CULTURE

Nickelodeon’s Dilemma

A look at cable, morals clauses and Jamie Lynn Spears

By Matthew Philips | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Dec 20, 2007 | Updated: 3:10 p.m. ET Dec 20, 2007

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It was a tale made in tabloid heaven: Britney Spears's kid sister, star of the cable TV tween hit "Zoey 101," was pregnant at the age of 16! She was paid to tell the world in OK! Magazine. And her mom's book on parenting was suddenly delayed! While the tabs and the celebrity blogs gave thanks to the news gods, the story had a rather different impact in the executive suites at Viacom's Nickelodeon, which airs Jamie Lynn Spears's wildly popular show. After all, the star's pregnancy wasn't exactly in keeping with the program's squeaky-clean high-school fare. Would the suits try to spin her situation into a plot line? Fire her? Or hunker down and try to ride out the storm?

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Studios typically try to guard against bad behavior--especially from their youngest stars--by loading up their contracts with so-called morals and behavior clauses; such provisions give the execs a legal out should they decide to cut ties. But does Spears have such clauses in her contract? And if so, would getting pregnant be a violation? Federal employment laws protect the rest of us from being discriminated against in the workplace, and certainly no business could get away with firing someone over getting pregnant. But the entertainment industry is different. An actor is hired based on his or her ability to portray a character, and if it's not in the script, a pregnancy can certainly create a problem.

In 1996, Aaron Spelling fired actress Hunter Tylo from "Melrose Place" after learning she was pregnant. According to Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, whose firm represented Tylo in her discrimination suit, her contract contained a clause referring to any material change in her appearance. "They said her pregnancy was a material change," says Allred. But the jury saw it as discrimination, and Tylo won $5 million against Spelling.

But the case of Spears's pregnancy is considerably more complicated, Allred says. Tylo was a married adult, while Spears is an unmarried minor, who says the father is her 19-year-old boyfriend, Casey Aldridge. (The pair reportedly split earlier this year, and it's unclear whether they plan to get back together now.) Depending on where the baby was conceived, Spears's pregnancy could qualify as a crime. She has lived in California for the last two years; under that state's penal code, any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (defined as under the age of 18) and is not more than three years older or younger than the perpetrator is guilty of a misdemeanor. But if the deed was done in their home state of Louisiana, Aldridge could technically face felony charges for carnal knowledge of a juvenile; under state law, a person must be at least 17 to legally consent to sex. At 15 or 16, the partner must not be more than two years older. It's unclear where Spears maintains her legal residence. She has said she plans to raise the baby in her home state. Obviously, getting pregnant isn't a crime, and it's highly unlikely that the case will be prosecuted, but it does complicate the matter, particularly as many of these morals clauses specifically refer to criminal behavior.

Details about Spears's contract have been hard to come by (neither Nickelodeon nor Spears's publicist returned calls seeking comment). But Nickelodeon may have a convenient out. The cable network appears to have made the decision to cut ties with Spears months ago. Production of the final season of "Zoey 101" wrapped in September, and with enough finished episodes to run through 2008, Nickelodeon doesn't have to worry about the problem of having a pregnant Spears appear in the show, or having to invoke a morals clause and risk a potential discrimination lawsuit. (According to wire reports, the network is considering the possibility of airing a special report on love and sex.)

To get a better understanding of the tricky legal landscape of entertainment employment, NEWSWEEK spoke with L.A. labor lawyer Anthony Oncidi of Proskauer Rose, who has represented studios and production companies in Hollywood for more than 20 years. Excerpts:

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Posted By: lizabeth2306 @ 08/28/2008 10:06:32 AM

I think Jamie Lynn should have lost her job on the show! These girls on kids TV shows are a moral guide to the children that watch them, i feel it was highly irresponsible of her to get pregnant in the first place, she comes from a weathly family and they should have been doing more to educate her! 16 is far too young to be having a child and she cant been she as moral guideline for the young people that watch her, as little attention should be paid to her as possible and the father should be prosecuted as the law intended.
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Posted By: jelizebethh5214 @ 07/27/2008 10:37:21 PM

I think that Jamie Lynn's having a baby at this age is not out of the ordinary these days. There are many pregnant teens in america. There were over 30 pregnant girls at my school this last year and they were all from the ages 14 to 17. There is nothing that people can do to stop teen pregnancy. You can try to tell them things to prevent it but they will do it anyways. Its called peer pressure. Also....i hope that it was Jamie Lynn's choice to leave Nickeloden because i think that it would be stupid if she gets fired for getting pregnant. I would expect that all people on television that become pregnant get fired.....having a baby is normal...it was gonna happen sooner or later...people have babies...its the way life works....so everyone who has a problem with it...just needs to get over it....i do think that teen pregnancy shouldnt happen...but there is also nothing you can do about it.
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Posted By: cherbear @ 07/18/2008 6:06:08 PM

This Jamie Lynn baby is just too young to have such an adult experience and responsibility. I blame much of this kind of behavior on a teen's undevelopment in general. Their brains are not fully "grown" yet and they are prone to many more mistakes and errors in judgement than adults. While noone is perfect and all people make mistakes, showing Zoey as a pregnant teen (per the show not stopping) would have been just as wrong and as magazines are in glorifying her in her new "perfect and sterile" enviroment via her new home. Nowadays, many teens cannot afford a new home, let alone a new baby. Unfortunately, many teens don't care to look at that aspect in themselves and apply it accordingly. The boyfriend, (who should be in jail)young and inexperienced himself, looks a little like the blind leading the blind. That also seems to be the case for both sets of parents here. The Spears' mom was also writing a parenting book and had to cease it's arrival on the bookshelves, no doubt due to this pregnancy. I really believe that both sides of the family seem to lack morals, at least in this area . Of course, money can't buy brains and experience and sadly, this baby seems to show that. Young teens seem to have this false sense of security and that may be why these two have acted the way they did . Obviously, there are are accidental pregnancies as well, but when you are in the spotlight with your own T.V.show............just goes to prove my point about brain development as stated above. Oh well, I was raised to not do that, I hope that I am not the only old-schooled person out here. At age 40, I am glad that I was given morals, standards, and values while growing up. Too bad for that whole pathetic and poorly-raised family!