When word came this morning that LeAnn Rimes was seeking treatment for "anxiety", plenty of scenarios came to mind as to why she might need help coping -- from a possible eating disorder to the usual substance abuse, there were musings a plenty. It turns out, however, that the real reason may be something no one ever considered -- Twitter.
That's right those little 140-word-or-less blasts out into the Twittersphere may have just driven the singer (she is still a singer, right?) over the edge. Evidence? Today -- just one day after she checked into rehab -- she filed a lawsuit against two women who she says harassed her on Twitter -- Kimberly Smiley and her daughter, Lexi Smiley.
A little coincidental, don't you think?
According to reports, the women are fans of Brandi Glanville, who is Eddie Cibrian's ex and star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. They apparently voiced some anti-LeAnn sentiment via Twitter over the years, and LeAnn got fed up with it. In an attempt to woo them with her winning personality, she apparently called Kimberly and begged her to spend some time with her so she could see the real LeAnn. (Desperate much?)
According to Rimes' lawsuit obtained by TMZ, the Smileys then illegally tape recorded the conversation (don't blame them as it sounds insane!), and then spread it across the Internet. Rimes claims they painted her in a "false and negative light" and that they said she was "crazy and delusional." (Uh, let's hope she doesn't sue everyone who says that or we're all in trouble.) She's seeking $25,000 in damages.
So it sure sounds like the toll of Twitter was just too much for poor LeAnn, which is kind of ridiculous, especially since she's been the queen of mean in plenty of cases. No one likes to see negative things written about them anywhere, but with Twitter and Facebook in particular people are scathing. If you're in the public eye, you've got to learn to deal with it or get out of the biz, because you're just not going to win everyone over, even if you do think you're a big enough star that phone call from you will woo them.
Recording a phone conversation may be illegal, but suing someone for something so petty just makes Rimes look like she needs treatment worse than we thought. As for Kimberly Smiley, she pretty much nailed it on the head I think when she told the Associated Press, "I truly think this is a PR attempt to get people to think she's been victimized." Bingo!
Do you think this lawsuit is the real reason LeAnn Rimes checked into rehab?
Image via Yodel Anecdotal/Flickr
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Comments 19
This could also be an attempt to really crack down on cyber bullying.
This sounds like a legitimate case of it.
LeAnne Rhymes has lost it. Yes, everyone deals with stress in their own way, but that way should not be to sue people. In my opinion, sueing someone for such a petty reason is pathetic. She doesn't even need the money! If you do not have the proper coping skills to be in the public eye, either step away or get some counseling to learn to better cope with life. No one can be liked by everyone. It is just not possible. I don't get the big deal about twitter. Doesn't seem that great to me. Why doesn't she just delete it and start her own blog/website just for fans so she doesn't even have to deal with the people that don't like her? She could have someone weed out the hateful people. Why the heck has no one in her life come up with that?! I've spent a whole 5 minutes thinking about this and thought of that. It wouldn't be admitting defeat(as she might feel) but rather catering to her delicate psychy.
I have to admitt, I don't follow celebrities or their fan pages, so perhaps she does already have a blog/website(I'm sure she does) but she should just stick to that and forget about twitter. Not worth it obviously.
These two Smiley's, are they any relation to Slade Smiley, Gretchen's boyfriend? I'm pretty certain that, that is his last name.
i'm in the sorta same situation that she's in. I had two bullies on here once and I called them out in a group post, now they are playing the victim like nothing happened and calling me the bully. I have screen shots of them and they are still acting like the victim here when they started the whole mess in the first place and still wont own up to it. I apologized which i shouldnt have because I dont have to apologize but I did out of respect. I know where LeAnn is coming from and i know how she feels