New Video: Levi and the Family Johnston on Tyra

Huffington Post now has additional video up of Levi Johnston, father of Sarah Palin's grandson, and his mother and sister as they appeared on The Tyra Banks Show today.

While I rightfully chastised Levi for violating Bristol's privacy, and taking an unfounded shot at Governor Palin, the rest of this story just gets sadder.

In the first clip, Levi talks about rumors that have spread about him, which is ironic considering his own dishing and his sister's reporting to Star magazine.

The sad part is that Levi sees a mountain of heartache in his young family's future:

Johnston also told Tyra that he might go to court for custody of his child. "I can come see the baby and that kind of thing but [Bristol] won't let me take him anymore," Johnston said. "You can't take the baby out of the Palin house?" Tyra asked. Johnston responded, "Not very often, no." The host asked if he had custody of Tripp." "We haven't gone to court," Johnston said. Asked if he thought he might end up going, he said, "I think it's probably looking like it. We didn't want it to go that way."

But, then in the 2nd clip, Johnston's sister assesses the situation as being, well, more about herself:

MERCEDE JOHNSTON: There's so much bad being said about my family and I think everyone deserves to know the truth, we are good people and definitely want to be in Tripp's life and it's really hard because it's complicated to be able to see Tripp.

Banks: To see him now? Why is it complicated?

Mercede Johnston: Mostly because Bristol and I don't see eye to eye. And that's mostly because I have a lot of girlfriends, a lot of friends that Levi's previously dated. So that's the main issue going on.

There is nothing more gut-wrenching than a custody battle over children, and the Johnstons squandered a chance to be more sympathetic figures here. The notion of a young man fighting a powerful family to be able to see his son is something that resonates with people. They undercut this, however, with trashy gossip and tangential issues.

Tyra takes time at the end of the clip to explain that the Johnstons were not paid for their appearance. Kudos, I guess, but I wonder if Star magazine paid for their exclusive.

I hope that all the parties involved try to remember what's best for baby Tripp. They could start by keeping private things private.

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