Jon Gosselin Used Kids as Pawns in Contract Dispute

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Lolita Carrico

When Jon Gosselin stopped TLC from filming his kids from Jon and Kate Plus 8 last month, he said it was for their well-being because he and his wife were going through a divorce.  But the court papers filed by TLC show that Gosselin used his children as a pawns in a contract dispute.

In a lawsuit filed against Gosselin on Friday by TLC, the show’s production company says Jon only attempted to remove his kids after producers failed to give into his attorney’s demand to let him out of his exclusivity contract. The cable network is not messing around and has hired one of the top legal firms in the country to represent them in the case against Gosselin.

TLC hired Williams and Connolly, the D.C. law firm best known for its defense of President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial for lying under oath about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

According to TLC’s lawsuit, Jon Gosselin’s attorney contacted them the same day they announced they would re-launch the show in November as Kate Plus 8. The suit says TLC only made the announcement after an unsuccessful attempt to discuss the matter with Jon.  The court document states:

(Jon) Gosselin’s counsel stated that if this release was not forthcoming within one hour’s time, defendant Gosselin would reverse his often repeated public comments to the contrary and publicly object to further filming of the program on the ground that it is purportedly detrimental to his children,” the suit alleges. “When (TLC) declined to provide the release, Defendant Gosselin followed through on his threat and thereafter notified TLC that he would attempt to bar TLC’s further access to the family property and further filming of his children.

TLC also said in court papers that Mr. Gosselin had repeatedly violated his contract, including by entering into a “lucrative arrangement” to appear regularly on the syndicated show Entertainment Tonight and its spinoff The Insider.