Getty "Teen Mom" star Maci Bookout received a serial killer coloring book as a gift.
“Teen Mom” star Maci Bookout was elated when she received a unique present from Natalie Gard, the co-host of her “Expired” podcast.
Gard posted a video of herself giving Bookout the holiday gifts.
“Alright. Grand finale. Are you ready? Cause I have the same one,” Gard says in the clip, posted to TikTok. “It’s a serial killer coloring [book]. Oh my gosh it’s so cool. And it tells you how many killings.”
Bookout was thrilled. “Oh my god. Why am I so excited about this?” she said.
Bookout and Gard revisit crimes that took place in Chattanooga, Tennessee on “Expired,” which hit a bit of a bump after dealing with some illnesses, vacations and the holidays. So far, the friends have released three episodes.
Fans Were Confused by the Present
Bookout might have liked the gift, but fans on Reddit didn’t understand. An original poster shared a recording of Gard’s video to the “Teen Mom” subreddit, and it garnered more than 450 responses from fans. Gard’s original video on TikTok didn’t have any comments.
A majority of people wrote that they were disturbed.
“I’m starting to really agree with the criticisms towards the true crime community,” a person commented. “People exploiting it for clout and followers.”
“I hate this. Real people were murdered and worse, and their families are still around. Imagine if someone tortured and murdered your brother or sister or child or parent and there was a coloring book about it people were playing with,” another penned.
Some fans came to Bookout’s defense.
“Everyone hates it because it’s maci,” they said. “But will happily tune in to the next new Netflix documentary about a serial killer giving once again, nothing to the victims or watch ID with no problem.”
Bookout and Gard Want to Make More Episodes
Bookout and Gard experienced a few hiccups since starting the podcast. Their first episode was ridiculed over the sound quality, as noted by Pop Culture, and then they went on a brief hiatus after some of Bookout’s children got sick and then the holidays crept up on them.
In the new year, they want to release a new podcast every other week, or every week.
“With Thanksgiving and strep throat and vacation, um, it’s been a minute,” Bookout said on their Jasmine Pace episode.
“We’re still, um, tying up loose ends and sort of figuring things out as we go,” she continued. “But, I know we talked about by the new year, we’re hoping to at least be steady like if not once every two weeks, every week.”
In November, Gard did one of the episodes by herself because Bookout and “all of her family has the flu.”
For now, the podcast is on YouTube but they’re hoping to be picked up by Spotify or Apple. Gard said she read all of the comments from the first podcast episode and thanked listeners for their “constructive criticism.”
“If I wasn’t who I am it would really hurt my feelings so let’s keep the comments kind,” she said.