Look, washed-up reality stars don’t have a lot of options career-wise.
It’s a sad fact of life that Jenelle Evans knows all too well these days.
In 2023, employers are rejecting applicants for funneling beers on TikTok, so folks who committed assault on MTV really don’t stand much of a chance.
All of this is to say that there’s no shame in someone like Jenelle trying to drum up a little clout by reminding everyone of her TV days and attempting to stir up drama with one of her former castmates.
The problem is with how Jenelle is doing it.
In case you missed it, Leah Messer took her kids to a local Pride parade earlier this month, and homophobes immediately lost their minds.
Weeks later, Jenelle decided to piggyback on Leah’s fame by posting the photo below and stirring up controversy among her followers.
“What are your opinions about taking kids to Pride events? Agree or disagree?” Evans captioned the post.
Leah received a lot of support in the commenrs (which probably annoyed the hell out of Jenelle), but she was also on the receiving end of some very harsh criticism.
“I think it’s wrong. Let kids be kids. They don’t need to be exposed to things like this. Keep them innocent for as long as possible,” one person wrote.
“No. Not a place for children at all!!! I would never put my kids in that environment. I’m surprised she did that to be honest,” another added.
“Definitely not a good place for children. I think it’s absolutely crazy to take kids to pride!” a third chimed in.
The situation demanded Leah’s attention (as Jenelle knew it would), but she was smart enough not to wade into the comments.
Instead, Leah issued a statement — and threw a bit of shade — through her rep.
“Leah Messer has no comment. She trusts in her parenting choices and will continue to follow that versus the opinion of others,” the rep said.
“She recommends the former cast member of ‘Teen Mom 2’ to focus on herself and her own kids.”
“This is Jenelle looking for some sort of clout off of commenting on Leah,” the rep added.
Never one to back away from a pointless fight (especially when there’s an opportunity to boost social media engagement) Jenelle promptly returned fire, this time pretending like she was shocked — shocked! — that Leah felt called out by her original post.
“It was an open ended question intended for any kids at ANY pride event,” Jenelle wrote in a post that that tagged both Leah and In Touch (gotta think about those clicks!).
“It was not directed towards Leah, but if the shoe fits wear it. If Leah doesn’t want comments being made about her children, maybe she shouldn’t be posting about them online and focus more on her children’s privacy,” she continued.
“As for clout? I’m sure I have enough of my own.. def don’t need hers.”
Evans proceeded to throw even more shade in the comments of the post, accusing Leah of trying to “to twist some sh-t and make it about me of course.”
For the most part, fans were quick to see through Jenelle’s latest attempt to remain relevant by stirring up drama.
“’An open ended question intended for any kids’” — but post it with a picture of Leah and her kids. Don’t try to back peddle now,” one person commented, according to The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.
“I’m confused. If it was in no way directed at Leah, why did you share her pic when you asked that question?” another person wrote.
“Why share the post and ask for opinions?? You should’ve just kept scrolling, this was obviously going to start drama,” a third chimed in.
All valid questions that were of course completely ignored by Evans.
Someone should tell Jenelle that the first rule of being a grifter is to never underestimate the intelligence of the people you’re trying to con.
Jenelle Evans Is Still Using Leah Messer For Clout: She Took Her Kids to a Pride Parade, … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.