I'm going to officially call it: Things are getting just plain ridiculous for LeAnn Rimes. The singer is seemingly unable to keep out of controversy in regards to her relationship with actor Eddie Cibrian.
The latest incident (in a string of many, most of them detailed here in this blog): Her appearance on the cover of Shape magazine's October issue, which was accompanied by a confessional interview discussing her affair with Cibrian and eventual breakup of her marriage to Dean Sheremet.
Some readers apparently were not thrilled with the publication's choice of covergirl, and enough of them contacted the magazine to invoke a groveling apology from Shape editor-in-chief Valerie Latona.
"Shape has made a terrible mistake in putting LeAnn Rimes on the cover," Latona said, in an email that was obtained by celeb gossip site TooFab.
"Please know that our putting her on the cover was not meant to put a husband-stealer on a pedestal--but to show how we all are human."
Latona added that she was "terribly sorry" and that "I hope that we can do better the next time, for those of you that will give us another chance."
The editor immediately backtracked on Friday when her apologetic message became public, telling USA Today that her comments were taken out of context.
"The fact is a mere 40 readers out of almost 6 million readers wrote in to complain calling LeAnn a 'husband stealer' and a 'terrible mistake for Shape'," Latona said. "I wrote to those women apologizing that our cover choice did not make them happy--as I have done for other cover stars in the past."
Is it just me, or is all of this totally over-the-top? Rimes married very young, developed problems in her relationship as she grew up, and had an affair with a man who obviously was having his own marital issues going on. Newsflash: This is not a unique situation.
Furthermore, Rimes claims she turned to working out in order to deal with the stress of her public breakup. That makes her a completely appropriate candidate for Shape, a magazine that has long encouraged and documented women who seek better lifestyles and mental health through exercise. (For what it's worth, Latona also pointed this out in her email.)
In short: None of this Shape drama was really necessary.
It's really kind of making me a little mad. I'll just say it. Lay off LeAnn, already, people.
Rimes herself responded to the story calmly, tweeting, "Just so all my fans know, I'm getting to the bottom of this. It's the first I've heard of this. Shape is throwing me a party next week as a thank you and a congrats for being on their cover for the 3rd time. I find this very contradictory."
The big question that's been brewing for a while--has the Cibrian affair ruined (or at least derailed) LeAnn Rimes's career? To say the least, it seems she has lost favor with a great deal of the general public.
I'll leave it to you guys: If you think her career is sunk, what should she do to regain her former popularity? Let me know your thoughts on this.
As always, be sure to: