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Janine Lindemulder appeared on Good Morning America today to discuss the custody battle she’s currently fighting with her ex-husband, Jesse James, over their 5-year-old daughter. (video here)

Although I’ve read a lot about the situation on other blogs, I’ve avoided talking about it until now because Janine’s side of the story wasn’t entirely clear. Now that she has gone on television to defend her desire to see her own daughter, I feel the need to add my own two cents to the discussion.

Fighting over custody after a divorce is always messy and often painful for everyone involved – especially the kids. On one side, there is Janine, recently released from prison, newly married to a man of questionable character, and biological mother of this child. On the other is Jesse James and, for some reason, Sandra Bullock.

Yes, I realize that Sandra is Jesse’s wife, but as a stepmother myself, I feel it’s at best in poor taste and at worst downright wrong for her to get involved in this type of custody dispute. I assume that Sandra loves her stepdaughter tremendously, but it’s simply not her place to write and then publicly release letters to the court accusing Janine of drug abuse, neglect, or anything else, for that matter.

If her ex-husband wants to fight for sole custody, great. Goodness knows that Janine isn’t going to be winning any Mother of the Year awards. But that’s between them.

In the end, Jesse and Sandra have money and Janine doesn’t. They’ll probably get custody of her daughter, and maybe that’s in the girl’s best interest. But it leaves a seriously bad taste in my mouth to watch Janine beg Sandra Bullock for her child back on national television. This is a private matter, and for the child’s sake, it really ought to be kept that way.