Teen Mom star Maci Bookout spoke to a group of students at Kennesaw State University, a college near Atlanta, this evening. This is just the latest in a string of public speaking engagements that Maci has been doing all over the country.
After her speech she allowed students to ask questions. (I must be getting old. All of those students in the video below look like they should be in 9th grade, not college.)
Anyway, a student videotaped part of the Q & A segment and posted it online. (Kudos to the All The Teen Moms Facebook fanpage for finding it!)
One student asked why MTV makes the ‘Teen Mom’ girls pretend like they’re poverty stricken when we all know they get a big fat check. Apparently the kid straight-out asked how much she got paid. Maci (sort of) answered her question.
“I’m not really supposed to talk about it, but…I still have the normal struggles, like I have to budget and pay my bills,” Maci told the crowd. “But at the same time I’m not going to put my entire world on camera for the entire world to see and judge me and take away my privacy, my family’s privacy, my son’s privacy for free. Nobody works for free.”
“It is work,” she said. “Filming literally is exhausting and it sucks. There’s cameras that can see if you’re picking your nose, if you’re going to the bathroom. You have no privacy whatsoever.”
Maci defended her castmates, insisting that the rumors that they are living large are false.
“All these rumors that we’re rich and famous…no, I still go to the community college. I still go to Wal-Mart,” she said. “I’m still a normal person that lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The conversation then shifted to why Maci does the show if it’s so hard.
“I do this [show] because I enjoy it. I would love to share my story to keep other people from having to go through the struggles that I’ve gone through and to keep our children from going through what my child is going to go through,” she said. “If I had seen this show when I was in high school before I got pregnant, I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant with Bentley.”
One kid asked how she feels about creepy paparazzi people (does The Ashley count?) and if anyone has ever harassed her in public or stalked her?
“I’ve never had a stalker and there’s no paparazzi where I live because I refuse to tell them where I live. I keep it on the down-low,” she said. (Trust me Maci, the paparazzi knows, even if they don’t show up all the time. Those guys have sonic radar when it comes to finding celebrities!)
“The worst thing I get is on Twitter,” she admitted. “These people will make Twitters and they say really mean, evil, nasty stuff. It doesn’t bother me but I’m like, ‘how are you OK with yourself?'” I can’t believe people say the things that they say.”
Maci seems to have found her niche with the public speaking thing. Tonight she tweeted to her fans, “I love my job and I’m so blessed that i can make a difference!”
23 Responses
A couple things to say.. These girls are trying to provide the best life for their children. If they can do that by getting paid absurd amounts of money and be a stay at home mom, that’s great. I would love to stay home with my son. BUT I would rather work than have my life on display.. These girls live a hard life and they deserve everything they get, if not more. MTV makes a huge profit off them and they should get a portion of it! Stop wing jealous people 🙂
I feel like kailyn is the only teen mom to really depict the struggles of having a child so young and being financially struggling. I mean look at her she had to seek help from an organization who helps women in her situation just to have a roof over her head. She also works a real job and drives a hand me down car. That to me is more of an ideal life a teen mom could have living on her own. She doesn’t seem to make huge bucks and even if she did she doesn’t spend it on superfluous items like boob jobs and Hummers. if anything she uses the money for more practical things like oooh idk…Issac?! That right there is a hardworking mom with true struggles
Well, other than the new car…. it seems as if Caitlyn and Ryan get paid the least or something to be on the show because they are the only couple who works. Strange.
I take issue with the fact that these chicks get paid PERIOD just to have sex, get pregnant, and argue with their boyfriends while college students struggle to get an education and actually do something with their lives and end up in debt trying to pay off loans and interest. Seriously racks my nerves…
This is the main reason why I don’t like maci. She has it better than most people and she still complains and tries to act like she doesn’t. She basically gets to be a stay at home mom, and has her unemployed boyfriend living with her, who absolutely adores her child. They basically get to spend all the time together they want. They go on trips together without having to worry about jobs or money. Her childs father is present in his life. And she has the most support than any of the other teen moms. She has a huge group of friends and lots of family. Not to mention Maci is the least criticized teen mom. Most people love her and think shes the greatest thing since sliced bread. Still in every interview and every chance she gets she complains about how hard her life is! It’s so sickening to me, she doesn’t know the first thing about having it hard. Not only is she always complaining about how hard it is, but she is always complaining about how horrible ryan is. maybe he isn’t the nicest guy around, or the perfect dad but he is obviously trying. He pays child support, buys bentley clothes and toys, and spends time with him. Maci is so lucky that her son has a father like that. There are so many young mothers out there who were abandoned by their childs father. Maci has a ginormous support system, her childs father is in his life, she is financially secure. What is really so hard about this girls life? I might actually like Maci if she just acknowledged how good and how easy she has it instead of constantly complaining. Raising a child is never easy, no matter how old you are. But for macis age she pretty much has the ideal situation, it doesn’t get much better than that.
I could not agree with you more! Well said!
Ya know, I understand the money thing, I was a teen mom. had two by time I was 18. But on Teen Mom, MacI is by far the best mom I think. She is my fav… All I really hear is a bunch of jealousy… You all are bitching about this show, but yet you sit there and watch it.. And about Kyle who cares if he lived with her?!?! SHE is the one that asked him and it is HER MONEY THAT SHE EARNS. so who are you to say anything Bout how she chooses to spend it?!?!!? Lay off the girl…dayyyuuuummmmm
I agree with those students. Obviously she makes a more than fair amount of money for doing the show, because all of them can hop from apartment to apartment whenever they feel like it. That’s doesn’t sound like a struggling mom. THEN she quits school, register for classes, skips school, and when she’s tired drops out all over again. And the idea she let her BOYFRIEND, not husband, move in and mooch of MTV’s and Ryan’s money…..well complicates things. You’re struggling but you don’t mind covering the grocery bills of a grown man whom I’m sure doesnt eat like a bird.
On top of that she says that she doesn’t work for free. Last time I checked the unemployment office didn’t organize auditions for Team Mom. She had to go after being on the show, the show didn’t come to her. She makes doing the show sound charitable. BUT not really. If the message if more important than the money and your privacy then why even bother discuss salaries. All proceeds do not go to an organization that is designed to help teen moms, so I wish she would be more real about things.
Seen you misspell y’all several times. That is how it is supposed to be spelled. It stands for you all, and thus is y’all. Just a friendly heads up. 🙂
Thank you for letting me know! That totally makes more sense than spelling it ya’ll! -The Ashley
Figured I’d just piggy back on the ‘correction’ thread, It’s Kennesaw, not Kenneshaw 🙂
Hahah this is great! I hate when people misspell that!
The past tense of the verb “to see” is saw not seen.
I really do think they should cut the Teen Moms down to only one season. That was we can at least feel some realism in their situations. I can understand 16 and pregnant and even the first year in Teen Mom but once we’ve seen all that it should be over. Let them figure out how to handle everything on their own without MTV backing. Most of these girls now are 20 and over so technically they aren’t even teen moms anymore. Its good for people to see their initial story, but its kinda silly to watch them pretend that money is an issue when clearly they are well able to make ends meet without having to actually work. I wish I had the luxury of sitting in a nice home with my daughter and boyfriend and just focus on them instead of living in the “real world” no MTV pun intended lol.
@ TRACI…I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOUR COMMENT. YES, I FEEL AS THOUGH THIS SHOW WILL ENCOURAGE TEENS TO PRACTICE ABSTINENCE BUT HAVING 2 SEASONS OF TEEN MOM IS OVERKILL!
On the money front – I agree! I was 20 when my daughter was born and the hardest part of “juggling work, school, the new baby, and my relationships” was lack of money! My daughter is now almost 8 and if I had the type of money these girls get paid, I wouldn’t have the debt I currently carry (school loans, mortgage, 2 car loans, and credit card bills from trying to make ends meet). These girls are rumored to be paid more than my husband and I make combined and we are educated individuals (B.A. degree) with actual careers. Sometimes thinking about that makes me sick…
This show is a guilty pleasure for me. And I like most of the girls on it. But I honestly think it’s a load of crap when they say that they are doing it just to prevent others from making the same mistakes they did. If these girls and MTV really and truly wanted to use this show as a tool, they would need to take away the big, fat, six-figure paychecks that these girls get. Otherwise it paints a highly inaccurate picture. As a young mother myself I can honestly say that one of the biggest, if not the biggest, struggles in being a young parent is the lack of money. And when you take that away by paying these girls so much, the show loses its “intended” purpose. It is very difficult to see this as an authentic show when these girls are getting paid more per episode than most teen moms will see in a year. Yeah, Maci may need to budget like the rest of us. But its hard to see her as an equal when her budget is ten times that of normal young parents. They need to admit that they are doing the show because they make infinitely more money than they would otherwise. Kudos to the student who finally asked that question.
I agree with everything you wrote 100 percent. When your watching the show and you see them buying new cars and townhomes etc. it takes away from what the show inteneded, which was the show the struggles that teen mom’s actually go through. Boyfriend troubles everyone has but its the financial that is really hard when your a teen mom. A friend of mine works for the state and she said the number of teen moms has increased because the show makes it seem easy to support and raise a child. I believe that Jenelle Evans should be taken off the show completely. She doesnt have her son and its because of MTV’s payroll that this girl hasnt learned her lesson yet. She supports her drug habit and attorney fees because of MTV. It’s insane to watch her neglect her son every week. It just shows that MTV’s intentions is not to educate but just to gain ratings to make money. Please young girls don’t take this show seriously. Being a teen mom is not this easy!!
“…I have to budget and pay my bills.” Yeah, for your breast implants, nose job and designer clothes. Ridic. I’m an EVERYTHING Teen Mom junkie and I HATE how they make it look like these girls can’t pay actual bills. The only reason I still watch the show is because I know the emotional struggles, strained relationships (w/ family and baby daddies) and how to juggle school, a social life and work are all still real. Money can’t change that.
Don’t forget the hair extensions and constant trips to the salon! Plus, they get to travel all across the country and meet celebrities and stuff. Very realistic.
I am surprised no one asked about her big drunken night with Kyle you had mentioned before. & I am in Chattanooga fairly often (I live 1hr from there), and I would love to run into her… but I doubt I’d say anything!