Newsgasm: ‘Little’ reality star nearly loses his head

Industry

By Tabloid Baby | | 10:30 am | 12 Comments

roloffs.jpg

Dwarves and catapults. Sounds like a reality TV concept from hell, perfect for this Halloween, but it almost knocked off the head of a family member featured on Little People, Big World.

Nine-year-old Jacob Roloff, a full-size boy whose parents and older brother are dwarves, underwent surgery for a dented skull after a 25-foot medieval trebuchet (or catapult) misfired on the family farm over the weekend. Viewers of the TLC series might remember back in April when the family built the 25-foot wooden war weapon for the cameras.

The catapult is used to hurl pumpkins, not dwarves (this is TLC, not Fox, after all).jacob.jpgJacob was cocking the Pythonesque device when its 2000-pound counterweight slammed into his head and repeatedly smashed into Mike Detjen, a local engineer who was loading the contraption. Mike needed 200 stitches.

The incident was not a stunt for the TV series (though the catapult was), but it has sent neighbors in the pastoral farming area over the edge. They’re already sick and tired of gridlocked traffic and all the attention that the little reality TV stars have been attracting. More than 30,000 people showed up this fall to buy pumpkins at the Roloff family farm. They also toured the family’s western town, three-story treehouse and pirate ship.

The catapult accident occurred after the Roloffs had shut down the pumpkin patch for the season. They were just heaving pumpkins for the fun of it. The ancient siege weapons have become popular at farms like the Roloffs’ that mix agriculture and entertainment. Jacob’s dad Matt says the boy’s loaded the catapult before, and he’s not sure why it misfired.

Tabloid Baby

12 Comments

  1. 1
    fulfill_the_dream_78
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 1:27 pm

    These Tabloid Baby posts are getting ridiculous. Is a new one every 2 minutes really necessary?

    All things in moderation.

  2. 2
    g3
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 1:39 pm

    Wow. That is too bad. I hope the surgery is a success.

  3. 3
    Tabloid Baby
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 1:46 pm

    Thanks for support, Fulfill-the-dream.

    Let’s see: one post from Tabloid Baby at 6:45 a.m,
    one at 10:30 a.m.,
    and one at 1:45 p.m.

    Yep, that’s about one every two minutes.

    Why not fulfill our dream and stop whining? It’s almost time to go trick or treating.

  4. 4
    livemusicjunkie
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 2:00 pm

    Personally, I like TB’s posts – if people don’t like them, then don’t read them.

    TB, thank you for posting this. I watch this show and I really like the Roloff’s – glad to hear that he’s okay. I hope they neighbors being “up in arms” don’t cause too much trouble for the Roloffs. They really need the income – did you know that they don’t even have medical insurance for their oldest boy (nor the parents) and he had a MAJOR surgery last year. I was sick to my stomache when I watched that episode and the dad was saying how they can’t get medical insurance because “dwarfism is considered a pre-existing condition” – here we give FREE services to illegals, but we can’t get paid insurance for citizens. That’s just wrong in every way!!!

  5. 5
    livemusicjunkie
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 2:02 pm

    ugh – sorry for the mistypes in my previous post. I wish we could edit our posts.

  6. 6
    TVInsider
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 2:04 pm

    I don’t mind TB’s posts but I do have to say that was a little rude what TB posted regardless. Someone was just stating their opinion and it could be that when they posted, there was no other content other than TB’s posts at the time. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion even if it’s not something someone wants to hear.

    I’m glad Jacob is okay though.

  7. 7
    JTContinental
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 3:20 pm

    Even better, Tabloid Baby:

    Why not fulfill our dream and crawl back into your hole? Regardless of how often you are posting, we aren’t interested in what you are selling. These meaningless posts are littering up an otherwise cool site.

  8. 8
    georgiababe
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 10:58 pm

    I really don’t get it. If everybody hates Tabloid Baby’s stuff so much then a)why do they read it? and b)why do they comment? If it’s such a waste of time, isn’t posting on what a waste of time it is a waste of time in itself?? Just wondering…

    ~Georgia~

  9. 9
    gamera87
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 11:41 pm

    Because we love TVgasm but hate Tabloid Baby. Posting is how we let the powers that be know.

  10. 10
    livemusicjunkie
    Posted November 1, 2006 at 10:32 am

    Yes, but not EVERYone hates what TB posts, so if you don’t like it, then don’t read it. I don’t understand the hostility.

  11. 11
    parttimecynic
    Posted November 1, 2006 at 10:54 am

    I signed up just to put in my two cents about this TB uproar.

    LMJ, I think the hostility has to do with the greater implications of TB’s presence and the corporatization of the site… not the specific posts. We don’t have the power to do anything but make noise about it, so that’s what we’re doing.

  12. 12
    livemusicjunkie
    Posted November 1, 2006 at 1:51 pm

    gotcha…I guess it just doesn’t bother me, so I wasn’t seeing it. Can’t ppl e-mail the “powers that be” if it bothers them so much???

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