes' rehearsal. The mom said on T&T that she has spent $100,000 on her kid's career - I'm guessing not many of those $$$ went into financing this mess.

[smileyskate]

McKensie on T&T is such a out of control brat that she seems like a seriel killer in the making And her mother never reacts, just has the same creepy smile on her face all the time.
That duo are truly scary.

Wasn't she the kid who got to keep using her "ni-ni"/ pacifier so long that it deformed her teeth/bite? That is terrible of her parents to allow that to occur and I hate to be judgmental. Might have even deformed her gums/palate in some way and I think the guy who made her "flipper" even mentioned the problem. You mean NO one in the family insisted this be stopped when they saw the deformity happening?
About her terrible temper, any chance she may outgrow any of that?

[Octoberopals]

T & B = Triple Barf on all of these "kids" & most of all on their parents [if one can call them that].

[BaileyCatts]

Yes, I admit .... I watched it. What can I say, I love trainwreck TV. The comment I always have at the end of the show is ..... these little girls, at ages 4, 5, 6 years old and so, are such spoiled little brats, what the hell are they going to be like when they are 15, 16, 17 years old!! That's scary to think about.

[Holley Calmes]

I don't hate to be judgemental about this stuff. I consider it child abuse. I watched one of those wretched videos out of curiousity and turned it off before it was over. To say these children are sexualized is an understatement. I have had the unfortunate experience of being around a county fair type of beauty pagent where there were contests for the very younger girls. It was nothing like this, so maybe they aren't all bad, though I would prefer they didn't exist at all. But all I can see in this rubbish is exploitation of a pretty little girl by whatever forces her mother and others are prey too. It's obscene to me. And I do not for one minute mind being considered judgemental about something like this. I am judging it right now and finding it disturbing, disgusting, obscene and detrimental to this child.

I realize, Smileyskate, that you were being non-judgemental about something else....not refering to you!

[Stormy]

I don't hate to be judgemental about this stuff. I consider it child abuse. I watched one of those wretched videos out of curiousity and turned it off before it was over. To say these children are sexualized is an understatement. I have had the unfortunate experience of being around a county fair type of beauty pagent where there were contests for the very younger girls. It was nothing like this, so maybe they aren't all bad, though I would prefer they didn't exist at all. But all I can see in this rubbish is exploitation of a pretty little girl by whatever forces her mother and others are prey too. It's obscene to me. And I do not for one minute mind being considered judgemental about something like this. I am judging it right now and finding it disturbing, disgusting, obscene and detrimental to this child.

I realize, Smileyskate, that you were being non-judgemental about something else....not refering to you!

I think it's unfair to call something like this child abuse, I feel like that's making light of real cases of child abuse. You might not like it, and in the tv show the kids probably don't really like it, but that doesn't make it abusive behavior. Remember, it is a TV show. It's supposed to be sensationalistic, and we have no idea how they're editing together all the bits and pieces.

I can't get all worked up about shows like T&T and Dance Moms. I do watch them once in a while but again, it's a tv show and I'm sure it's being edited to make things look 10000 times worse than they really are. The kid could be fine 95% of the entire day, but they will show the 5% she's unhappy, tired, cranky. You won't see the good, only the bad.

There are bratty kids everywhere. Some do pageants. Some figure skate, some dance, some play soccer and some are gymnasts. The participants don't mean the activity is worthless. My skating coach has her daughter do pageants (although not the huge glitz ones) and her daughter is a nice, well adjusted child who does seem to get a lot out of the experience of pageants. From what she tells me about the pageants she goes to, they are nothing like the ones we see on T&T.

[Holley Calmes]

I understand your POV stormy, but I still consider it child abuse. Those babies are being very sexualized. I think it is very unhealthy. I certainly don't mean to belittle other forms of child abuse-of course not! But I see great harm in the extent this takes the packaging and presentation of a very young child. JMHO.

I have seen pagents, which I mention in my message, which were not at all this extreme. I am not coming down on pagents in general although they are not my cup of tea. At all.

[Skittl1321]

McKensie on T&T is such a out of control brat that she seems like a seriel killer in the making And her mother never reacts, just has the same creepy smile on her face all the time.
That duo are truly scary.

Oddly though, as much as a terror McKenzie was, she was one of the few girls who displayed good "sportsmanship". She claps for everyone else, she congratulated girls who beat her (in one pageant she didn't even get a pity prize, and she still congratulated the others), and it at least one of her appearances she was shown thanking the judges.


As for teeth deforming due to pacifers- I know plenty of kids that this happened to. If you take the pacifers away they just use their thumb, so the teeth get screwed up anyway.

[reckless]

Here is The Talk video. It is worth enduring that "song" again just to see the look on their faces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERW33sBGJG0

The best thing is you can still see the looks with the sound muted.

[victoriaheidi]

She could always play Baby June in Gypsy. Sounds like she's already living the role.

Gypsy may be my second-favorite musical of all time, but I'm just hoping that, in terms of major productions, we have a few years until we'll see the next one!

Also, as someone else mentioned, Eden has not exhibited the singing/dancing talent necessary to play Baby June.

[Dragonlady]

I understand your POV stormy, but I still consider it child abuse. Those babies are being very sexualized. I think it is very unhealthy. I certainly don't mean to belittle other forms of child abuse-of course not! But I see great harm in the extent this takes the packaging and presentation of a very young child. JMHO.

I disagree that these children are "sexualized". I've worked with sexually abused children and "sexualized" means they are actively coming on to adults, masturbating, and engaged in range of sexual behaviours inappropriate to their age.

These kids are being taught to vamp for show, but that is not the same thing as being sexualized.

[Holley Calmes]

Call it what you like. It's way too extreme for their ages, and I find it highly objectionable.