Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Labor Pains: Lawsuit Hits OctoMom About Filming Her Kids

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

No, she won't just go away: Nadya Suleman, aka OctoMom, is keeping her name in the press thanks to a pair of lawsuits going on in Orange County regarding her children and their being filmed. "A child-labor activist has filed suit against Suleman in Orange County Superior Court, alleging that video shot of her children violates a law aimed at protecting child entertainers from overwork. The suit seeks to create an independent trust for the children," LA Now reports.

To counter, Suleman has filed papers "seeking to throw out the lawsuit," which will be decided down the line by the judge. The issue of children being filmed for "reality" television and whether that violates child labor laws has also been widely debated recently following the media blitz surrounding the marriage and careers of TLC's Jon and Kate Plus 8. Suleman, however, has not yet secured a deal for a show about her family of 14 children and her role as their single parent, though her ambition to do so is well established.

Suleman and her brood have been no strangers to legal matters, with state agencies, labor officials, and even local authorities have responded to calls and allegations regarding the family before the eight babies were even born. OctoMom's fertility specialist has faced investigation, and now Radar Online--Suleman's official media platform for now--has recently been cited by the state "for failure to obtain an entertainment permit, failure to have an entertainment permit on file, failure to have a studio teacher on site and allowing the babies to be available for filming beyond the hours allowed."

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today