LeAnn Rimes Suing Former Twitter Follower After Emotional Breakdown
LeAnn Rimes has filed a lawsuit against two women who allegedly illegally recorded a phone conversation that she had with them recently in an attempt to defame her.
The troubled singer has accused one of her former Twitter followers, Kimberly Smiley, and another woman, Lexi Smiley, of engaging in a plot to harass and defame her over her controversial marriage to Eddie Cibrian, according to TMZ.com.
On Thursday, it was announced that Rimes "voluntarily entered a 30 day in-patient treatment facility to cope with anxiety and stress," which is allegedly the result of an emotional meltdown that she suffered following her heated phone conversation with Kimberly.
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Rimes believes that both women are supporters of Brandi Glanville, who is the ex-wife of Rimes' husband Eddie Cibrian, 39. She claims that the women have harassed her ever since she had an affair with Cibrian and wants them prosecuted for the alleged "treachery."
Rimes, 30, called Kimberly recently while enjoying a lunch with two of her Twitter followers, though it is still unclear how exactly she obtained Kimberly's cell phone number.
Kimberly claims that she only began following the country music singer in 2010 "because she supported Jimmy Wayne (a country artist who was walking across the U.S. to raise awareness for foster youth)," Kimberly recently told the Huffington Post.
During the phone conversation, which Kimberly recorded and which has since been posted online, Rimes blasted Glanville as being "vindictive" and invited Kimberly to spend time with her in an attempt to get to know the "real LeAnn." Kimberly said that she was "surprised that [Rimes] thought I'd just change my mind about her and want to come hang with her."
"I immediately noticed how much she tweeted certain people and I found it strange. I was blocked by LeAnn immediately after I started speaking to Brandi [Glanville] fans on Twitter," she went on.
In a statement, Rimes' attorney, Larry Stein, accused Kimberly of "treachery" for recording the phone conversation without Rimes' consent and even accused her of editing parts of it.
"Kimberly Smiley has been tweeting mean and derogatory things about LeAnn for years. A mutual friend suggested LeAnn talk to Miss Smiley in an attempt to reduce the negativity. In an attempt to conciliate, LeAnn spoke to Miss Smiley. Instead of accepting LeAnn's kind gesture, Miss Smiley apparently, without consent, taped portions of the conversation, changed the conversation through editing and created snippets out of context to distribute to the media," Stein told the Huffington Post.
"It is a violation of the California penal code to tape a telephone conversation without the other party's consent. LeAnn is totally disappointed in Ms. Smiley's treachery and has turned the entire matter over to her attorney," he added.
