Jenny McCarthys son is getting bullied, but he doesnt realize it: should she shut up?
Last week Jenny McCarthy told the story, to US Weekly, about how she explained the birds and bees to her son Evan, 12. As is her style, Jenny gave some embarrassing details to the press. She said that Evan thought that sex was like footrubs (because she had told him that earlier) and that she found thousands of photos of foot rubs on his iPad. I was cringing for Jenny’s son. No kid needs to have those very personal details of their lives made public. That’s something that will be online forever, and Jenny is revealing it for a snippet of press. It’s not at all considerate of Evan’s feelings and right to privacy.
Fast forward to now and Jenny is again sharing another story that makes me feel for Evan. She said, on The View, that Evan is being deliberately ignored and bullied at camp but that he doesn’t realize it. Evan is autistic, but is she sure that he doesn’t know he’s being bullied? Evan may or may not be aware that he’s being taunted, but thanks to his mom countless other people do.
McCarthy claimed on The View that Asher is unaware of the bullying, because his autism makes it difficult for him to pick up on social cues. She said she was made aware of the situation when the camp sent her an email explaining that Evan’s “friends” are actually teasing and laughing at him — not with him.
“My son’s main goal is to make as many friends as possible,” McCarthy explained. “I said, ‘You have to find the kids that like you and are nice to you. Who do you sit next to in the cafeteria?’ And he said, ‘No one. I ask, and they say no.’”
On the upside, the boy isn’t hurt by the grim situation. His mother went on explaining, “It’s so wonderful that he’s not aware that the kids are making fun of him. But at what point do I need to teach him that? Do I just let him be?”
Fellow host Whoopi Goldberg offered her opinion, suggesting that McCarthy have a conversation with the children’s parents, making them aware of their kids’ behavior.
McCarthy has had her own experience with bullying.
She confessed to Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2010, “I would have girls wait for me outside of school with pipes to beat me up” during middle school.
Things escalated quickly in high school where the girls “were throwing pies at my face, pulling out my hair and spitting on me,” she claimed. McCarthy almost didn’t receive her diploma due to poor attendance because she was so terrified of the bullying.
Some people commenting on Radar are blaming Jenny for sending Evan to a mainstream camp where he’s not supported by staff, but I wouldn’t fault her for that. Bullying at camp can be hard to predict ahead of time, and it sounds like the staff is trying to stay on top of it. I blame Jenny for again compromising her son’s privacy to have a semi-interesting story to tell on her talkshow. Oversharing is her schtick, but she should not be subjecting her tween to that. Kids that age are very easily embarrassed. While Evan may seem like he’s oblivious to it, it’s still massively unfair to him. Whether he realizes or not at this point, there may come a day when he finds unflattering stories of his childhood online.
Also, those same kids who are now shunning Evan could just as easily be taunting him about his footrub fascination. Because his mom told everyone all about it.
Photos from 2014 except the one with Jenny and her son in orange, that’s from 2012. Credit: WENN.com, FameFlynet and PCNPhotos
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