This Not Exactly Just In:
Jenelle Evans is not the best mother on the planet.
Anyone who has tuned in for any episode of Teen Mom 2 or surfed the Internet for any amount of time is likely aware of this fact.
But Jenelle's fitness as a parent has never been called further into question than it has been at the moment, with Child Protection Services having recently gone into her North Carolina home and removed her three kids.
Following a court hearing on Thursday, Ensley, Jace and Kaiser were all hauled away by the authorities -- and it's unclear when, if ever, they will be returned to their mom.
(Jenelle's husband, David Eason, is the biological father of Ensley, while Jenelle's shares Jace with Andrew Lewis and Kaiser with Nathan Griffith.)
It's a very ugly and sad situation all around.
Evans, of course, has often made headlines for her controversial parenting techniques and decisions.
But CPS finally intervened after Eason admitted to shooting and killing his family's dog, Nugget, because it allegedly snapped at little Ensley and placed her in danger.
According to various reports, Eason beat the dog bloody and senseless with his bare hands before putting it out of the misery he brutally inflicted upon it.
This story made national news.
No one has come to the defense of Eason because his actions were indefensible -- but is it time someone stepped in and defended Jenelle as a mother?
We've been at the forefront of Jenelle's mockery and we've penned one article after another about the dangerous environment in which Jenelle has placed her kids, merely by putting them around Eason, his guns, his temper and his penchant for violence.
And yet: it's a huge deal for a mother to actually, truly, literally lose her kids.
With this in mind, we've asked members of The Hollywood Gossip editorial team to chime in and respond to the following question:
DOES JENELLE EVANS DESERVE TO LOST CUSTODY OF HER CHILDREN?
YES by Tyler Johnson
Put this one alongside “Is the Pope Catholic?” And “Does a bear sh-t in the woods?” on the list of questions that are so easy to answer they can be used rhetorically.
Jenelle’s kids should have been taken away years ago for myriad reasons:
She’s been arrested dozens of times — often for violent offenses — her youngest daughter was born with drugs in her system, and through it all, Jenelle has never shown any remorse or willingness to seek help.
But, for whatever reason, the powers that be in the state of North Carolina didn’t act until David traumatized the kids by murdering their pet dog.
It’s shameful that the authorities allowed those children to remain in such a dangerous environment for so long.
But now they have an opportunity to make things right by ensuring that Jenelle is never again granted primary custody of her children.
Perhaps if she leaves David, she can one day prove herself worthy of visitation rights.
But Evans has demonstrated time and again that she’s not capable of providing a stable home life for a child — especially as long as that monster remains in her life.
YES (PLEASE) by Simon Delott
Jenelle Evans is, all by herself, a bad enough parent that no child should be condemned to her care.
This is a woman who makes Farrah Abraham look like a model reality star - nay, a model human being! - by comparison.
To those unfamiliar with the Teen Mom franchise, I describe Jenelle as “Worse Kenny's Mom,” for those familiar with South Park.
It's a convenient shorthand that gives people a very clear picture of what a disaster she is.
On a more serious note, Jenelle has an addiction that makes one almost nostalgic for her erstwhile fondness for needles.
That addiction is David Eason, a scary, terrible person and, according to the local sheriff, “the most dangerous man in three counties.”
David has served time in prison, but neither it nor the spotlight of fame has made him less of a violent menace.
The man should not be trusted to watch a houseplant, let alone a child. I've been saying that since poor Nugget was still alive.
Will CPS rescue these poor children on a permanent basis? That's for a court to decide. Unfortunately, we won't hold our breath.
Our legal system places much more value on a parent's “rights” than it does on a child's well-being.
The only thing that our courts care about less than children is non-human animals.
David Eason may be a dog-murderer and an all-around monster, but I don't have enough faith in the system to count on them recognizing that.
He'll probably just be forced to take some anger management classes and will get to go on living his life.
Those poor children deserve better than what our society is willing to do for them.
YES (AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE) by Hilton Hater
I really wanted to play Devil's Advocate here.
I really racked my brain and tried to come up with some angle in which I could argue that Eason may be a violent bigot but he's never harmed any of the kids himself.
Or that Jenelle has clearly leared her lesson at this point and will re-dedicate herself to being a responsible parent and will always put the well-being of her young ones first and that it's a really huge deal to actually take away children from their biological mother.
But I couldn't do it.
I couldn't get there.
This isn't an instance where one can even try to make jokes or quips or puns or pretend like it's not a big deal.
This is a massive deal. The lives of two boys and one girl, all under the age of 10, are at stake.
Yes, their lives are at stake.
Eason has murdered a dog in cold blood. He has almost definitely broken his wife's collarbone.
He cannot control his anger and Jenelle cannot control herself around him; she has proven time and again that she's incapable of leaving the marriage and, as noted by my colleagues above, she has often shown little regard for her kids even when on her own.
This is an easy one and also a tragic one all around: Every day those kids live under Jenelle's roof, they are in danger.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
VOTE BELOW: SHOULD JENELLE EVANS LOSE CUSTODY OF HER CHILDREN?
Child Protection Services has taken Jenelle Evans kids out of their home. Should the Teen Mom lose them forever? View Poll »