Levi Johnston’s Vanity Fair Smear Piece Calls Sarah Palin A Crappy Mom & Wife
Posted by: Jessica Wakeman
Filed in:
news
11:50AM, Wednesday September 2nd 2009
The Vanity Fair “Me and Mrs. Palin” article by Levi Johnston—which he appears to not have “written” so much as dictated to the editors—is the juiciest, gooeyiest, gossipiest smear I’ve ever sunk my teeth into. Did you know Sarah Palin wanted her and the First Dude to secretly adopt Bristol and Levi’s baby, Tripp, so no one would know her teen daughter had been pregnant?!?! Or that Cindy McCain offered to let Bristol and Levi marry at the White House if McCain won?!?! Allegedly.
But beneath all the gossip that supports the theory that, yes, these chuckleheads and their hunting gear are just as ridic as we’ve always thought they were, Levi (and the Vanity Fair editors who approved his piece) tells another story: Sarah Palin is a bad mother and wife. As much as I dislike the Alaskan ex-governor’s character as a politician, that particular story is not one that’s fair to tell.
Of course, Todd Palin probably wouldn’t win a “Dad Of The Year” award, either, according to Levi. But he makes it clear the Palin daughters favor Todd (they’re “daddy’s girls,” he said) over their mom. Really, this smear piece is pretty harsh on the working mom for being a working mom. Levi flat-out says, “Sarah Palin said she’s a hockey mom and a hunter, but that’s not really the case. She pays no attention to her kids when the cameras aren’t around.”
Sure, Levi is shedding light on what is apparently a lot of smoke and mirrors from the McCain/Palin campaign about how perfect and “family values”-oriented the Palin family is. But it’s mostly Sarah’s bad mothering and neglect of wifely duties that are hung out like dirty laundry (that Sarah hasn’t washed). Take, for instance, this tidbit:
“The Palin home was much different from what many people expect of a normal family, even before she was nominated for vice president. There wasn’t much parenting in that house. Sarah doesn’t cook. Todd doesn’t cook—the kids do it all themselves: cook, clean, do the laundry, and get ready for school.”
Aren’t the Palin daughters (the son, Track, is in the military and Trig is a baby) about 18, 15, and 11 years old? Like, old enough to do that stuff?
But wait! There’s more bad mothering coming from Sarah Palin:
“I only saw Sarah help Piper—the youngest before Trig—with homework a few times and I’ve only seen her read a book to her once…The Palins didn’t have dinner together and they didn’t talk much as a family. Throughout the years I spent with them, when Sarah got home from her office—almost never later than five and sometimes as early as noon—she usually walked in the door, said hello, and then disappeared into her bedroom, where she would hang out. Sometimes she’d take an hour-long bath. Other times she sat on the living-room couch in her two-piece pajama set from Wal-mart—she had all the colors—with her hair down, watching house shows and wedding shows on TV. She always wanted things and she wanted other people to get them for her. If she wanted a movie, Bristol and I would go to the video store; if she wanted food, we’d get her something to eat, like a Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell. She’d try to bribe everyone to clean the house or give us guilt trips.”
Ew! Why would Levi Johnston know where Sarah Palin buys her pajamas? And sorry, Levi, but hour-long baths or TV shows or asking your teenager with a driver’s license to pick up food or a movie does not Mommy Dearest make.
The Vanity Fair piece just goes off the deep end invading their privacy when it talks about the Palin marriage and their divorce rumors. Levi says Todd and Sarah hardly talked to each other, yet bickered all the time, and didn’t even sleep in the same bed. I mean, TA-CKY:
“In all the time Bristol and I were together, I’ve never seen them sleep in the same bedroom. I don’t know how she got pregnant.
So, not only is Sarah ignoring her poor children, but Levi wants us to believe she and her husband weren’t Nailin’ Palin on the regular. Bad, bad wife, Sarah!
I could go on and on with all the smears Levi throws at his almost-mother-in-law (such as how Palin keeps a tanning bed at her house and how thrilled she was to have the campaign pay for fancy clothes, hair and makeup), but you get the point. Sarah Palin’s not just a slimy politician with questionable ethics, she’s not an ideal woman either. (I’m reminded of a New York magazine article where Emily Nussbaum wrote about how she disliked it when people called Palin a “narcissist” because throughout history people have always found “white lab coat” ways to label difficult women.)
Sorry, Vanity Fair, but I don’t care about the Palins’ sex life. I don’t care who cleans the Palin household or who cooks the meals. I’d be thrilled if she disappeared from national politics. (Can someone just please give her a radio show or a TV show to keep her busy and off our ballot boxes?) But as a woman, an aspiring working mom, and maybe even someone who’d run for office someday, I don’t want this to be the way we get rid of Sarah Palin. [Vanity Fair]
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tabby
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 10:58 am: [report]
On the one hand I find Levi’s lack of filter almost charming in that you never hear people in the public eye rip on each other to that extent. But on the other hand, there is something to be said for restraint in dishing on your ex and her family. In public.
If I were him, I would be a little worried about possible slander accusations. Although I kind of think that Vanity Fair just asked him a bunch of leading questions and wrote down all the juicy gossip. Which also makes me think Levi must not be so bright.
Raugiel
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 11:11 am: [report]
Eh, if its true (which I have no reason to doubt except that I’d have expected the Palin household to be a lot worse than he describes) then he ought to tell it. Palin has tried to do more than make money and be a celeb with her claims about her family life - she’s trying to run our country! If she’s a big fat liar (do I even need to say if here?), then everyone who can out her should.
I might feel differently if she wasn’t running her political career on claims that she’s an awesome family person, and is proud of the fact that she has no other real qualifications.
LunaLena
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 11:18 am: [report]
Eh, I think it’s fairly obvious that Levi is bright enough to figure out what the majority of the public wants to hear, and is simply giving them what they want. It’s not too different from Palin taking the book deals and whatnot, except for the fairly major fact that at least she’s capitalizing off her own life, not someone else’s. I also think he’s just showing how un-classy he is, but whatever.
I agree with Jessica, though. I have no love for Sarah Palin, but her terrible politics and the words that come out of her mouth should be the reason she goes away, not what she does in her private life. I’m sure we all have things that we do in private that wouldn’t look good in the glare of the media spotlight, and it’s not fair to judge her on hers.
tabby
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 11:37 am: [report]
Don’t get me wrong, I loathe the woman for all her bad politics and hypocrisy. I just don’t want some ‘awww-shucks’ boy from Alaska to get a Sarah Palin legal smackdown in case he embellished anything. Because you know that woman would not be above suing him for defamation.
Raugiel
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 11:45 am: [report]
@ Tabby - I agree he shouldn’t make anything up! Though I am sure Palin would sue him for defamation even if what he is saying is 100% true.
Honestly, I wish all Palin drama could go away once and for all, even if it means costing good ol’ Levi his celebrity.
bogart4017
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 11:46 am: [report]
...9 minutes and counting…(the minutes of fame clock slowly ticks away).
Coral
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 11:51 am: [report]
Referring to cooking, cleaning, doing laundry:
“Aren’t the Palin daughters (the son, Track, is in the military and Trig is a baby) about 18, 15, and 11 years old? Like, old enough to do that stuff?”
Jessica, do you really think an 11 year old should be making his/her own dinner? I’m not saying that a mom, especially a working mom, should have to make their child every meal at that age, but I do think it is a little unreasonable to think like that. I do my own laundry, most kids my age definitely do not. I help clean the house and I make some of my meals, but my mom and dad make dinner almost always. I personally wouldn’t want an 11 year old making a dinner all by himself/herself especially by a stove.
LunaLena
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 12:16 pm: [report]
@ Coral - I was microwaving frozen dinners and cans of soup on my own by the time I was eight. While I don’t think a child should be eating that stuff EVERY night, it’s not too hard for an 11 year old to do on her own. I had a working mom too, and if she had to work late, I also had no problem getting leftovers out of the fridge and nuking them for myself.
Coral
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 12:26 pm: [report]
@LunaLena: When I was 5, that’s when I started helping my mom and dad cook on the stove and oven. I don’t always eat home cooked meals, and I don’t expect my parents to make me something all the time now. My parents always had me eating healthy—and that’s the way I have always liked to eat anyways, so in my house, food preparation has always taken more than a few minutes in a microwave. And basically since middle school I have been making my meals myself entirely because I WANT to—if I had kids, I would not force them into making their own food at a young age because I want to make sure they have proper nutrition and just because I would feel that since they are still a child, it’s just a duty for the parents to at least help out. It of course, should not be a burden on just one person.
powplz
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 12:36 pm: [report]
If that’s the worst Levi has to offer on the bad parenting front ... that’s really not that bad. Considering the stuff I dealt with growing up, a mom who likes bad daytime tv and gets/bribes her age-approriate kids to run errands and help out around the house doesn’t sound that detrimental.
I still hate her for her politics though, and I figure maybe a tacky tell-all on his part makes them even for Sarah dragging him into the national spotlight and trying to bully them into getting married.
kodiak
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 12:47 pm: [report]
Questions. I wonder where Mr. Levi slept, ate, showered, etc. in the months leading up to his eventual split.Wonder who paid for all the room, and board. Who did his laundry, cooked his meals, and made sure there was toilet paper in the bathroom. What did he do to keep himself warm on those cold Alaska, nites (and days) besides the obvious.
Where is his shame for fathering a child, and then splitting.
Think Mr. Levi will save any of the money he is making now to help pay for his daughters college fund?
Why all the focus on the Palins…..
Would you women want him for your sig. other?
The answer…it does not matter as long as conservatives get put down…and oh yes, attractive women are not allowed to be successful in politics…
lareinedeslames
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 12:50 pm: [report]
I was cooking with my parents the minute I was able to see over the stove. Actually, even before then I was helping with little tasks. I don’t think that the author of the post wants us to think that 11 is an appropriate age to be unsupervised with a stove and knives, but there are older children in the family who can supervise, or, *gasp* make dinner.
As for cleaning, I didn’t get allowance if I didn’t do chores. That included bringing in the garbage cans, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping the floors, cleaning windows, etc etc etc. I also got money for good grades; I got $5 per A, $2.50 per B, nothing for a C, owed my parents $2.50 for a D and owed them $5 for an F. There was a bonus prize of $200 for all As, but I always ended up getting that ONE B.
Kathls
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 01:15 pm: [report]
I think most would agree that children that are old enough should help out around the home and/or take on personal responsibilities. Of course, there’s no proof that any what he’s saying is true.
But if your child is basically taking care of themselves, I do have a problem with that (whether it’s Sarah Palin, or the lady down the street.) Just because your kid is old enough to cook 3 meals a day for themselves and turn on a washing machine doesn’t alleviate you of your parental duties, which are to care for your child. The issue at hand isn’t if you could or did take care of yourself when you were a child; it’s whether or not you should have had to. I just don’t think all the work it takes to care for a child and keep up a home should be pushed off onto them just because they can do it.
I do not think kids should be coddled constantly and chores, etc. are absolutely an important part of learning how to be a responsible adult. There should be a balance somewhere between your child raising themselves and daily handholding.
lareinedeslames
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 01:59 pm: [report]
I really think that Johnston’s piece was really just an example of pandering to what people want to read and think about the Palin household. And anyway, people who are telling stories are prone to exaggerating details for an enthusiastic enough audience.
If your 11-year-old child is making their own lunch, or a snack before dinner, that’s fine. If your 18 or 15 year old daughter takes on dinner-making duties, that’s fine too. I don’t think there’s any real evidence to suggest gross neglect. I also think that my generation has grown up, by and large, rather entitled. It’s sad, really.
Coral
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 03:08 pm: [report]
@Kathls: “But if your child is basically taking care of themselves, I do have a problem with that (whether it’s Sarah Palin, or the lady down the street.) Just because your kid is old enough to cook 3 meals a day for themselves and turn on a washing machine doesn’t alleviate you of your parental duties, which are to care for your child. The issue at hand isn’t if you could or did take care of yourself when you were a child; it’s whether or not you should have had to. I just don’t think all the work it takes to care for a child and keep up a home should be pushed off onto them just because they can do it.”
Yup. That was basically the point I was trying to make.
zinc1000
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 03:44 pm: [report]
I’d say Levi is just exposing Ms. Palin’s lies and hypocrisy. She paints herself as a devoted mother and superwoman, and trots her family out when it suits her, but she doesn’t really live up to her own hype. Nothing too surprising here, but it just shows how full of sh*t she is and that, in the end, nobody but Sarah matters.
This crew would fit right in on the Jerry Springer show.
spark
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 03:48 pm: [report]
wow. way to go, jessica wakeman! great article.
retro chic
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 04:31 pm: [report]
Good for you, Jessica. Great balance and integrity.
I’m sure, too, this is out of spite, not just money. Wasn’t he purported to have been denied access to his kid at some point, too (aside from the forced spotlight and marriage thing)?
@zinc1000: yep, one notch away from Springer. At least we know who the father is in this show. Tho, the mother’s ID was in question for a time.
Jenbug
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 05:28 pm: [report]
Wow, Levi Johnston is a douche.That is all.
melissaann
wrote on September 2 2009 @ 10:00 pm: [report]
Sarah Palin is the Paris Hilton of politics. Famous for doing nothing.
tallulahbankhead
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 03:00 am: [report]
Well…if Sarah Palin actually realized that she wasn’t prepared to be governor of a state, let alone VP of a country, we would never know about Levi Johnston’s thoughts on her parenting skills.
I can’t have any sympathy for a corrupt narcissist who didn’t have the savvy to realize that Levi Johnston was a walking, breathing liability to her attempt to craft herself as the ideal family values candidate.
Furthermore, if unemployed Sarah (and Bristol Palin - the I had sex so you won’t have abstinence star ) can use media attention for trainwrecks to make some cash, why the hell can’t Levi Johnston?
As far as I can see, Levi is just following Sarah’s classy lead.
BlueVibe
wrote on September 22 2009 @ 09:14 am: [report]
Two of a kind, really: Politico Barbie and a professional himbo. Lovely.
And I don’t disagree at all that kids can and should help out, but parents should be parents. If your career is going to make it too hard for you to raise five kids, don’t have five kids. Or hold off on the career until your five kids are older. Not fair? Well, life’s full of choices; as my mother says, “You can have anything you want; you just can’t have EVERYTHING you want.” They are HER responsibility first and foremost.
asildem
wrote on September 29 2009 @ 11:05 am: [report]
The reason it matters how Sarah Palin runs or doesn’t run her household is because she wishes to legislate morality for the rest of us. She doesn’t want gays to be able to marry because it would supposedly “threaten” straight marriage, and yet her presentation of her own life is a lie. The result of abstinence-only education is unwanted pregnancy; the proof is in her own family, and yet she won’t admit it! There are a number of different ways to run a household and have it succeed; the proof of it is in her own household, but she denies it! She is a hypocritical, bigotted, self-serving creep who is using her considerable intelligence for all the wrong goals. She is Major Scary, and scariest of all is the number of people who buy into her #&@$%. You want to pray? Pray for us to survive her.