Tweet That ‘Proves’ LeAnn Rimes Was Bullied Was Faked
Sept. 13 2012, Published 4:00 a.m. ET
By David Perel - Executive Vice President/Managing Editor Breaking Celebrity News
A tweet that is being used to prove LeAnn Rimes was bullied by a school teacher was doctored and never sent to the star, Breaking Celebrity News has learned exclusively.
A breathless “exclusive” posted on another web site exclaims: “Exposed: The Vicious ‘Cyber-Bullying’ Tweets LeAnn Rimes Received Before Seeking Treatment.” The story, now picked up by bigger sites, quotes teacher Kim Smiley allegedly calling LeAnn a “loser” and threatening to wreck her life.
One problem: the tweet was never sent to LeAnn and Breaking Celebrity News has the proof.
The man it was sent to admitted to Breaking Celebrity News in an exclusive interview two weeks ago that he received that exact tweet from Smiley after engaging in a cyber war.
What’s more, Smiley tells Breaking Celebrity News that she sent the tweet to that man because she believed he was endangering her four special-needs children by broadcasting where they go to school - a fact confirmed by Breaking Celebrity News, which has SIX tweets sent by the man. Those tweets clearly are intended to expose the location of the Smiley children’s school and include the names of their programs and her supervisors.
“I will fight to the death for my children,” Smiley told Breaking Celebrity News in an exclusive interview about the tweet. “This man posted information that made it easy to identify where my children go to school. He put them in danger.
“Four of my children are adopted and have special needs and we have photos of some of their biological fathers posted at the school because we are terrified they could be kidnapped.
“When this man posted the information identifying the schools the Momma Bear came out in me. You can call me names and say what you want but when you start with my children, Game Over.
“I’m not proud of what I said in those tweets but I was furious. This followed months of this man identifying my children.”
Tellingly, the name of the person the tweet was addressed to was blocked out in the copy that was sent to the web site that got it wrong.
(That site did not run the tweet, but just quoted from it.)
Breaking Celebrity News has confirmed that the tweet was NOT sent to LeAnn but was part of an ongoing battle between Kim and LeAnn’s supporter who asked Breaking Celebrity News not to use