Let’s take a look at one ubiquitous form of Reality TV – families. A prime example is Jon & Kate Plus 8. You take a lot of money to have your entire family filmed and then suddenly when things are not going your way you want to pull the plug? Contracts are signed, money is doled out you (Jon-specifically) get a taste of the limelight and don’t know when to quit—and that’s where the trouble starts.
According to People, the nasty fight between TLC, the network that broadcasts the television show, and the reality TV dad included a lawsuit filed against the patriarch for alleged breach of contract. TLC claimed that by making paid and unpaid TV appearances without the cable network’s permission he was in violation of his agreement with the channel.
After being sued by TLC, Gosselin filed a $5-million counterclaim, saying that the network had damaged his career by preventing him from working with other media outlets. He had also forbidden the network from filming his eight children with Kate Gosselin, stating that he no longer wanted to “pimp out” his children.
Interesting…coming from a guy who had no problems “pimping out” his kids while the cash was rolling in.
But all that aside….let’s take a quick look at what breach of contract actually means—in short, if one side fails to stick to her/her/its part of the bargain, there is a breach. A breach takes place when one party to a contract makes it impossible for the other parties to the contract to perform; a party to the contract does something against the intent of the contract; or a party absolutely refuses to perform the contract.
It should be noted that not all breaches of contract are necessarily “contract killers” which would end in a lawsuit. A lot depends on whether the breach is “material” or not and who the parties are.
In this case, not allowing his children to be filmed would definitely be considered a contract killer but maybe this is a blessing in disguise since seeing him on TV is definitely “killing” me.
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