Amber Portwood of ‘Teen Mom’ Claimed She ‘Blacked Out’ During Disturbing Domestic Violence Incidents
A recent ID documentary takes a closer look at the dark side of 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom.
Hollywood Demons: Surviving 16 and Pregnant explores the MTV hit that offered viewers a look at the real lives of pregnant teens. The show, which premiered in 2009, became a major phenomenon. It also spawned Teen Mom, a spinoff series that made cast members like Farrah Abraham and Maci Bookout famous. But 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom also generated plenty of controversy. That was partly thanks to stars like Amber Portwood, whose volatile behavior made her a lighting rod for criticism.
‘Teen Mom’ producers were not prepared for Amber Portwood
After making her debut on 16 and Pregnant, Amber Portwood joined Teen Mom, quickly becoming one of its most infamous cast members. In season 1, viewers watched as she physically attacked her boyfriend, Gary Shirley, during an argument, while her father watched.
Amber’s behavior put Teen Mom producers in a difficult position, said host Drew Pinsky.
“I don’t think anyone appreciated what we were going to get into with Amber,” he explained in Surviving 16 and Pregnant.
“There’s was certainly tons of concern about what we do with this,” he added. Pinsky said he attempted to get Amber and Gary help. But that was challenging.
“An 18-year-old with a child is not necessarily interested in psychotherapy,” he said.
‘Teen Mom’ viewers alert police to Amber’s behavior
Pinsky’s attempted interventions with Amber proved futile. An even more disturbing incident between her and Gary was captured on camera in Teen Mom Season 2, when she slapped and hit him before kicking him in the back as he walked down the stairs.
That scene was so alarming to many viewers that once it was broadcast, many reached out to the police, prosecutors, and child protective services in Indiana, where the couple lived.
“We started to receive phone calls … beginning the very next day [after the episode’s broadcast],” said Andrew Hanna, the chief deputy prosecutor in Madison County, Indiana.
After reviewing the raw footage they received from Teen Mom producers, investigators “determined there were three separate incidents of domestic violence that had occurred,” Hanna explained, including one that had never been broadcast.
Amber ‘didn’t remember’ attacking Gary because she ‘blacked out’
When police interviewed Amber, she was unapologetic.
“Amber was defiant in terms of downplaying these incidents,” Hanna said. “She said, to a large degree, she didn’t remember these instances because she had blacked out, but if they were on video, then she admitted that they must have occurred.”
“She stated repeatedly that these were not in any way staged or provoked by the television show,” he added.
“[Amber] said she blacked out, which could be true,” Pinsky said. “That sort of experience of rage happens to dissociative people and it turns out, Amber is highly dissociative.”
Amber was sentenced to two years on the domestic violence charges, which was reduced to probation. But when she violated the terms of her probation by using opiates, she ended up behind bars. After her release, she rejoined the Teen Mom cast.
Pinsky defended the decision to share Amber’s story.
“You’re doing a documentary and not wanting to interfere with somebody’s life,” he said. “But I mean, that’s the question on every single difficult situation we’re airing. Are we giving it sunshine and bringing it to light and showing people what this really looks like and understanding it or avoiding it? Or is it part of an entertaining story? Or both?”
Hollywood Demons is streaming on HBO Max.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.
For more news and exclusive interviews, follow Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram.
