Amber Portwood left the Teen Mom world stunned in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve by hurling some scathing accusations against her baby daddy Gary Shirley.
The Teen Mom star— who has been spending hours on TikTok Live every day for the past few weeks— was angry at Gary, who has forbidden Amber from seeing their 16-year-old daughter, from whom Amber is estranged. Earlier in the day, Amber spoke about being at peace (for now) with where her relationship with Leah currently is. However, when she came back online around 3 a.m. Indiana time, Amber went for Gary’s jugular, accusing him of rape, as well as blackmailing her into getting an abortion, being a bad dad and more.
Amber appeared to be set off my something that happened earlier that night, seemingly with Gary telling her that she was no longer welcome in Leah’s life. After that, she hit TikTok Live to reveal “secrets” she claimed to have been holding in for years.
“I’m being told that my daughter will be completely taken away from me,” Amber said. “I can’t see her anyway. She wants nothing to do with me. And then you have the other person [Gary] lying, saying you never, ever tried to help with your child. It’s becoming too much for me to keep inside because of this. I never thought I’d ever say this, ever, but I never thought that any of this was going to happen. I thought he would at least try to keep it cool.”
During the Live, Amber accused Gary of rape–seemingly statutory rape. She pointed out that she was young– about 14 or 15— when she began dating Gary, who was about 18 at the time. She claimed that she only stayed with Gary because she got pregnant at 17 with Leah.
“You’re a rapist. You’re lucky that you have our daughter,” Amber said to Gary, who was not on the Live. “And if you want to come at me for this, because I’ve never told anybody. Not once. I’ve never told anybody…You guys, I’ve kept my mouth shut for 17 years. I went through everything that I went through everything that I could to keep this at bay. Even though other people knew about this, OK?”
“I’m not stopping, don’t tell me to stop!” Amber snapped at her TikTok followers who told her to stop and think about what she was putting out on the Internet. “Don’t dare try to silence me when I’m talking about real stuff. I don’t care what happens after this because I’m stuck with just bullying.”
Amber claimed she was so violent toward Gary in the past because of what she claims he did. (As ‘Teen Mom’ fans know, Amber was arrested for domestic battery against Gary in the early years of ‘Teen Mom.’ Years later, she was arrested for domestic violence against her other baby daddy Andrew Glennon.)
“I was abusive for a reason. A lot of shame, a lot of pain. So many things,” she said. “…I did a lot of bad things, but I had my reasons.”
Amber then claimed that Leah is close to her stepmom, Kristina, because Gary has pushed her toward her as a way to attempt to silence Amber. (Amber did not, however, acknowledge all of the times that Kristina has been a mother to Leah while Amber was in a relationship or unable–or unwilling–to be an active parent to Leah herself.)
“Gary’s not a good dad….at all. It’s absolutely disgusting….there’s a reason why he’s pushed my daughter towards Kristina so much,” she said, later adding that she wishes she could speak to Leah privately.
“I would love to go talk to my daughter,” Amber said. “I would love to have my kids with me. I would love to talk to my daughter…neither one of them live with me but I take care of both of my children.”
(This is likely a reference to claims Gary allegedly made recently about Amber owing him years’ worth of child support, something Amber has denied.)
Amber talked about the “amazing” relationship she currently has with her son James, and blamed Gary for the fact that she has no relationship with Leah.
“And then you have on the other side Gary Shirley, who you could do everything perfect and he will always do something in order to make money,” Amber said. “He will always do something in order to make himself look better. He’s that type of person. One thing is I can admit my faults but that man can never. And there’s some things that are so hidden and he’s lucky.”
Amber then accused Gary of being a “f**king pedophile.”
“He’s also a rapist. So, merry Christmas. To the guys who have been following Gary, who raped me— you guys are welcome for this franchise!” Amber said, seemingly taking credit for creating the ‘Teen Mom’ shows.
Amber also claimed that Gary once took her to get an abortion and that he told her if she didn’t get it she wouldn’t be able to see Leah, who was three at the time. (For those who haven’t been following the show for as long as The Ashley has, Leah was three when Amber lost custody to Gary for her drug-related offenses. Leah was also three when Amber went to prison. In her latest book, Amber discussed her heavy drug use during this time.)
Amber claimed she stayed silent about all this “to protect her daughter.”
“I can’t believe all the things I have gone through because of this person [Gary],” she said. “If I would have known that my daughter was going to be taken away from me. If I had known I was going to be attacked right now with lies about money. If I had known that I was going to be used just the way I have been, I would have never kept my mouth shut actually.”
During another part of the Live, a sobbing Amber claimed she was “attacked” by someone, who we can assume was Gary.
“I was trying so hard for Leah and having her taken away from me in every possible way,” she said. “…I didn’t do anything to my daughter. I’ve kept my mouth shut for 17 years for her, guys. But if the man is going to keep on attacking me with his insane things and tell me I’m not wanted in her life anymore, fine. Ok. But this is what I’ve done in order for her to have a regular life.
“…I’m getting attacked on Christmas Eve, as I always do, for the last 17 years. This time I’m done. Because it’s specifically because of this one person [Gary]. I can’t go on like that. I have to be strong and I have to just do what I need to do. But that’s the truth. I’m sorry if it hurt anybody. I’m sorry if it made anybody feel a certain way… I’m going into this new year and I’m changing my life, and I am finally free. I feel like I’m finally free.”
Amber seemed very concerned that she was going to get in trouble with MTV for going on Live and saying this stuff. It appeared that she thought the show would be cancelled because of it.
Although Amber never apologized to Leah for publicly making these statements (on Christmas Eve), she did say she was sorry to the other cast members.
“Sorry to the show, sorry to the girls, sorry to everybody…Do you guys know how much trouble I’m going to get into?” she sobbed. “…I’m so sorry to the rest of the girls! But I can’t be bullied anymore….If something happens [with] my career [on the show]…I’ve loved everything that I’ve experienced from my career. I guess I’ll see what happens.”
Amber said she was worried because she knew she was “going to be yelled at by a lot of people because it wasn’t supposed to get out.”
She also seemingly implied that MTV covered up incidents to protect Gary and the show.
“I can’t keep getting bullied by this person [Gary] and treated as if every single thing is my fault,” Amber declared. “It’s been on for too long. I don’t know what’s going to happen next….I’m putting my whole career on the line right now, but I can’t keep it in. I’ll deal with whatever comes my way.
As of press time, Gary has not commented on Amber’s claims. MTV has also not addressed what Amber said during her rant.
You can watch a portion of Amber’s Christmas Eve TikTok meltdown below.
