Twelve years after appearing on 16 and Pregnant, Karley Deatherage is speaking out about some of the most-problematic parts about filming the MTV reality show, including the producers’ and crew members’ unwillingness to step in to help the pregnant teens featured on the show, even when things crossed the line and became dangerous.
Karley— who gave birth to twins Amariah and Amayah during the fifth season of “16 and Pregnant”—recently took to TikTok to answer fans’ questions about the show. Karley also addressed the producers’ unwillingness to assist the girls, even when they clearly needed help, choosing instead to let the scene play out without interference from the adults in the room.
The topic of reality TV crew members and producers being unwilling to step in when things started getting out of hand has been covered extensively in recent weeks, especially after Netflix released Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. In that documentary, several girls who starred on ‘America’s Next Top Model’ came forward to criticize those behind the cameras for not helping cast members, including one whose sexual assault was filmed for the show.
According to Karley, the producers and crew members for “16 and Pregnant” had a similar stand-offish attitude when it came to their cast members, despite most of them being underage.
“Did the filming or production crew of ’16 and Pregnant’ ever step in and help me? No,” Karly said. “They were not allowed to interfere when I was carrying two car seats, and they were not allowed to interfere when my daughters’ dad was getting aggressive and violent.”
Karley stated that a recent conversation she had about the situation made her realize that it was wrong that the adults filming the show never put down their cameras to help her, despite the fact that she was a literal child. (Karley gave birth to her twins at the age of 17.)
“I don’t mean helping with parenting. They definitely didn’t need to be stepping in when I was changing diapers or even crying through the night,” Karley said. “Any of the normal f**king s**t of having babies…
“But it is a little strange that they never intervened when it got to a certain point,” she said.
Karley acknowledged that the crew was just doing their jobs, though it was still problematic.
“This s**t sells but we were children!” she said.
While she admitted that she “subjected” herself to the situation by signing up for “16 and Pregnant,” her mindset has changed a bit since becoming an adult.
“I may be placating myself. [The production and film crew] were very hands-off,” she said.
Karley was not the only “16 and Pregnant” girl who found herself in a dangerous situation during filming. Several girls— including Allie Mendoza and Jennifer Del Rio of Season 3, to name a few— were involved in scenes that escalated to almost becoming physical violent.
“I do think there could have been some intervening when it comes to how close you see some of the f**king girls get to being f**king assaulted in these episodes,” Karley said. “But, yeah, no, they stayed behind the camera.”
In another recent TikTok, Karley talked about how the producers would purposely make her have conversations with her then-boyfriend Tony Shipley about things that they knew would set him off.
“In my episode, and I’m sure this is not just an isolated case specific to me, it was very clear [to the producers] that I was not receiving great treatment from my daughters’ dad, so I would be forced to have these conversations with him that I knew would anger him,” she said. “And I remember having so much anxiety in the moment doing so because I knew I was the one who was going to have to deal with it later.
“So the least favorite part [of being on the show] was poking the f**king bear for the sake of good drama.”
Karley and Tony got married right before filming their episode but split soon after in 2014. Their daughters are now 12 years old.
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(Photos: MTV; TikTok)
