Kate Gosselin described her son Collin as “mentally ill” in a social media comment addressing his ongoing allegations of abuse. The comment was made on TikTok, where Gosselin shared an update about her rescue dog.
Responding to a follower who expressed empathy for Gosselin, stating they understood what it's like to be “constantly disparaged and lied about” by an “adult child with a skewed version of their childhood,” Gosselin replied, “Thank you! YOU understand. Sadly, only parents who have a mentally ill child understand! It’s so tough and I’m learning that [people] have NO ability to understand unless they’ve been through it themselves.”
Another follower commented that such remarks on social media “have to be filtered.” Gosselin responded, “Yep! No hate or ridiculous accusations! We speak honestly and accurately and are a positive uplifting group here!”
These public statements come as Collin Gosselin, 22, prepares to release his memoir, “In the Shadow of Eight.” He has previously stated on social media that the book will expose “the shocking facade of his picture-perfect family.”
Collin has made several public statements about his mother. Earlier this month, he re-shared a social media post about his upcoming book with the headline, “Kate Gosselin ‘spiraling’ ahead of estranged son Collin’s bombshell memoir: ‘She knows it’s about to hit the fan.’”
On Tuesday, he posted on Instagram Stories, writing, “Never forget the fact that my mom would write in her diary how she ‘had to pray to God to stop hitting me’ (this was while I was 2 years old by the way).” He added that using his voice to bring these issues to light is “so important” as the book approaches its October release.
Last year, Collin challenged his mother to take a lie detector test regarding his allegations that she kept him confined in a basement with his wrists and ankles zip-tied. In a TikTok comment on Monday, Kate Gosselin stated she would not participate in such a test. When a follower suggested suing for defamation if the accusations were untrue, Gosselin replied, “I can’t bc I’m a public figure. Rules are different unfortunately. Or I def would!”
Collin first made the lie detector test challenge in an interview with The US Sun, stating, “For me, I have nothing to hide, I want to ask her these questions.”
Kate Gosselin has previously denied the claims. Her daughter, Madelyn, has countered Collin’s accusations by alleging he has engaged in “physical violence and hate speech.”
Collin and his sextuplet siblings—Aaden, Joel, Alexis, and Leah—along with 25-year-old twins Cara and Madelyn, have been estranged for years. Following Kate and Jon Gosselin’s divorce in 2009, most of the Gosselin children reportedly sided with their mother. However, Collin and his sextuplet sister Hannah have lived with their father since 2018. Hannah has reportedly made efforts to reconcile with her mother in recent years.
In August of the previous year, Collin posted a message on TikTok to his siblings, claiming they were “forced apart” by their circumstances. He wrote alongside a throwback photo of himself and his seven siblings, “Born to be a team, us against the world… Forced to do it alone, and wonder every day what our lives could’ve looked like.”