Jenny Mollen makes headlines again, but not for the right reasons. On the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, she jokingly termed her young son her “toxic boyfriend” and a “predator.” This isn’t just typical mom humor; it’s a sharp reminder of how the media circles the drain of clickbait and outrage. Yet corporate media, like CNN and even Fox News, spins this into a moral panic—a classic tactic to distract from serious issues.
Consider the framing: on one hand, you have Mollen—a comedian—using dark humor to describe her parenting challenges. On the other, you have mainstream outlets pouncing on this, not for context or true investigation, but to perpetuate a narrative that parents are teetering on the edge of some moral cliff. Rather than appreciating the absurdity of motherhood, these networks look for stock footage of the “bad mom” trope, hoping to ignite outrage among their viewer bases. This isn’t journalism; it’s sensationalism.
What’s truly revealing is how these narratives paint a picture of fear around parenting, particularly for mothers. Media outlets know that outrage drives engagement, and fabricating a scandal around a joke is much more profitable than discussing real issues like child safety or mental health. Mollen’s humor is weaponized to serve a larger agenda, making her a target for criticism rather than a figure of empathy.
At the end of the day, humor about kids has existed for centuries, but now it’s used as a cannonball in the culture wars, expertly fired by a media machine that thrives on division. Mollen’s comments are under fire, but what’s really toxic is the pervasive outrage culture the media fuels.
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