A few weeks ago Jenny McCarthy was on “Chelsea Lately” and mentioned that she’s not going to write any more books about autism – but that doesn’t mean she’s done talking about it. Turns out, McCarthy will get to do a lot of talking in the future – she’s just inked a deal for a new talk show with Oprah’s production company. She’s dipping her toe in the water with a blog on Oprah’s website, then moving on to her syndicated talk show.
Jenny McCarthy is poised to become the next star in Oprah Winfrey’s media empire.
McCarthy has inked a multi-year overall deal with Winfrey’s Harpo Prods. to develop projects on different platforms, including a syndicated talk show that the actress/author would host.
The first collaboration under the pact is a blog by McCarthy on Oprah.com, which launched on Friday. Like other Winfrey proteges-turned-TV moguls, including Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil, McCarthy has been a frequent guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
McCarthy talked to the chat queen about her struggles with her son’s autism in conjunction with the releases of her best-selling books “Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism” and
“Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds.” McCarthy also was part of Winfrey’s Friday Live panels twice, including this past Friday.
A former Playboy model, McCarthy burst into the TV scene as the engaging host of MTV’s dating show “Singled Out,” a gig that jump-started her acting career. She later segued into writing with a string of best-selling books and became an activist for curing autism.
[From the Hollywood Reporter]
Normally whenever I hear about a new talk show my only clear thought is a loud groan. Which isn’t really a thought – and that tells you something. But this is something I will definitely watch. Jenny has truly shocked me with how smart, insightful, and committed she is. And she’s also real and funny and hot –all things that will make her show successful. I can’t speak for other people but I find her immensely likeable now, whereas she used to grate on my nerves when she hosted “Singled Out.” I think she’s really matured into a passionate, dedicated woman, while remaining fun and spirited. I admire the devotion she’s brought to her autism work, and it’ll be interesting to watch her tackle other issues.
Here’s Jenny leaving the CNN studios in Hollywood on December 3rd. Images thanks to WENN.com .
Oh for shit’s sake. Now we’re going to have to hear her drumming on about autism? No thanks.
I cant stand her
How much will you like her when your kid is getting whooping cough from her un-vaccinated children? I think she’s selfish and ignorant.
You don’t have to hear about it. Just change the channel.
“vaccine compliance rates have been falling since her appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live in 2007 and 2008 and those decreases have been directly connected to Measles outbreaks in the UK, Australia, and Switzerland, as well as the deaths of a 12 year-old and a 7 month-old” according to http://www.scientificblogging.com/
Because someone whose career is founded on posing nude rather than studying biology is definitely someone who should be given a venue for airing their opinions about topics related to the public’s health . .
Really? Insightful and intelligent? Remember, she claimed she cured a condition THAT HAS NO CURE. Either her son was never autistic or he still is. I think she has done more to hurt the autism cause than help it. Autism is NOT caused by vaccines. However, like many conditions, it make be triggered by vaccines which means your kid could have developed it anyway.
I’m really disappointed in Oprah.
All those talk show folk are weirdos… I like the old days when talk shows were for entertainment value only… nowadays everybody becomes and host and starts hammering their thoughts at people… I don’t like jenny, wasn’t she a soft porn girl before? Anyway, that aside, remember the good old days of talk shows where half the show was audience interaction??? And, I hate Oprah, she’s a fake. She used to be ok way back when, then fame got to her and she started believing she was a god
yes thanks a lot Oprah
for inflicting Dr. Phil and Rachel Ray and now Jenny McC
The anti-vaccine thing is a huge turnoff for me.
It’s not Jenny McCarthy’s fault people aren’t getting their kids vaccinated. I hate to tell you this, but this movement has been gaining momentum for a very long time. (I am pro-vaccination, btw, but I’ve been reading a lot about it.) I’m sure some people have gone that route because of her but it’s actually part of a larger thing going on with parents these days who are increasingly nervous about all the chemicals their children are exposed to.
Everyone should do some research before they dig into her. I have seen autism first hand from begining into adulthood and I have been reading her stuff since it came out and I tend to agree with a lot of what she says. She is very educated about the subject, although some uneducated people think she is not. And let me tell you that hands on parenting is the hardest way to learn about autism and she has really tried very hard to get to the bottom and cure it. She is actually working and trying new ways of treating it instead of just living with it like they want you to do. Don’t speak on this unless you know what you are speaking about. She has a lot to say about this and I cannot wait to hear it.
I am disappointed in Oprah – she just fell a couple notches with me.
I can understand Ms. McCarthy has experienced mothering an autistic child and has studied it, but her self-righteousness, lack of formal education, and money & fame made posing nude (and fake boobs?) doesn’t really speak to someone who I would trust on this issue.
KansasRefugee: Why wouldn’t you trust someone who has had implants? That seems like a trite argument.
Agreed on the self-righteous comment about her though. Yelling and seemingly acting like a bully to get your point across doesn’t work so well.
Ruth/Kansas: Agreed.
I can’t believe Oprah, gave a deal to that Scientologist Robot Jenny, she such a fake and brainwashed Jim Carey, have you seen the two of them on Larry King live, the experts made them sound like fools about the vaccine, and I believe Jenny’s son still has Autism, Scientology DOES NOT ACKNOWLEGE MENTAL DISORDERS, including autism, John Travolta never admitted his son was autistic, wake up people, this is Scientology crap. And Jenny will drill that crap into general audience.
Morgs –
The fake boobs point was just to say that that’s how she made her money and fame, not by being an successful expert on autism. Also, the irony of someone putting implants in her body and then arguing that a vaccine (which in many ways is less invasive?) is harmful. I don’t know if she has fake boobs but her body seems a bit unrealistic to me.
I think if I was wondering about (a) whether to get fake boobs, and (b) how to make money posing nude, I might call Jenny McCarthy.
If I had an autistic child or was wondering whether to vaccinate my child, I might check out her book but I would also look at all the other authorities out there.
There’s a lot of hate and name calling going on in here. Get a grip people!
Btw, I saw her on Larry King and she states she’s not anti-vaccine…she believes that we give too many too soon. That comment makes complete sense to me. She’s smart and beautiful…cool!
I hate vaccines…
I have had my kids vaccinated but started one year later and never did more than 2 at a time. I think SOME vaccines have a time and a place but are completely shoved down our throats with scare tactics by medical companies!!
PS Thought Jenny was well spoken on Larry King Live
She is the queen of all idiots. Uneducated, moronic idiots.
she called standard vaccination program “bull—” on Larry King Live and that is the extent of her intelligence. Her son still has autism, she is in denial, that her son has autism.
No one will watch her show, because her motives are transparent, and everyone can see that.
Sorry she’s an idiot. There is no definate proof that autism is caused my vaccinating your children and until there is I don’t want some blonde bimbo telling people not to.
Besides, wasn’t there some documentary showing a family of about five children, all with autism. The last few hadn’t been vaccinated?
IMO, autism is genetic. But I’m no scientist.
As for the rising amount of autistic children I think that we’re just being better informed of the condition. Therefore, more people are getting accurately diagnosed.
My cousin is forty years old and has many of the symptoms but has never been diagnosed. I’ve been trying to tell my aunt to bring it up at the next doctor appointment but she doesn’t listen.
What I think is interesting is that she is okay with putting “a little bit of Botox” (a POISON) in her face but is telling people to not vaccinate?!?!
Please pardon my spelling and grammar.
is it me or are her and Jim starting to look a lot alike?
Jenny is the perfect woman.
I simply adore her. No one could be more deserving of this.
She has extremely pretty hair
I have a red bag EXACTLY like the one in the picture…except I paid only $20 for it whereas hers prob costs thousands…
@kiki: I was thinking the same thing…i loathe rachel ray
you are selfish and ignorant if you think youre child is going to get whooping cough from an unvaccinated child. I honestly don’t know why I bother posting to that comment. But the level of stupidity in the general public is astounding. And I don’t even pay much attention to JM. People: please,remember,the world was flat for a long time….open your minds,use them,and draw your own conclusions,from truly educating yourself from a variety of sources.
Or,just be a sheep. Your choice. duh. I should laugh,b/c it is SO ignorant to make comments about another’s well-researched stance on something,when it is obvious you know nothing about it,other than ‘Doctor/scientist says good,me listen.’
If you are/aren’t getting your child vaccinated because Jenny McCarthy or ANY celebrity says you shouldn’t, well, let’s just say Jenny McCarthy is not the idiot here… 😉
As for the argument “Some people listen to celebrities though and see them as role models!” well, again, the idiot is not Jenny McCarthy.
I adore her, BTW, but would NEVER for one SECOND think “Wow, Jenny McC says not to get my child vaccinated (not what she says, BTW) so I guess I won’t!” She MIGHT inspire me to do my OWN research, but that’s about it.
What is ignorant is not to understand that childhood diseases that have been virtually wiped out, will be on the rise again when fewer people get vaccinated. The unvaccinated are protected by being in a “herd” of vaccinated people. Once people opt out of vaccines, naturally the disease will re-appear. Maybe because these diseases have been virtually wiped out, people lose their fear of them and become more afraid of the vaccines than the disease. I think doctors are being careful to space out vaccines and not to give too many at one time. People need to get their kids vaccinated.
“Jenny McCarthy Got a Talkshow Deal from Oprah”
Why?
Popitup–I appreciate the difficulties of raising an autistic child. I don’t have one but I know people who do.
My issue with McCarthy has never been her passion. I believe, as a mom, you will educate yourself about anything affecting your child. I also know there is more unknown than unknown about autism and people need to push the boundaries. There is a lot about diet that is just coming to light.
But–either your child is autistic or they aren’t. You don’t cure them like she claims and that is my problem with her.
Also, EVERYTHING I read about vaccines causing autism is anectdotal, not research based. The research says otherwise. I absolutely believe that vaccines can trigger a child who is already predisposed to developing it. Her stance is misguided at best and dangerous at worst.
In my NYC high school, we still have plenty of trouble making sure our students (age 13 to 20) are up to date on their vaccines (many of whom are coming from other countries). For us, it’s because of the poverty of other countries that the kids are unvaccinated. It’s outrageous to me that some parents in a wealthy country such as ours, scoff at medical science and choose to put not only their own kids, but other kids in harm’s way and risk public health.
I’m pro vaccination but I’m pro McCarthy for the way she has promoted her belief/theory that the vaccines may have something to do with the onset of autism. She may be wrong but just because the association of pediatricians come out and say she’s wrong doesn’t necessarily make it so. They have their own agenda, as do the vaccine manufacturers.
It takes someone like Jenny to kick up enough of a stink to get someone to look at the issue. I’d love to see the vaccines made safer and the timing of them looked at. At the moment little bodies are subjected to a lot of vaccines all at once and if they have no sensitivity to getting autism that’s fine but the drug companies, scientific community and the government don’t really seem to give a shit about studying and finding a gene or whatever that may make kids susceptable to autism and therefore a possibility that a vaccine or toxin in the vaccine unlocks the autism.
That’s why I like Jenny McCarthy. Don’t know if she really needs her own talk show but I don’t think it’ll ever be a dull one.
A lot of the anti-vaccine crowd bases their opinion on an article that was published in The Lancet, and was subsequently retracted because the science was shoddy and the lead researcher had ties to the anti-vaccine movement.
I don’t work with the autism community, but isn’t there a section of it that resents the search for a “cure”?
I prefer to call them the Eff You, Dr. Salk crowd. Used to be discoverers of vaccines against devastating diseases were lauded as heroes. No more.
lrm: The fact that you accuse others of being stupid when your own writing/grammatical/critical thinking skills are so horrid is nothing short of laughable. Just STFU and stop embarrassing yourself.
There are several different types of Autism. One leaving the child unable to communicate and another where there may be some odd quirky behavior. In the later, one can go an entire life time and never be diagnosed and is fully functional. The former leaving the child in a state where he (more ofter boys than girls) can not function. None of the different types are without hope. A lot of developments have come to pass in the past few years that are very encouraging for parents. It’s a tough disorder…..and there is no “one size fits all” therapy. Vaccinations however, save lives. As a parent I would rather take a chance with vaccinating my child then not doing so. My mother had polio as a child and suffered with the side effects for her entire life. You bet she had my sister and I vacciated and I in turn vaccinated my children. There was no measles vaccination when I was a child and there are lots of people dealing with hearing loss, blindness and mental retardation due to contracting the measles. Parents must think long and hard before deciding to not vaccinate their children.