We'll say this for the disgruntled brother of Jon Gosselin's alleged mistress: At least he ratted out his sister free of charge.
But when it comes to the Jon & Kate Plus 8 clan's own family, prepare to open the checkbook.
E! News has learned that as recently as this morning, Kate Gosselin's brother Kevin Kreider has been shopping his tell-all take on the situation to media outlets for $30,000.
Ironically, Kreider—unsurprisingly estranged from sis Kate—appeared today on CBS' Early Show with his equally outraged and camera-ready wife, Jodi, complaining that the strained reality couple's eight children were being "exploited" and treated as "a commodity."
The Kreiders, on the other hand, insist they're now coming forward not just to fill their bank account, but out of concern for the kids.
"We're speaking out now because we want to be the voice of our nieces and nephews," Kevin told the morning show, which in turn told E! News there was "no payment at all" exchanged for the sit-down.
"We're seeing it turn tide, that they're being viewed as a commodity."
The Kreiders claim that the TLC show, which set a new ratings record with its fifth season premiere Monday night and with which the Kreiders themselves were once on-camera participants, started off innocently enough.
"It quickly turned into more and more demands of Jon and Kate from the network," Jodi said. "There were cameras in the children's bedrooms at one point. And they were filming all year round. These were very huge concerns for us.
"They're being exploited," she said of the twins and sextuplets. "There are signs already…They would say, 'Aunt Jodi, I don't like the cameras on every vacation with us. I don't like them.'
"You know, kids have bad times, bad moments, they cry—and having the camera zoom in on a crying child, I mean, this is just—this should not be a form of entertainment."
As for Kevin, he claims that he has spoken with his sister and brother-in-law but admits that "our relationship has definitely been strained now."
"We haven't seen the kids in a while, which is hard…What we hope is that they will kind of come around, see the effects, see what's most important."
No immediate word from CBS News on whether it shelled out for the Kreiders' account.
Meanwhile, TLC confirmed this morning that the show's fifth season will run for a monster 40 episodes, double the typical order.
—Additional reporting by Ken Baker
(Originally published May 27, 2009, at 1:55 p.m. PT)
______
Follow us on Twitter @eonline and get our free iPhone app