MTV "Teen Mom" host Dr. Drew Pinsky faced backlash for interviewing children.
Celebrity psychologist Dr. Drew Pinsky weighed in after facing backlash for interviewing Bentley Edwards, the 14-year-old son of “Teen Mom” star Maci Bookout, at the reunion for “The Next Chapter.”
Pinsky invited Bentley to join his mother and his stepfather, Taylor McKinney, on the stage. He asked about the scenes Bentley appeared in during the season, and inquired about the state of Bentley’s relationship with his estranged father, Ryan Edwards.
Bentley didn’t answer the question. He remained quiet, and then looked at his mother and stepfather to help him. McKinney then told Pinsky that Bentley only sees his father if he’s at Bentley’s paternal grandparents’ house.
Pinsky said it didn’t sound like Edwards to not want to see his son when he’s in his “natural” state, possibly hinting at Edwards’ substance abuse issues. Bookout agreed.
Despite getting some backlash from fans, Pinsky didn’t back down from the interview.
“I believed I’d asked Maci ahead of time if it would be okay to go there,” Pinsky told The Sun. “So, no, [no regrets]. Look, everyone agrees to be open. We all sort of talk about it and we go out there and these women very kindly share their lives with you.”
Pinksy Knows He ‘Pushes’ the Reality Stars During the Reunions
Pinsky told The Sun he “pushes” the “Teen Mom” stars to respond to his questions but he knows what “zones that we should be in and zones we shouldn’t be in.”
“It’s always difficult… I don’t want to violate somebody’s privacy issues, but if they’re defensive, it’s my job to kind of dismantle those defenses a little bit and kind of figure out what’s really behind that,” he told The Sun. “And I’ve gotten very good at that, navigating between those two places through all these years of doing this.”
Bookout Reconnected With Edwards
Despite not speaking to each other for years, Bookout revealed that she and Edwards are working on their co-parenting relationship.
Bookout realized she needed to move on from the “hate” she had for Edwards after working with life coach Cheyenne “Coach B” Bryant during season 2 of “Family Reunion.”
“Honestly, the main thing that made it more clear was the work that I had done on myself and working through my anger, my sometimes even hate, just working through all of that and pinpointing what’s worth holding on to and what’s worth letting go of,” Bookout told Page Six.
“Getting to know the hard parts of mine and Ryan’s relationship as co-parents, that makes it more comfortable for me, I would say,” she continued to Page Six. “Not easier, but maybe just a little more comfortable.”
Edwards and Bentley first appeared on “Teen Mom” together during their episode of “16 and Pregnant” in 2009. They were briefly engaged, but Bookout ended the engagement after Edwards struggled to commit to her.
Edwards went on to battle an addiction to heroin, which landed him behind bars and in rehab.
In his last interview with The Sun in April 2021, Edwards maintained he was sober.