Richmond Girl Stars in MTV’s “16 and Pregnant,” Town Weeps

by | Apr 24, 2014 | POLITICS

(Update) For those of you informing us this isn’t the first time someone from RVA has been on “16 and Pregnant,” consider checking out our calendar, because you obviously watch too much terrible TV.

Well I guess it was bound to happen someday. Someone from Richmond ended up the focus of an episode of MTV’s mind-erasing “16 and Pregnant.”


(Update) For those of you informing us this isn’t the first time someone from RVA has been on “16 and Pregnant,” consider checking out our calendar, because you obviously watch too much terrible TV.

Well I guess it was bound to happen someday. Someone from Richmond ended up the focus of an episode of MTV’s mind-erasing “16 and Pregnant.”

Meet Autumn (she’s 16) and her equally underaged boyfriend Dustin. They are both unemployed and (occasionally) attend high school when they’re not getting high or each other pregnant.

“I know I’m not [ready to be a dad],” says Dustin early in the episode. “But I just want to party while I can.”

I’m not a regular viewer of 16 and Pregnant, but I’m guessing this show’s secondary title involves “YOLO” somehow.

Then there’s this first segment recap:

The next scene is Dustin defending his pot smoking, but promising “not to smoke in front of the baby.”

Way to take a bullet, D-bonez.

Alright, well, there’s actually a bright side here. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom actually lead to a decrease in teen pregnancies.

“16 and Pregnant led to more searches and tweets regarding birth control and abortion, and ultimately led to a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births in the 18 months following its introduction,” reads the study. “This accounts for around one-third of the overall decline in teen births in the United States during that period.”

So, after watching this show for 10 minutes and wiping the vomit off your chin, consider little Autumn and her beau Dustin are actually making things better for everyone else by encouraging young men and women to use birth control, so they don’t end up like them.

Here’s the entire episode below. I’m sorry.

Brad Kutner

Brad Kutner

Brad Kutner is the former editor of GayRVA and RVAMag from 2013 - 2017. He’s now the Richmond Bureau Chief for Radio IQ, a state-wide NPR outlet based in Roanoke. You can reach him at BradKutnerNPR@gmail.com




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