Maci Bookout has caught a lot of flack over the years for her seemingly unwavering support of her Teen Mom co-star Amber Portwood and— in a new interview on Kail Lowry‘s Barely Famous podcast— Maci defended her decision to stand by Amber, despite the many controversial things Amber has done over the years.
Maci acknowledged that she and her other longtime co-star, Catelynn Lowell, have been criticized by fans for continuing to support Amber but stated, “I don’t really care.”
As The Ashley has reported, Amber told fans last month that Maci and Catelynn were mad at her after she flipped them off on TikTok Live during a rant about her co-stars. She later apologized online to the girls, but stated that they are still upset with her. During her interview with Kail— which was recorded before the Flip-Off Fiasco in March— Maci made it clear that would always stand by Amber, even if she doesn’t agree with everything she does.
“Anyone’s opinion on the type of friend I am or how I show up for my friend doesn’t matter to me,” Maci insisted. “I’m not going to stop caring and showing up for anyone that I love because you disagree with it.”
Maci, Catelynn and Amber all appeared together on the first season of 16 and Pregnant in 2009, and all went on to appear on Teen Mom and its spin-offs. Over the years, Maci has been a dedicated friend to Amber— even showing up to lend her support during Amber’s 2019 criminal court hearing for committing domestic violence against her baby daddy Andrew Glennon.
Just last year, Maci high-tailed it to North Carolina to fetch a devastated Amber after her fiancé, Gary “Gary 2.0” Wyat ditched her and went on the run during a vacation.
“She’s having a rough go of it this year, she’s doing the best she can. There’s a lot going on and honestly it’s not really my place to say all the things, but she’s had a rough go of it,” Maci said of Amber on Kail’s podcast.
Maci said she can understand why ‘Teen Mom’ fans think that she and Catelynn blindly support Amber and never call her out on her bad behavior, but Maci insisted that’s not the case.
“I think that’s one of the things that is almost never shown,” Maci said. “Between the three of us– me, Cate and Amber— we will always be there for each other and support each other. But we are also the first people to check each other and be like, ‘Hey, you have to do something about this’ or ‘Hey, that’s not alright, like, what are we doing? Come on.’
“It’s almost never shown [on ‘Teen Mom’] and honestly it could be because it’s something that doesn’t really happen on camera, maybe,” she added. “…I think sometimes support looks like checking someone. And showing them a different point of view or how they could alter their behavior a little bit, without judgement or being hateful. It’s very possible for all of those things to simultaneously exist.”
Kail— who’s not exactly the authority on maintaining friendships with co-stars— stated that you don’t always have to agree with what your friend does, something Maci enthusiastically concurred with.
“I feel like no matter what sort of tragedies or trials or tribulation, everyone needs a support system of some sort,” Kail said. “By support I think that could include people that don’t agree with your choices but are still there to be a support system for you.”
Maci then spoke about the deepness of her relationships with Amber and Catelynn, which she says is due to the fact that they are some of the only people who have lived the ‘Teen Mom’ life.
“Cate and Amber and I are more than friends,” Maci said. “We get things that other people could never understand. There are so many things I could talk to you, [Kail], about and it’s like, you 100 percent understand, you get it, you know where I’m coming from…it’s just such an extraordinary thing. It’s built on a not-ordinary foundation. It’s really crazy and really special actually.”
“There’s such a unique dynamic between all of us, even the ones we haven’t see in 10 years because of the show and everything else,” Kail added.
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Maci insisted that she’s not friends with Amber and Catelynn for the benefit of ‘Teen Mom’ storylines.
“That’s one thing that does irritate me, [when people think], ‘Oh they’re just friends because we’re on the show.’…” Maci said. “At this point, me and Catelynn and Amber have known each other longer than we haven’t.”
You can listen to the full episode of Barely Famous featuring Maci below!
(Photos: MTV)
18 Responses
Out of all the people to have a conversation with about being a friend through trials and tribulations, Maci chose Kail?! Kail. The lady who is famous for cutting friends from her life and demanding NDAs from anyone that breathes near her. It’s beyond ridiculous.
Good for you, Maci 🙄for supporting bad behavior. It’s much more than that. It’s supporting a deadbeat mom, who curses and verbally abuses her daughter on TV humiliating her and abandoning her, you are really setting good example. you’re there for her because you have no moral compass either. Im so disgusted with all three of you quite frankly.
Don’t forget, she REALLY loves Amanda too (who has a very similar story) while completely dismissing Mackenzie’s domestic violence case she has against Ryan. I think she only supports people in order to get people to still talk about her. Her storyline is nothing without Ryan being a deadbeat. Although Taylor has been seeing the light lately too (remember how he doesn’t like Bentley near Ryan? That man is smart and knows EXACTLY who not to trust…like a real father should! Taylor is def Bentley’s real dad, Rhine was just a sperm donor, I hope one day he wants to get adopted by Taylor like Leah want to be by Kristina)
If either her or Cate were routinely checking Amber’s behavior, there’s no way Amber would be speaking to either of them.
She’s right. I was there for my dad up until his death even though he did a lot of things that hurt me and other people around him. You can be a support system for someone without condoning their bad behavior.
That’s not the flex you think it is
Maci has no storyline without Ryan. That’s prob why she’s so nice to him
My best friend knows I got her back. No matter what, but if she does something really fucked up, especially if it involves children, she knows i’m going to speak out and she’s not gonna like it there are some things that trump friendship, like innocent children and innocent victims
Well you can’t stop “caring” about Amber but you never cared about your son’s siblings (the ones that lost their home and belongings and lived in fear because of the POS Ryan you never stopped enabling, remember?)
I bet Maci is so jealous that Amanda gets a sober Ryan to take care of their newborn. I feel kind of bad for Taylor. I think it was Maci who convinced him to buy into that unsuccessful T-shirt business (really, leather pockets). Amanda looks so happy. A true success story. Maybe, she can be Maci’s sobriety sponser and Ryan sponser Taylor? Now, that would be something. The amount of alcohol bloat that Taylor/Maci have is very concerning.
Maci loves to think of herself as Mother freaking Theresa. This screams, ‘I love supporting a piece of shit for attention’. Newsflash- Maci is a jackass because she supports Amber over Leah. Fuck off, Maci.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on all those years where Maci went head to head with, and fully blamed, Ryan. All the while, supporting Amber every step of the way. So what Maci actually means is..
“Leah and James are not my kids and not my problem, so I do not care what kind of person or mother Amber is.”
It’s cool. We don’t care about you either. Better pay those taxes quick because I just read an article in The Hollywood Reporter that was talking about MTV being on its last leg. The network can’t even afford to put on the VMAs alone and are having to use CBS to help pay for the broadcast this year. MTV News has already been shut down after almost forty years. If the network wants to survive they have to go back to focusing on music. That means that they can’t afford to keep paying lazy, abusive/abuser supporting teen moms who never grew up. A nail cell is the next step if she doesn’t pay those taxes soon.
*jail
Ok. Well, she supports Ryan too. The heroine addicted asshole who never gave a f about any of his kids. He’s also violent and reckless. He’s starting a new family now though. Maci still thinks the sun shines out of his ass.
Amber is a bad person. Not a mother. She doesn’t work or do anything constructive. She just sits on her couch spouting off during her hypomanic episodes. She has had years to get help, but she enjoys playing the victim role.
Maci is an opportunist. She will pimp
Put her kids for money. She will exploit the love of her life, Ryan. She only continues to stay in contact with him because she’s hoping to get another chance with him. And she exploits her friendships on the show so she can try to stay relevant. She’s an alcoholic who is unemployed and can’t pay her taxes. Who gives a crap with her opinion is. Amber is mentally ill and should be in a facility.
Supporting your friend is one thing. Supporting a friend who is an abusive POS to her own children is another. Cate, Maci, and Cheyenne looked like fools going to court in support of her. She swung a machete at someone holding her baby. She could have killed Baby James and she didn’t care! Them showing up and making excuses for poor little Amber was not a good look.
I also really hate the fact that they felt the need to say anything to Gary about Leah wanting Kristina to adopt her. It is none of their business! To blindly be on Amber’s side is absolutely ridiculous. They should be on LEAH’S side especially if they are such wonderful friends that they “check each other.”🙄
Wonderful, you are supportive friend. Got it. Now, go pay the $700K+ taxes you owe.