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Amber Portwood has a long history of not taking accountability for her actions.
This history inevitably includes reactions of extreme outrage when anyone recalls her misdeeds. She feels that she is entitled to forgiveness, no matter what.
Unfortunately, this means that watching Leah exclude her from her 16th birthday party and pass on her gift sent Amber into a rage spiral.
She may say that she’s done with Teen Mom, but she isn’t done watching and angrily reacting on social media.
Even though Amber Portwood says that she’s done with ‘Teen Mom,’ she’s still tuning in
Amber Portwood is still watching Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, presumably so that at least one of the viewers will be sympathetic to Amber’s side of things.
This meant that she watched Leah celebrate turning 16. She celebrated this milestone birthday without Amber, whom she very understandably did not want there.
Leah discussed her “abandonment issues” dating back to age 8 (which barely scratches the surface on Amber’s whole deal). And she also rejected the gift and the card that Amber had sent over.
Faced with such a scene, many parents might express the guilt that they feel for having a child who has spent half of her life aware that their mom is not fully present in her life.
That … was not the emotional direction that Amber selected.
Taking to TikTok live, which is more or less always a mistake, Amber shared: “I’m feeling emotional right when it comes to what I just saw.”
‘Those aren’t boundaries’ is not a good way to respect boundaries
One of the replies — again, this was live — noted that Leah Shirley had created some very valid boundaries for herself.
“No, she didn’t,” Amber spat in response. “Those aren’t boundaries. I’m her mother. It’s disrespect.”
Pretty famously, narcissists dislike boundaries because they represent a loss of control.
(One also has to ask … in what way does Amber believe that she deserves special levels of respect from anyone, let alone Leah?)
Amber continued her rant, demanding: “What? Did I beat her? Is that what I did? Is that what you’re saying.”
Well … in addition to physically assaulting both of her baby daddies, teen Amber is shown on camera encouraging Gary Shirley to hit the then-very-young Leah. (Gary did not respond positively to this demand)
It may also be worth noting that parenting is not the story of the Billy Goats Gruff. You don’t get a pass so long as there’s a worse parent — or a billion worse parents — out there.
“Nobody’s told me to be accountable, darling!” Amber raged on TikTok. “Did you do time in prison? Did you do my time in prison?”
See, no one understands how hard Leah’s childhood has been on Amber
“Did you sit and talk with my daughter and sit down with her and let her know that you were an addict and everything that happened to you?” Amber’s rant went on.
“Were you … in my shoes when I had to sit there and go through everything I had to do?!” she asked. “Were you paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to be in your children’s lives?”
Making a perhaps too-on-the-nose analogy, Amber insisted: “I’ve done nothing in my life, darling, then try to be in my daughter’s life and was pushed out like a cancer!”
However, as you can see here, Amber eventually changed her tone in a follow-up TikTok Live video.
“I didn’t see what her reaction was,” Amber said tearfully, having watched the scene where Leah rejects her gift and card. “It’s the only thing in my life, guys, that hurts me.” Clearly.
“I just want to see my daughter,” Amber lamented. She continued: “It’s so hard. I don’t want to make this [Live] for anybody else.”
‘Teen Mom’ fans just haven’t seen how good of a mom she’s been (in secret)
“I promise. My hand on the Bible, I did. [I was] consistent, I promise,” Amber insisted, claiming that she was a good mom in ways that viewers have never seen. She continued: “I did exactly what she wanted. I came when the cameras weren’t there, when she brought that up, I promise.”
She claimed: “I’ve got so many pictures and so many videos that I’ve never posted of us together. Just to keep her from not feeling embarrassed.”
Naturally, some of the commenters suggested to Amber that her emotionally volatile rants on social media might further alienate Leah. Amber was not inclined to take their advice. Perhaps that is for the best, for Leah’s sake.
Amber Portwood RAGES After Leah Sets Birthday Boundaries, Rejects Gift on ‘Teen … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.