All Of The Times MTV Should Have Fired 'Teen Mom' Star Amber Portwood

MTV star Amber Portwood has been in the reality television spotlight since appearing on the show 16 and Pregnant in 2009. While the show and its multiple Teen Mom spin-off series were intended to educate young people about the struggles of teen parenting, the shows have become more "reality TV trash" as the years have gone on. Many scandals and controversies have exploded as cameras continued to roll and many of these controversies are at the hands of Amber Portwood.

Portwood's personal life has been documented as she's struggled with domestic violence, drug abuse, and mental health crisis. While she has had several co-stars receive the axe from MTV, such as Farrah Abraham (adult film), Ryan Edwards (substance abuse), Jenelle Evans (child abuse & animal cruelty), and David Eason (racism, animal cruelty & homophobia). Portwood has somehow gone unscathed and has continued to appear on the show with little to no consequences for her actions. Not only that, she's continued to appear and offend with the unwavering support from fellow original 16 and Pregnant castmates Catelynn Baltierra and Maci McKinney.

The following discusses Portwood's five most shocking offenses while being filmed for 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom OG, and Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. Whether it's domestic assault, incarceration, child endangerment, mental health crises, or peer-to-peer violence, she's done it all and it's all been while MTV cameras were rolling. It begs the question... after 15 years, why hasn't MTV fired her yet?

5. When Amber threatened fellow 'Teen Mom' castmate, Ashley Jones

When Young and Pregnant star Ashley Jones joined the cast of Teen Mom in 2021, things never seemed to go in her favor in terms of friendliness from fellow castmates. Since the casting, Jones has feuded with not just her ex-husband, Bariki "Bar" Smith, but also several of her fellow castmates - including Amber Portwood.

After a reunion taping of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter in 2022, Jones leaked rather unhinged audio from a phone call with Portwood on her Instagram stories. According to the audio, Portwood threatened to "f*** your a** up" and stated she'd have already beat Jones up if they would have been speaking in person. Jones verbally stated to Portwood that she felt the was "deranged" and that Portwood called her, which got a response stating Portwood would "mutilate her a**." The fight came (apparently) after Portwood did not like Jones' reaction to a previous altercation she'd had with another cast member, Briana DeJesus.

Teen Mom fans took to the internet and demanded that MTV fire Portwood, but alas, Portwood remained employed by the network. Fans went so far as to say they wondered what Portwood has on the network that allows them to continue enabling her to abuse fellow cast members, including women of color. The attack on Jones continued to showcase Portwood's pattern of behavior and it also sheds more light onto the network's inconsistencies when it comes to "punishing" cast members.

4. When Amber tried to fight fellow 'Teen Mom' castmate, Farrah Abraham

Speaking of cast members that no one seems to like, Teen Mom viewers are well aware of the perception and treatment of Farrah Abraham. Abraham has the credit of being the first Teen Mom cast member to be fired by the network after her work in the adult film industry, but MTV later invited her back to Teen Mom for following seasons.

During the tense reunion of the show's 6th season, Abraham and Portwood got into an explosive fight when Abraham's then-boyfriend, Simon Saran, made comments about Portwood's then-fiancé, Matt Baier. Portwood stormed onto the stage and even attempted to swing at Abraham but missed. Abraham kept her cool and didn't engage in Portwood's outward aggression, but it led to a bonus scuffle between Baier and Abraham's father, Michael.

Abraham has always been well-known for instigating MTV staff and her castmates, but there is still no excuse for physical violence. The fact that Portwood continues to take any opportunity to turn to physical violence is nothing but a testament to her character. Once again, MTV made a statement that the network did not condone Portwood's behavior but she remained on the show.

3. When Amber repeatedly assaulted her ex-fiancé, Gary Shirley, on camera

Right from the beginning in their 16 and Pregnant episode in 2009, we could see that Amber and her daughter's father, Gary Shirley, were not a compatible couple. Not only was Shirley just shy of 4 years older than his then-teenage girlfriend, the couple just argued and argued. As the network formed the spin-off show, Teen Mom, some of the arguments between Shirley and Portwood turned physical... and it was all caught on camera.

One of the more notable fights that aired on MTV was in the same season where Shirley proposed to Portwood on the beach. Season 2 of Teen Mom showed Portwood relentlessly kicking, slapping, pushing, and choking her fiancé - all in front of their young daughter, Leah. After the episodes aired, Child Protective Services became involved and she was later arrested for domestic battery in September 2010. In November 2010, she was officially charged with three counts of domestic violence including two felony counts. In December 2011, she was arrested for felony possession of controlled substances which led to her violating her probation for felony domestic battery.

MTV condemned Portwood's behavior when the episodes aired, yet they continued to keep her on the show. While these episodes were filmed and aired before MTV producers broke the fourth wall with future seasons of Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2, the network should have done more to protect Shirley and their daughter. And yes, that should have included firing her from the network and making the police and CPS calls themselves.

2. When Amber went to prison

Shortly after the events that led to Portwood's domestic battery and drug possession charges, she was sentenced to probation. As part of her probation, she had to regularly submit to drug testing and attend anger management classes via a rehab facility - both of which she failed to comply with. She failed multiple drug tests and dropped out of her rehab facility which led to a final probation violation. She was sentenced to five years in prison in 2012 with the expectation of completing her GED and attending substance abuse classes while incarcerated. Portwood was released at the end of 2013, after just 18 months of incarceration, for "good behavior" and completing her GED.

Did MTV fire her after all of this? No. In fact, Dr, Phil did a jailhouse interview with her and aired it as an unofficial Teen Mom special. She was brought back for Teen Mom OG's season 5 return and quickly introduced a new man, Matt Baier. She met Baier, an amateur DJ, via Twitter shortly after her release from prison and he quickly became a constant part of her Teen Mom storyline until their nasty split in 2017.

1. When Amber tried to kill her ex-boyfriend, Andrew Glennon, with a machete

After an explosive on-camera ending to her engagement with Matt Baier in 2017, the then 27-year old Portwood began dating a 33-year old man named Andrew Glennon. She met the Malibu, CA native while her and Baier were filming the show, Marriage Boot Camp. Insider sources claimed Portwood and Baier finally called it quits while filming and she soon became rather inseparable with Glennon. He even moved into her Indiana home just a few weeks after Marriage Boot Camp filming ended.

Glennon worked as a camera crew member and cinematographer for independent film projects, so it came as no surprise that he would hit it off with a reality TV cast member. The couple even surprised everyone when she quickly got pregnant with her second child, James, in late 2017. Glennon seemed like a stable and mature match for Portwood... until things went as they always seem to.

Portwood was arrested in July 2019 after she swallowed an entire bottle of clonazepam and tried to attack Glennon with a machete. What makes matters worse is that Glennon was holding their young son at the time of the attack, subsequently being forced to hide in a closet. The attack was caught on audio and video via in-home Ring cameras. After being hit with a restraining order, Portwood pled guilty to charges of domestic battery, criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, and domestic battery committed in the presence of a child under 16-years old. She officially lost custody of their son in 2022 and was ordered to complete 906 days of probation and attend 26-weeks of parenting classes. Glennon was granted sole custody and has since moved back to California with their child.

Needless to say, this is by far the worst domestic incident she has had. The fact that MTV continued to allow her to participate in Teen Mom after literally trying to kill someone is egregious and this should have been the last and final straw... yet it wasn't. They have continued to film her sitting on her couch, blaming everyone else for her own actions.

Bonus Incident: The June 2024 disappearance of Gary Wayt

In the latest season of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Portwood's third fiancé, Gary Wayt, was reported missing to Bryson City, NC police. 39-year old Wayt disappeared from their Smoky Mountains cabin rental on June 9, 2024, just a few weeks after he'd proposed to Portwood. A native of Indianapolis, he left the cabin in a grey SUV after what Portwood described as an "emotional conversation" without his cell phone. The missing persons event occurred less than 72 hours after Wayt was introduced on an episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.

Wayt was located days later in a New Mexico cell phone store amidst and Bryson City police closed the case. It was confirmed just a few weeks later that he and Portwood had ended their engagement. Supposedly, according to Portwood, Wayt's family members had began looking her up on the internet and they "got into his head."

Portwood has since criticized the public for their perception of the situation and for theorizing that she had killed him, but given her history with domestic abuse... can you really blame anyone? MTV has continued their trend of bending backwards for Portwood as the network was forced to cancel the show's reunion episode taping due to her throwing a tantrum and refusing to attend.

Oh, Amber.