'Teen Mom 2' Star Jenelle Evans Punches Woman on Tape
Jenelle Evans' fight caught on tape latest controversy for 'Teen Mom' series.
March 28, 2011 -- The hit MTV reality show "Teen Mom" suffered another black eye with a brawl featuring one of its stars, Jenelle Evans, caught on tape.
Evans, 19, was caught on video punching another woman in her Oak Branch, N.C., hometown. Evans was arrested yesterday after the video surfaced and charged with simple assault and simple affray, ABC Affiliate WWAY reported.
On the tape, after a friend pushes Evans into Brittany Truett, Evans throws the first punch. Screams can be heard from Evans' friends encouraging the fight.
Truett reportedly invited Evans over to talk about a guy they were fighting over, but things quickly turned vicious.
Evans eventually pins Truett on the ground, repeatedly punching her in the face. Truett grabs a hold of Evans hair and doesn't let go until one of Evans friend threatens to stomp on her face.
Evans' lawyer, Dustin Sullivan, said that his client had no comment on the video.
Evans, the mother of 1-year-old Jace, found reality fame first on MTV's "Sixteen and Pregnant" and now on "Teen Mom 2."
Evans faced charges of drug possession and breaking and entering last week stemming from an incident that happened in January of this year. In recent weeks, she also escorted her on-again, off-again boyfriend to face assault charges she had previously filed against him.
The brawl caught on tape is the latest controversy for Evans and for the popular MTV reality show which follows four teens coping with young motherhood.
Amber Portwood, a star of the first installment of the show, was seen on television repeatedly punching and slapping her on again, off again fiancée, Gary Shirley while their daughter Leah was nearby. She now faces two felonies.
"People that are on reality TV shows are allowing themselves or giving themselves permission to turn up the volume when there's a camera. But that's not an acceptable thing when it's really in their own personal life," Dr. Charles Sophy, author of Side by Side: A Mother, The Revolutionary Mother-Daughter Program for Conflict-Free Resolution, said.
Does 'Teen Mom' Glorify Teen Pregnancy?
The "Teen Mom" series has come under fire for glorifying teenage pregnancy with these young parents landing big magazine deals and reportedly being paid upwards of $60,000 a season.
"Teenage moms are teenagers and some of this behavior is within the realm of the developmental timeline of a teenager...and then you have the added component of this show...We have make sure that that show is showing the realities...They're not necessarily going to have husbands. They're not going to necessarily have a family support system," Sophy said.
In February, it was revealed that three of Evans' teen friends had gotten pregnant, raising eyebrows and fueling speculation that the teenagers got pregnant for fame's sake.
They were labeled "copycats."
The teens denied their pregnancies had anything to do with Evans' fame.