by Tiffany Logue
News editor
“Toddlers & Tiaras” airs on TLC and is on its fifth season after starting the series in 2009.
The show is all pageants. The stage walks, behind-the-scenes, temper tantrums and everything related to pageants.
According to TLC’s website, http://tlc.discovery.com/, says, “Toddlers take the stage wearing makeup, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on beauty, personality and costumes.”
While most of the costumes are gorgeous, some people have negative opinions of them. These opinions are now causing a disruption in Lindsay Jackson and Maddy Verst’s lives.
Jackson chose to dress her daughter, Maddy, who was 4 years old at the time, as popular country singer and actress Dolly Parton.
Trying to win points for an awesome costume, Jackson had Maddy wear a fake bra and fake butt. However, the choice Jackson made infuriated her ex-husband, Bill Verst.
Verst took his anger and turned it into a custody battle. According to ABC News,Verst claimed that Jackson was “sexually exploiting” their daughter.
ABC News also compared Jackson’s custody case to a similar one that happened because of a “Toddlers & Tiaras” costume also.
The custody battle was over a complete different idea of costume and should not be used as a comparison.
The costume they are comparing Maddy’s Dolly Parton costume was worn by Wendy Dickey’s daughter, Paisley, who was 3 at the time. This costume was Julia Robert’s hooker costume in “Pretty Woman” (1990).
A hooker and a singer? How are those even close to the same things?
I can see the reason that someone could be upset about his or her child dressing up as a hooker. However, I do not understand how someone could think Maddy’s Dolly Parton costume was terrible seeing as it did not show any provocative skin areas.
However, Neal Hersh, the family lawyer, told ABC News that Jackson “really might have gone over the edge a little bit in choosing the costume and the seductive choices that she made.”
Yes, she had fake boobs and butt. That is all. No skin showed. Plus, Maddy was 4 years old. No one who saw the show should have thought it was anything other than cute or funny. However, the lawyer, judge and father all seem to agree that it was inappropriate.
I do not think adding silly padded stuff to a costume should matter seeing as Jackson’s intentions were not to exploit her daughter but to make a humorous costume.