The drama between former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Amber Marchese, her husband Jim Marchese and his 19-year-old son, James Michael Marchese, continues to play out in the press.
Now the 19-year-old, who goes by the name Michael is fighting back against claims made by his dad and step-mom.
Michael first made headlines when he started a GoFundMepage to help raise money for his college tuition. On his GoFundMe page, Michael claimed that his father refused to pay for his tuition unless he lives “according to his standards” is straight and dates women.
Nevertheless, both Jim and Amber have denied the allegations. As previously reported, Amber released a lengthy statement on Instagram last Thursday.
“My stepson was never kicked out nor banished from his siblings. He coldy walked away never to return (January 17, 2018). It took many months to help his little brother and sister deal with a tragic loss of siblings,”Amber wrote on Instagram.
Amber says the issues between her, Jim, and his son started when “Michael got in trouble for lying about his whereabouts with my other, at the time, 14-year-old stepson. We found out that he was bringing my young son around 18-year predators boys that wanted to sexually abuse him, among other Christian Brother freshman children.”
Adding, “We were never afforded a sit-down conversation about sexuality. Michael has refused to sit down and speak with us for nearly 2 years.”
The former RHONJ star went on to call Michael “a spoiled rotten, privileged young teenager” and insists his GoFundMe page is nothing more than a “temper tantrum.”
Amber also said Michael is attempting to “browbeat” them into a school that is “not in our budget.”
Jim also claimed that he found out about Michael’s sexuality when his then 14-year-old son Sebastian “received this rancid nasty gay porn on his phone.” He went on to say that the “porn” was sent Sebastian’s phone because Michael’s friends “wanted to gang bang”him.
As for Michael, he denies all the claims made by Amber and his father.
“Amber took my brother’s phone and saw messages between him and his boyfriend. It wasn’t anything pornographic like my dad has been saying, it’s appalling to read that he’s been saying these disgusting things,” Michael told Celebuzz.
“It was clear that my brother and his boyfriend were dating, so that’s really what started it all with her, and giving the phone to my dad and saying, ‘Your sons are gay,'” he added.
“So true, NO STRAIGHT MALE wants his son to be gay. A gay son is a curse that takes away your #family traditions #heritage #lgtbiq is a parents nightmare that destroys families. Ruins holidays like #Christmas #KevinHart we support you! #LiberalismIsAMentalDisorder,”Jim tweeted.
“He went on that Twitter rant, so to speak…about how no true straight man wants a gay son,”said Michael. “I was called down to [the guidance office at school] because of that. They wanted to make sure I was ok because this was blowing up.”
“It’s been a very tough time, and I really don’t understand why he will continue to say that my sexuality isn’t the reason that he’s not going to help me,” he continued. “Up until my coming out he was extremely supportive of me going to Ivy Leagues … of going to this private high school when I didn’t ask to go to the private high school.”
“He has made it clear to me that if I spoke to anyone about it, he would do anything in his power to destroy everything that I care about,” the 19-year-old added. “This is really bad for his image…I never wanted him to be even involved with [the GoFundMe], I don’t want him to feel forced to now pay for my college education.”
Michael wrapped up his interview by thanking everyone for their overwhelming support. So, far Michael has raised almost $15K out of his $35K goal.
“It really means the world to me that anyone would care what’s going on,”Michael said. “It’s given me hope, hope that there’s a future, one where I don’t need to worry that everyone will judge me based on my sexuality, hope that even though my dad isn’t going to accept me or not anytime soon, according to him, it gives me hope that there will always be people there.”
Thoughts on Michael’s response? Do you believe Amber and Jim? Sound off below!
Lara began writing for AllAboutTRH in October 2014. Lara is a born and bred Jersey girl, who loves blogging and currently writes a lifestyle blog: ChicandSequined.com Beyond blogging, Lara enjoys traveling, fashion, beauty, and gossip. Lara is excited to get in on the gossip and put her own spin on things.
