Thursday, August 4, 2011

The Latest Celebrity to Sue a Parent is Leighton Meester

Leighton Meester's life these days isn't that unlike a storyline on an episode of her hit show. The actress and singer is suing her mother, Constance, for spending the money Meester sent for the care of her younger siblings.The "Country Strong" actress is now suing her mother, alleging that her mother is using the $7,500 she sent a month "... to pay for cosmetic procedures for herself, including plastic surgery on her face and stomach, botox injections for her face.

Her mother countersued, alleging that her daughter broke a contract to pay her mother $30,000 plus an additional $10,000 a month for health insurance premiums and other expenses.Her mother has somewhat of a shady past: the 25-year-old actress was born in a federal prison, thanks to her mother's involvement in an international drug smuggling ring.Meester can take peace in the fact that the addition of money has complicated many relationships -- and plenty of celebrities have sued their parents before her.

LeAnn Rimes might be a happy wife now, but her family life was far from peaceful back in 2000. During that time, the singer and actress filed suit against her father, Wilbur Rimes, and her former manager, Lyle Walker, for stealing her cash."It would appear that her father didn't always act in a fatherly way to her," her attorney Tom Rhodus told The Dallas Morning News after the suit was filed. Rimes alleged that her father and manager stole millions of her hard-earned dollars; her father counter-sued, alleging that she overspent her money.

"I go by the saying, 'Money's the root of all evil.' And I definitely believe that the love for money is the root of all evil, because it changes people," Rimes told ABC News in 2005. "I was being called a spoiled brat by some people. But, you know, people don't know me."Eventually father and daughter fixed their relationship -- and he even walked her down the aisle when she got married to her first husband, Dean Sheremet."I've never hated my dad. I just wanted a dad. I guess I just really disliked where he was in my life. I just wanted him to be my father," she said at the time.



Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is making millions as a star of MTV's "Jersey Shore." Of course, people start to come out of the woodwork when there's money -- and Sorrentino's estranged father is that person in his life.The reality star filed a suit against his father in May to keep Frank Sorrentino from using his name and likeness on his person website. The elder Sorrentino posted negative videos of his son after the ab-flasher refused to give his dad money.