But all of these topics seem tame and simple in comparison to the one they plan on looking at next. Recently we learned that MTV plans on airing a show that deals with teen abortion.

I for one have to applaud MTV for choosing to go ahead with a project that will inevitably elicit a lot of criticism. It’s important for teenagers to be faced with the reality of the situation: that people get abortions every day – in fact, 35% of women have an abortion at some point, but this issue is rarely discussed on television.

The special will be called No Easy Choice, which is telling. The assumption seems to be that women who choose to have abortions are quick to jump to that decision, but in reality, this choice is almost always a difficult and intensely painful one. This shows gives MTV a chance to show real girls what it’s really like. On the one hand, it may reach people who deem abortion as cruel and wrong (to our readers who are pro-life: I’m not suggesting that you should change your own beliefs, just that the show may present the issue in a way that makes you see others who choose to have abortions in a different way.) On the other hand, MTV has tremendous power to teach pro-choice women an important lesson: that even though abortion is an option, it is a tremendously difficult one, and that it is so important to be careful and safe.

MTV is doing something incredibly brave and important with this show. It’s time someone faced this very complex issue head on – rather than skirting around it the way so many other shows do (when is the last time we’ve seen someone actually go through with an abortion? The fact is, it’s rarely even mentioned as an option – and when it is, creators are so quick to avert the issue, usually by writing in a miscarriage for the character). By countering its hit Teen Mom, MTV is showing real girls the realities of their options. Controversial and difficult as this issue may be, it is so important that someone finally presents abortion for what it really is.

Throughout the years, MTV has thrown some bizarre ideas for reality shows our way.  Some catch the attention of the nation while others fall through the cracks.  While watching MTV (daily) I find myself screaming at the TV, “WHAT is the point of this show??”  Entertainment value, usually.  That is if you can call watching guys pick a date based on the underwear a girl has in her drawer, entertainment. (Thanks, Room Raiders).  However, what about the shows that may have actually been created for a real reason?

Let’s rewind.  Teen Mom.  Yes, like most people, I am obsessed.  I am still trying to figure out what Catelynn has that I don’t (besides braces, a trailer, and a 1995 JCPenny homecoming dress) that makes Tyler choose HER over me.  SO unfair.  But back to my point: as I watched the finale of Teen Mom last week and gear up for tonight’s reunion episode with Dr. Drew, I’m really starting to wonder what MTV was trying to do with this show.

Was it for entertainment value? Sure, listening to Gary recite a definition of the word “empathy” during the finale was extremely entertaining, but teen pregnancy is a huge issue; is MTV trying to take a stance? Are they trying to educate teens about the horrors of teen pregnancy? Maybe trying to prevent it? You would think by airing this show, MTV could position themselves as advocates to prevent teen pregnancy and use the show as an education tool, while also providing entertainment. 

And if that was the intent, I have a couple issues with how it was seen through.

Personally, I did not find the show realistic.  Throughout the season, Farrah was the only teen mom who did not have the baby’s father in the picture.  I’m not implying that the other moms are leading ideal lives with their outstanding boyfriends, but Catelynn, Amber, and Maci all got pregnant by their boyfriend at the time.  These were guys that they were having consensual sex with regularly.  Although Gary and Ryan may go down in history as two of the worst boyfriends ever, throughout the season they are shown trying to make their relationships “work” in the best interest of their new child.

Farrah, on the other hand, although not with the father of her child, lives at home with her mother and father.   It is evident that Farrah has grown up pretty fortunately and has an extremely comfortable living situation.  The “hardships” Farrah faces include not being able to party with her friends all the time, and not being able to find a boyfriend who is ready to date a girl with a kid.  Yes these things might be difficult for her, but in the scheme of teen pregnancy they are quite trivial.  Her parents are always there to help out, and support her both emotionally and financially. The same is true for the rest of the teen moms on the show.

If MTV was trying to educate about teen pregnancy and the perils of dealing with it, why not show girls who are even less fortunate?  What about the ones out there who are really on their own?  There are plenty of girls who come from uneducated, broken families, who get pregnant and have no escape, and no chance at a better life.  Some live their whole lives on welfare and in many cases do not know who the father is.  My feeling is that MTV chose these specific moms because the typical viewer could relate to them better than a girl whose life has really been ruined by teen pregnancy.  If this is the case, then why didn’t MTV even show how truly hard raising a child as a teenager is?  There is not one clip throughout the whole season of one of the moms staying up the whole night with a crying baby, or cleaning up vomit.  I don’t want to go as far as to say that MTV “glamorized” being a teen mom, but I don’t think the show will leave any viewers thinking “Oh my god, this CANNOT happen to me, I better take precaution.”

And speaking of precaution, MTV never hit on the topic of prevention.  I don’t remember any of the girls being interviewed as to why birth control was not used during sex. Was it a one time slip-up with no condom?  Too afraid to ask their parents? No resources? These questions never surfaced throughout the season.  And furthermore, I find it extremely unrealistic to not mention abortion on the topic of teen pregnancy.  The a-word was non-existent throughout the series, but in reality, it is an option.  Most people have strong opinions on the subject, being either completely against it or for it.  But just because it would have stirred up controversy, does that mean MTV should have ignored it completely? If they wanted to use their power to educate teens and lay all the options on the table, why wasn’t it even mentioned?

So besides making me fall in love with Tyler, what was MTV’s purpose in producing this show? Do you think they portrayed teen pregnancy realistically?  Share your thoughts, peeps!

Beefy.

MTV is really getting their ass handed to them after the controversial premiere of the new reality series “Jersey Shore.” Not only has Dominos pulled out as an advertiser for the show, but MTV has also apparently received death threats from unhappy viewers.

Seriously?

Italian-Americans have their leopard panties in a twist because this show is giving their heritage a bad name. But since when do eight guidos represent an entire culture? Their hair gelling, giant poofing, fake boobing ways may be an embarrassment to themselves and their families, but has that ever stopped the rest of us from rubbernecking a train wreck such as this? I mean, isn’t that was every MTV show is about?

As a (seasonal) Jersey shore native, I couldn’t be more thrilled with the show. My house is less than 20 minutes away from Seaside Heights, and, to be honest, it’s a pretty good portrayal of the people you’ll see walking on the boardwalk. And while I don’t classify myself as a guidette, I still get my kicks from being super tan and having a perpetual French manicure. So is CollegeCandy.com going to get death threats now?

Honestly, I bet the people threatening MTV to shut “Jersey Shore” down are the people who secretly love it the most and are frightened by their unnatural attraction to the trashy paradise that is the Shore (and Jager Bombs). How many of us over-quoted lines from  “My New Haircut” when that hit the web? Let’s just look at this as another opportunity to channel our inner guido.

People take themselves too seriously. Let these self-proclaimed guidos and guidettes do what they do best – tan, work out and booze – in peace. We’re all having a good laugh watching them do it. And THAT is The Situation.

What do you think? Is this show bad news or really good TV?

Weiss may look like your typical fun and laid back L.A. girl, but when it comes to style she means business. She’s tough, she knows what she wants, and she gets it, because when it comes to fashion, this girl knows her sh*t. Though it was a slow start full of long hours for very little pay (her first assignment was a full day shoot for only $75!), Weiss worked her way up from assisting at department store fashion shows to dressing Hollywood’s finest. She’s styled stars like Kanye West, Britney Spears and The Pussycat Dolls.

And now she’s passing on her fashion knowledge to 6 aspiring celebrity stylists. And by “passing on her knowledge,” I mean, “trying to get these kids to stop being so lazy and start putting some clothes on people.” Julie’s a busy gal, but we tracked her down last week (on a break from getting Julianne Hough ready for the CMAs!) to get her take on trends, her role on reality TV and, obviously, her favorite song to blast in the car while roaming those crazy L.A. streets.

5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
[I was driving home after] I was at a bar and I had a few drinks. We had left Mexican food in the car that we had eaten before and I was shoving a quesadilla down my throat when a cop pulled us over. I started freaking out. I’m like “Omg, I had some drinks, it’s 2 AM, I’m going to get a ticket.” So he makes me take a sobriety test. He looked at my eyes with the flashlight and I had to walk the line and everything.  I was freaking out. Thank god I passed. And then he asked me out! He was like “Can I have our number?”  And he let me go.

2. Name 5 things you can’t live without:
My car, my flats/flat boots because I run around a lot, my cell phone, my Chanel purses and French Vogue.

3. Do you have any advice or personal motto you live and work by?
I don’t really have a motto, but I like honesty, respect and good character in people. I respect people that try and work hard; it doesn’t go unnoticed. Even if you’re not doing a great job, it’s important to try and improve.

4. What is your Favorite song to belt out in the car or alone at our house?
I love that new Fergie song Meet me Halfway.

5. Finish this sentence: In ten years I will be _____?
I will have a clothing line in Wal-Mart. I’d like to have clothes that everyone can afford in all financial backgrounds that are trendy and cool. I would want to do something creative and stylish that everyone could have a piece of.

5 Questions Just for Julie…plus a bonus one:

1. On the show Styl’d it looks like you’re a take no crap kind of a woman. Are you doing this for TV or is this your way of teaching the junior stylists?
I’m definitely tough on them but not for no reason. This is what’s going on and this is my response to the actions that are seriously happening on the job; the cameras are going all day, but we are working for real. These are real people; real things; a real, normal day and they are messing up and not listening. I’m trying to mentor them too, of course; like I said earlier, I see potential if you’re trying to improve and trying to learn. I understand this is new to them, but at the same time they’re here and they’re so lucky to be in this position, so work hard and try to maintain it and make us feel like we made the right decision in choosing you over all these other kids.

2. Obviously having a sense of style is important in being stylist, but what else is does it take to be successful in the field?
You need to be able to multitask, make quick decisions, and just be smart. You have to be well organized and take high pressure throughout the day, every day. You have to keep going and make everyone happy – the publicist, the record label, the management, the commissioner for the music video, the actual celebrity… So many people have a say and it’s really high pressure and lots of opinions [so] you have to know your limits.

3. Who is your favorite celebrity client thus far in your career?
Right now I’m working with Julianne Hough and I’ve worked with her for a while. She’s a star in the upcoming film Footloose, she was on Dancing with the Stars, she’s a country singer. She’s really changed; she’s gotten more rocker edgy. When I met her she was more country. When we did her first album it was all boots and jeans. Now we’re going a lot edgier, rocker country. I love how we’re transitioning and where her image is going and that I’m going along for the ride with her. She’s really evolving.

4. What is your biggest go-to fashion item or trend right now?
Buckle boots are really big right now. I love boots. There are so many of them – you can get really edgy ones that criss-cross with a bunch of buckles and a high heel, to over the knee, to a flat boot. It’s a huge trend for fall, wearing them with or without tights. They are accessible in all price ranges and styles that are comfortable for all kinds of people; everyone can find a boot for them and have a boot for fall

5. What’s the biggest fashion mistake that people make?
Some people really want to be trendy so these kids put 18 things on, all at once. It’s too much. It’s overkill. It’s like, chill, you can get it in in a week, not in one night. It’s all about balance.

Bonus: Do you have any tips for college kids? A way for them to always look pulled together on a limited budget?
Definitely with accessories. You can easily change up different looks. I just got the cutest scarf from Forever 21. It was $5.50 and it’s amazing. I’ve gotten three compliments already. It’s a vibrant plumby-purple and it looks like it could be $150. Scarves are big for fall; they are fun accessories that you can find from H&M to Target to Forever 21. You can take that scarf and be casual during the day for class and then you can go out to a bar and have it around your neck for some color with a cool jacket and a dressier top and jeans, or with a dress or a skirt and tights. Oh and tights, too. You can find them at all price rages and there’s such fun tights out right now. It brings a fun element of fashion to a look. It’s a small price, but it makes a big statement.

[Catch Styl'd - and all the fashionista drama that comes with it - Tuesday nights at 11pm EST on MTV.]

"I may have cut my hair, but I'm still a huge ass-face."

If there’s one thing I hate more than Heidi Montag’s long, skeletal fingers, it’s girls, like Stacie, who wear ill-fitting bikini tops guys who play games. And when Justin Bobby plays games that just takes things to a whole new level.

Back when JB was doin’ his thang with Audrina, we hated him for many reasons. Obviously, he was treating her like dirt, but he also had long, greasy hair, wore ugly hats and burped at the dinner table. G-to the-ross. When Krisin came into the picture it seemed that, much like his hygiene, Justin Bobby had cleaned up his act.

Well, how wrong we were. It looks like you can take the dirt out of the scumbag…but he’s still a sh*tty scumbag.

I’ve dealt with guys like Justin. They have low self esteem and need to take control of any situation, no matter whom they hurt. So they do something crappy, then follow it up with a grand romantic gesture, then do something crappy once again. And the saddest part? It’s effing working!

Kristin is playing into his little game just as easily as Audrina did. She may say she’s gonna kick him to the curb after strike three, but she’s just as pathetic as he is. And you know she loves they way she looks in a motorcycle jacket far too much to give up the rides on the back of Justin’s bike.

The only person more pathetic than Kristin is Jayde. Or maybe Holly. No, definitely Jayde. It’s not Holly’s fault that MTV gave her a drinking problem to increase the show’s ratings. And besides, she’s a hilarious dancer (did you see those moves a la Drew Barrymore post-pot brownie in Never Been Kissed? Amazeballs.); I hope she doesn’t to go “rehab” any time soon so this show can get some much-needed comic relief.

Anyways, back to Jayde. I seriously hate this chick and can’t handle watching her. And here are my top 3 reasons why:

1. She looks way too much like the girl who plays Snow White in Disney World. It’s freaking me out.

2. She’s annoying. Like, really annoying. Like that annoying girlfriend that everybody hates and talks about behind her back until the guy FINALLY realizes how bitchy/naggy/not worth it she is and breaks up with her. And then everyone celebrates, gets drunk and tells him how much they hated her. Yeah, she’s like that.

3. She’s not smart. No. She’s painfully dumb. But she gets to go home to Brody every night (and treat him like crap) while I sit here alone eating Nutter Butters watching her on TV. WTF?

I know that Jayde and Brody don’t break up (I can see into the future…by reading the latest Us Weekly), but I just hope they do. He’s hot. He deserves better. Like me! I don’t have a Holly drinking problem (“Jack is the love of my life!”), I am not a camera whore like Heidi Montag, I’m not a bitch like Kristin and, while I don’t have her boobs, I am a hell of a lot smarter than Jayde.

Plus, with Holly shipping off to rehab soon, there’s space for one more in this cast….

Yeah, so there is no doubt I’ll be on my couch with a bag of Doritos on the night of the premiere. Hey I’m going to be eating for fifteen starving freshman now! But despite my excitement, I do have one problem with this new show.

Where the hell was it three years ago? I totally could have used a show like this when I was a freshman, eating my way towards a pair of maternity pants and a premature heart attack. While I spent the summer after my freshman year eating carrot sticks and sweating my ass off on an elliptical, these kids will get free personal training and a good six months of fame out of their newly acquired bulge. Not to mention that the show is a competition, so it will most likely end with some lucky chubster being awarded a prize of some sort.

Being awarded a prize for losing your freshman 15?! All I was left with was a couple stretch marks and the need to suppress a newfound crazing for pizza at all hours of the night. I’ll tell you one thing – these are a lucky bunch of kids.

If you’re a fat college freshman, please allow me to live vicariously through you and apply asap!

So as I spent another long summer day mourning the loss of LC from my biggest guilty pleasure (yeah, I’m still not over it), a promo for a new MTV show, House of Jazmin, caught my eye. I don’t really get the spelling of her name, but Jaz is young, cute, and bound to have messy, dramatic hookups every week…

It’s no LC, but can Jazmin be the new reality superstar sent to fill the void The Hills has left in my heart?

Maybe we should first establish the fact that no one will ever be able to fill the very chic shoes of Lauren Conrad. As a reality star, she was God. Not too much of a pushover, but not too catty. A serial dater, providing endless opportunities for me to indulge my monogamous self in first date after first date with sexy, California men. And she chose perfect friends, as they gave her loyal friendship for just long enough to have me invested in the relationship… before completely betraying her and shattering both of our hearts.

I think you get the picture; I was basically living an imaginary life as Lauren Conrad’s best friend. (Cry during the Audrina/ LC fight scene with mascara tears…me? Noooo…)

It’s with this LC obsession that I now come upon Jazmin. I’ll admit, there’s potential. She’s bound to run into her share of Kelly Cutrone’s, and watching her get eaten alive may generate sympathy with which I may become invested in her climb to success. But before Jazmin can move in as the LC of MTV’s fall lineup, there are a couple of things about this show that have got to be adjusted.

First of all, the family has got to go. I want to see drama, I want to see hookups; I don’t want to see Jazmin running home to mommy and discussing her problems over a home-cooked meal. And enough with the good girl gone business woman. Have that BFF of hers get a little promscuous,  sleep with Jazmin’s boyfriend backstage at a fashion show and then you’ll have me hooked.

I mean, how will she ever finish her line when she is betrayed and heartbroken?

And I’m sure MTV will come through for me. They always do. So, I’m gonna give the show a chance. Jazmin will learn soon enough that to become a successful designer today you don’t have to be a fashion genius; you have to become a paparazzi-hunted socialite (with a sex tape!) whose daily adventures grace the covers of People. After that people will go out and buy a paper bag if it has your name sewn on the inside.

What do you think? Is Jazmin bound to be a hit or will she fail miserably as an LC wannabe? Come back tomorrow to hash it all out after episode numero uno.

Well, at least it will be a show to remember.

What’s with all the shady over in New Jersey?

Maybe Adrian Grenier isn’t so hot, afterall.

16 & Pregnant is comin’ back!

Who’s the most trusted man in news?

Is he into you? Know the signs.

Which cast of Real Housewives is the best?

Anyone else forget that it was Monday yesterday? I spent my day BBQing with friends (or eating whatever they BBQed while I sat on the couch watching tv) only to come home, turn on my TV and realize I was halfway through The Hills. I was devastated (“SPENCER IS SUPPOSED TO APOLOGIZE TONIGHT!!”), but then I realized that MTV was showing the episode 12 more times over the course of the evening.

When I finally did get to watch it, though, I was a little disappointed. I’ve said this before, but I know this show isn’t really real. I think anyone with half a brain and access to Us Weekly would know that. But I hate when MTV is careless with their editing, making it completely impossible for viewers to suspend their common sense and believe that this all might be real.

Case in point: Heidi gets engaged one night and asks Steph (presumably the next day) to invite Lauren. At the same time, Audrina and Lo have already received actual invitations. One might say, “Well, Lauren, that could have been shot months later.” Well, other people, I call bullsh*t, because then they pan back to Heidi and Lauren both talking to Steph about losing her job like it was only yesterday. I don’t know much about weddings (beyond the fact that I probably won’t have one until I’m 40), but I do know that it takes months to plan one and invitations do not just come out the next day.

But whatever. That’s not the point of this post.

The point is that Heidi is trying way too hard. And I’m not talking about the collagen in her lips. She’s trying too hard to bring Lauren back into her life. What happened to playing hard to get, Heids? First she sent Stephanie in to get Lauren to the wedding and she said no. She sent in Stephanie again and Lauren said no. She went to Lauren’s work herself (because people can just pop into your job in LA and no one cares) and Lauren said no…. and also said a whole lot more in a beautiful speech about love and aspiring to be like Heidi. Now, I know this is a tangent, but does anyone remember Heidi from season 1 of The Hills? The girl couldn’t even make it to class and dropped out of school after a week – Lauren aspired to be like a waste of space?

But Heidi didn’t stop there. She then sends Spencer in to make his first apology in 24 years. (Homeboy never apologized to his parents for being born, or to his friend for letting him keep that awful ‘stash?!) And he did it! He called Lauren up and admitted to the sex tape scandal and apologized for being such a turd.

While all this work may actually get Lauren to the wedding (duh, she goes, just watch “scenes from the next episode”), my main issue is that it is not going to get Lauren to be BFF with Heidi again. And that is why Heidi is a moron. She is putting so much pressure on having this person at her wedding – a person who couldn’t care less about her and really wants nothing to do with her and her new husband. Heidi should just focus on her $18,000 wedding dress and how she’s going to work those extensions and stop putting so much focus on whether or not LC will be sitting in the pews on her wedding day.

Oh and Brody? Stop being such a d-bag. I know I’ve always loved you, but it’s a real dick move to let your GF talk all that sh*t about Audrina, and even talk some sh*t too, when you were in the wrong that night too. It’s easy to put all the blame on the other woman, but you messed up too so it’s time to own up and be a man. PS. Audrina is hotter than that mess you are with. That is all.

Well, it’s real.

Eight college students from Madison, Wisconsin were each given cameras and were told to film their college life. The footage would then be used as part of the show on MTV.

When I first heard about the show, I was very curious.

Would this be an extended version of True Life?
Would they edit out any illegal activity?
Who would actually agree to film themselves getting trashed at a frat party where they would possibly have a drunken make-out session with some random person in their Stats class and have the whole world watching it?

What? Just me?

MTV is hoping that the absence of a camera crew will give the show a real edge. No makeup crew, no one shoving a camera in your face as you try to escape from your ex (cue “The Hills”), no scripts. This would be real.

I’m just not sure how I feel about it. (Apparently MTV wasn’t so sure either as it was supposed to premier two weeks ago and never did.) On the one hand I think it would be awesome to follow some real college kids around, but at the same time, is MTV just exploiting them for their own gain? Do this kids even realize the implications of putting their whole life on camera for the world to see? What if a potential employer is watching the show?

MTV has been known to have a reputation of “editing” in a way that makes things happen that never really did all in the name of entertainment. Who knows how this “real footage” will be cropped?

I guess we’ll all find out tomorrow night at 10:30.
I know I’ll be watching, will you?