Many high school-educated, twentysomething mothers struggle to make ends meet and lack sufficient funds to provide for their children. This isn’t the situation for 20-year-old Bristol Palin, a Candies Foundation representative and advocate for teenage pregnancy prevention.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the Dancing With the Stars finalist cashed in $262,000 in 2009 for her role in raising awareness about ending teen pregnancy.
Palin and former boyfriend Levi Johnston are the parents of a 2-year-old boy named Tripp, to whom Palin gave birth when she was 18.
Last year, Palin told the AP that most girls would probably think twice before engaging in sexual intercourse if they understood how hard it is to take care of a child.
“I don’t think anyone realizes how difficult it really is until you actually have a screaming baby in your arms and you’re up all night,” Palin said.
In addition to giving speeches about teen pregnancy prevention and serving as an abstinence ambassador, Palin has even worked with Jersey Shore star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino to produce a safe sex campaign ad. Palin also has a memoir titled Not Afraid of Life due this summer.
Some aren’t so pleased about Bristol’s massive paycheck. Celebrity gossip fiend Perez Hilton blogged Tuesday that Palin shouldn’t be given lots of money for having a baby.
“As it is, she’s rolling in dough despite getting knocked up in high school, but its [sic] BECAUSE she got preggers that she’s as rich as she is,” Perez Hilton wrote. “Yes, this girl barely made it out of high school, has no college education and has no life experience except giving birth at a young age. Yet, she is making more money than most us [sic] will see in our lifetimes. Teachers sure as hell don’t make that much. Neither do nurses or police officers or fire men [sic] and women.”
According to an E! News report published Tuesday evening, a source close to Palin said her earnings are “not out of the ordinary for a celebrity.”
“But because it’s Bristol it makes news,” the source told E! News. “She shot PSAs, print and Internet ads and did town hall meetings as well, and the money she made was an accumulation of all of that. This is not out of the ordinary for a celebrity to make an income off of a charity they represent. If you do your research you’ll find that most nonprofits compensate their celebrity spokespeople and Bristol’s no different.”