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‘Teen Mom’ controversial even before gun episode

By Bethonie Butler, The Washington Post
Published: July 27, 2018, 6:05am

On Monday, MTV aired footage of “Teen Mom 2” star Jenelle Evans reaching for a handgun during a heated confrontation with an aggressive driver — all while her 8-year-old son sat beside her.

In an episode titled “Road Rage,” Evans called 911 to report the driver of a white pickup truck she said had been tailgating her before speeding around her and slamming on his brakes. MTV displayed a black screen with type informing viewers that Evans chose to follow the driver after he turned off the highway. The next scene showed Evans reaching for a handgun and placing it beside her while her son, Jace, sat in the passenger seat.

A chaotic series of events followed. Evans called her husband and told him that she was in front of the other driver’s house. MTV informed viewers that she “unintentionally backed in to the other driver’s mailbox.” Evans told her husband that the other driver hit her car and was blocking her in. “Dude, leave me alone!” she yelled before the show cut to another black screen: “At this point, Jenelle pulled out her firearm.”

MTV showed Evans speeding away from the driver, who she said was following her. After apparently losing the driver’s trail, Evans tearily recounted the ordeal to a police officer who pulled her over after she turned onto another road. According to TMZ, neither driver was charged in the April incident.

This isn’t the first controversy involving Evans — or other cast members of MTV’s popular franchise, which launched in 2009 with “16 and Pregnant.” Let’s take a look back at some of the drama that has unfolded in front of (and away) from the cameras.

• Jenelle Evans

Evans has a long string of arrests and legal issues — including a long-standing custody battle with her mother, Barbara Evans, over Jace. The mother of three has also spoken openly about battling drug addiction.

In 2015, Evans was arrested in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for driving without a license. At the time, E! News reported that it was her 11th arrest in less than five years.

In February, her husband, David Eason — with whom she was shown talking in Monday’s episode — was fired by MTV after allegedly posting homophobic tweets.

• Ryan Edwards

Edwards, who was featured alongside his ex-fiancee Maci Bookout on the first season of “16 and Pregnant,” was arrested Monday and charged with heroin possession, according to People.

Edwards was last arrested in March for a probation violation. Following that arrest, Us Weekly reported that Bookout had filed for orders of protection against her ex on behalf of herself, her husband Taylor McKinney, and her three children — one of whom she shares with Edwards.

Edwards announced last week that he and his wife, Mackenzie Standifer, would not be returning to the spinoff “Teen Mom OG.”

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