Collin Gosselin is sounding the alarm on the reality TV industry, accusing adults of turning a blind eye when children are hurting — all to keep the cameras rolling.
The “Jon & Kate Plus 8” star is revisiting the painful realities of his youth in his new memoir, “In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood,” alleging that what made for compelling television often came at the expense of the children living it.
“It’s the simple fact that adults that are seeing these things, they surely understood that people are choosing not to say anything because the show must go on,” Collin told Fox News Digital.
“And if, at any point in time, a child can voice that they do not want to film, we need to take that seriously,” he said.
Collin, one of the sextuplets who rose to fame alongside his parents and siblings, said children should not have to clearly articulate their distress before the adults around them recognize something is wrong.
“To understand and to know that at a young age, at any age, means that you really, you feel in your heart that it is not right, and you know you’re being exploited and that’s crazy for a child to know,” he said. “But we should listen to that because that’s a huge thing.”
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Even when children remain silent, Collin argued, adults have a responsibility to pay attention.
“But even without a child saying anything, you can tell, you can absolutely tell. It’s reading body language,” Collin said. “You can absolutely tell and we should be aware. We should be paying attention. We should be protecting children.”
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Collin said the show’s production priorities came at the expense of his well-being and that of his siblings, arguing that the demands of filming conflicted with what was best for the children.
“100% my entire childhood, what was best for production was this direct relationship to what was unhealthy for a child,” he said. “But nobody cared about the welfare of me and my siblings, they cared about my paycheck.”
He also said his siblings were kept in the dark about what happened at home while they were at school, adding that he hopes they will examine his account for themselves.
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“A lot happened that was kept from them intentionally so that they could be told that their brother was this and that,” Collin said.
As filming intensified, Collin said the family’s public image took priority over the children’s experiences at home.
“But once everything got going, and we were at the height of filming and production, it was absolutely more about what it looked like on the outside and not necessarily how me and my siblings felt,” he said. “It was always about how it looked for everybody else.”
For Collin, the failure is not simply recognizing that something is wrong, but refusing to act.
“Doing something about it because the biggest thing is when we know something’s wrong, and we don’t say anything that’s worse than not knowing it,” he said.
Collin said the family that audiences watched on “Jon & Kate Plus 8” did not reflect the full reality of his childhood, arguing that viewers saw a more polished version of life at home.
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When asked what cameras failed to capture, he described experiences and opportunities that he said were offered to the children for filming but later taken away.
His criticism goes beyond editing and production decisions. Collin also revisited his experience of being placed in a treatment facility and given medication, describing a period when he felt stripped of control over his life.
“For a long time, my name was dragged, and I was put away. I was essentially put in a juvenile prison, put on all these medications,” he said. “I was a zombie half the time. I had no control, I had nothing.”
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He said he spent that time doing what he was told, with little ability to change his circumstances.
“I did what I was told. I went through the motions, and was like a zombie every day,” he said.
Reflecting on that experience, Collin said he feels compelled to speak publicly about what happened.
“And so when you reflect on all that, you realize these things need to be talked about, and I feel just an urge to talk about them,” he said.
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Collin said he has not spoken to his mother. He recalled a visit from Kate when he was 13, claiming the encounter left him with a painful final memory.
“She berated me for all of 20 minutes after not seeing me for over a year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Collin told Fox News Digital he held on to hope even during what he described as his darkest moments.
“I had very little hope, but I always had some, and I hung on to that … I just kept telling myself that there’s a better future for me and there will be a time where I will be past this,” he said.
The former child star said sharing his story had weighed on him for years before he finally decided to speak publicly.
“It was heavy on my heart to tell my story and to hope that it would create change,” he said.
As for reconciliation with his mother, Collin said an apology alone would not be enough to repair their relationship.
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“Reconciliation requires action and accountability,” he said. “I think we can all say, I’m sorry, but if we’re not willing to take the actions and take accountability for what has happened in the past and what happened my entire childhood, then what does that really mean, you know?”
“Jon & Kate Plus 8” followed Jon and Kate Gosselin as they raised their twin daughters, Mady and Cara, alongside their sextuplets: Collin, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Leah and Joel.
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The series aired from 2007 to 2009 before returning as “Kate Plus 8” in 2010. Following the couple’s divorce, Collin was placed in a treatment facility as a child. He later moved in with his father, Jon Gosselin, after Jon obtained custody.
Collin’s memoir, “In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood,” is out now.