Botox Mom Confesses: It Was All a Hoax
Botox Mom Kerry Campbell has released a sworn statement saying her attention-grabbing, Good Morning America-baiting scandal was a hoax!
Her real name is Sheena Upton, she says, and she never gave her daughter Botox or "virgin waxes." This is the best possible outcome, right? The little girl isn't full of botulism, but the mom is still a crazy person we can judge.
Sheena now says British tabloid The Sun—which published the first Botox Mom story—orchestrated the whole thing. "I was provided with the story, instructions, and a script to follow for a recorded interview." She made $200. "The truth is I have never given my daughter Botox, nor allowed her to get any type of waxing, nor is she a beauty pageant contestant." It's a more efficient version of Munchausen Syndrome: Instead of injuring her child to fake illness and get attention, she fake-injured her child and got more attention than even the most prolific Munchausen moms can even dream.
The part about Child Protect Services' involvement was real, though, and confirmed by a CPS spokesperson. (After closing the case, CPS declined to specify what, exactly, they did or found.) TMZ reports that, after tests at UCLA Medical Center proved Britney never actually got Botox, the child was returned to her custody "with the provision that a cousin would stay with her and the child for the time being." All three have been strictly prohibited from contact with silver weather balloons.
Many raised doubts about Botox Mom's veracity, even as Good Morning America gave her a fig leaf of credibility. By the time that "Kerry Campbell" started her apology tour, it was clear that at least some of her tale was a lie. Not that she's necessarily telling the whole truth now.
So what have we learned? Botox is not for babies, CPS doesn't mess around, and The Sun's hoax machine is fifty times cheaper than Good Morning America's respectable journalism machine. [TMZ]
Previously:
Botox Mom Begs for Forgiveness
Botox Mom Loses Custody
Child Services Swoops in on Botox Mom
Mom Defends Giving 8-Year-Old Botox and 'Virgin Waxes'
Mom Gives 8-Year-Old Botox and Virgin Waxes