Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Octomom Sued By Gloria Allred for Exploiting Her Babies

She's exploiting them? Really? No shit!
Los Angeles- OctoMom Nadya Suleman is pimping out her eight babies without proper consideration of their interests, a new petition in Orange County, Calif., claims.

Gloria Allred, the celeb lawyer behind the suit, said Monday that the babies deserve a court-appointed guardian - and a separate theatrical agent - to make sure their options are fully "explored" and that they get their fair share of any booty generated by their fame.

"Rather than choosing to provide her children with a normal life," Allred said, "Nadya Suleman, has chosen instead to commercially exploit them, and it appears she plans to continue commercial exploitation of them in the future as well."

"Since she has chosen this path," Allred continued, "we believe that the babies are entitled to remuneration."

The suit, filed by Allred on behalf of former child actor and child labor advocate Paul Petersen, has a hearing set for June 22. Allred and Petersen also sent a letter to California labor officials asking for an investigation into the media mayhem at Suleman's new two-story house in La Habra, Calif.

Allred argued that filming of the infants by media outlets with paid contracts violates child labor laws. She said Suleman may have run afoul of the infants' rights when she allowed a video crew to film two of the octuplets from 10 p.m. until 11:50 p.m. on March 17, the night they arrived home from the hospital.

A video taken inside the octuplets' nursery on March 17 later appeard on RadarOnline.com. RadarOnline is owned by American Media, the company that also owns the National Enquirer and Star magazine.

It's not clear whether the filming was protected by first amendment laws.

"If a media organization has bought and paid for special access to these children in a way that legitimately can be construed as compensation to them for their services, then it may be that labor laws come into play," said Peter Scheer, a lawyer and executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition.

"But it wouldn't come into play if other news organizations were to be permitted by the parent to enter the house and interview and take photographs of the children with consent."

Allred and Petersen also questioned Suleman's plan to include the babies in a documentary-style reality TV series produced by a European company.

Suleman's lawyer Jeff Czech could not be reached for comment.

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