Mixing things up! Us Weekly can confirm that Teen Mom cameras are rolling with former Teen Mom 3 star Mackenzie McKee and have been for some time.
“The show has been shooting with her for years for specials and online content,” a production source says. In September 2018, MTV aired Where Are They Now? Mackenzie McKee, a special giving fans an update.
However, that doesn’t mean she’s joined the cast of Teen Mom OG in Bristol Palin’s place — at least, not yet. “Despite reports, it is unclear what she is filming for and where that footage will live,” the source added.
The rumors come shortly after current cast members Amber Portwood, Maci Bookout and Catelynn Lowell shared their thoughts with Us Weekly about MTV possibly bringing in a replacement for Palin, 28, who quit the show ahead of the season 10 premiere.
“No, we’re good,” Portwood, 29, told Us in May, to which Bookout quipped, “No new friends.” Lowell added with a nod to the show’s other key player, Cheyenne Floyd: “No, I’m good with just four.”
Lowell echoed those thoughts on Twitter on Monday. “If it’s not broke don’t fix it! #TeenMomOG #JustSaying,” she wrote, before defending herself to those who thought she was slamming McKee. “It has NOTHING to do with Mackenzie at all! It’s with the ppl that don’t explain what’s happening. I welcome anyone just think MTV would tell us not find out online.”
Floyd, 26, along with Palin, joined Teen Mom OG before season 9 of the show, and it’s safe to say she’s enjoying her time with her new pals. “I don’t think people thought that we would mesh so well, but I think we all went in and we’re [thinking], ‘No judgment, open minds, let’s get to know each other in a real organic way,’” Floyd explained to Us. “I feel like we’ve done that.”
Palin announced her decision to pull herself from the show after just one season in April. “Teen mom OG wasn’t a fit for me, it took away my peace.. and honestly – my peace has a price tag that no one but God can afford,” she captioned an Instagram post at the time. “$ doesn’t impress me, I don’t entertain bs, and walking away from this show allows God to rebuild me (and my little fam) in the right direction.”
The Alaska native added: “I have love for all the girls on the show, and wish them the best of luck in all their future endeavors!! xoxo, B.”
McKee, for her part, recently came under fire after she was accused of leaving her dog, a Harlequin Great Dane, in a pen while she and her husband, Josh McKee, vacationed in the Bahamas. TMZ obtained photos from the couple’s neighbor that showed the canine standing in the muddy cage surrounded by his own feces on May 21.
Mackenzie, 24, denied that the animal was wrongly treated in a series of tweets later that day. “Lies…. all lies… that is all. If you guys think that my neighbors were telling the truth, you are out of your mind,” she wrote. “They have had it out for us since we moved in in October and moving is in the near future.”
She went on to note that members of her family were checking on the dog at least three times a day, cleaning his crate and letting him out to run around and play. “We were on top of him being loved and cared for. Animal control said we passed wellness check. … Me nor my mother or the other two taking care of him support animal abuse,” Mackenzie added.
Teen Mom OG premieres on MTV Monday, June 10, at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Emily Longeretta
