# Mother and Daughter Lie to Win Hannah Montana Tix



## MAC_Whore (Dec 31, 2007)

FROM MSN
AP - updated 3:24 p.m. ET, Sun., Dec. 30, 2007

GARLAND, Texas - An essay that won a 6-year-old girl four tickets to a Hannah Montana concert began with the powerful line: “My daddy died this year in Iraq.”  

While gripping, it wasn’t true — and now the girl may lose her tickets after her mom acknowledged to contest organizers it was all a lie.

The sponsor of the contest was Club Libby Lu, a Chicago-based store that sells clothes, accessories and games intended for young girls.

The saga began Friday with company officials surprising the girl at a Club Libby Lu at a mall in suburban Garland, about 20 miles northeast of Dallas. The girl won a makeover that included a blonde Hannah Montana wig, as well as the grand prize: airfare for four to Albany, N.Y., and four tickets to the sold-out Hannah Montana concert on Jan. 9.

The mother had told company officials that the girl’s father died April 17 in a roadside bombing in Iraq, company spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield said.

“We did the essay and that’s what we did to win,” Priscilla Ceballos, the mother, said in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW. “We did whatever we could do to win.”

She had identified the soldier as Sgt. Jonathon Menjivar, but the Department of Defense has no record of anyone with that name dying in Iraq. Caulfield said the mother has admitted to the deception.

“We regret that the original intent of the contest, which was to make a little girl’s holiday extra special, has not been realized in the way we anticipated,” said Mary Drolet, the CEO of Club Libby Lu.

Drolet said the company is reviewing the matter, and is considering taking away the girl’s tickets.
_________________________

Her mother is a piece of shit.


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## Girl about town (Dec 31, 2007)

its sick any parent would encourage her child to be deceptive for her own gain. some parents aren't fit to raise children to be good people


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## redambition (Dec 31, 2007)

that's sick :/

what kind of parent encourages that sort of stuff? that's just wrong.


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## Shimmer (Dec 31, 2007)

What were the rules of the contest? Were they supposed to write something that was true?

One of the girls on my son's baseball team got tix the 20 Nov concert for HM, and I flat out told her mom that if it were me, I'd explain to my daughter the value of the tickets and what we could do with the money we sold them for, then sell the damn things. They were going for 3k APIECE. The girl's mom is a single mom with a couple of kids, that'd make a decent Christmas plus money in the bank.


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## nunu (Dec 31, 2007)

This is when you realise which moms aren't fit to raise children. This is sick. What kind of things is she teaching her daughter?? To lie and decive people!  What about all the pther kids who wrote true essays? Don't they deserve to be given the concert tickets to?
I hope they disqualify them from the concert and reconsider other kids.


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## *KT* (Dec 31, 2007)

Not only encouraging her daughter to lie, but to lie about something that terrible?  Her daughter's going to be devastated and will hopefully learn what telling those kinds of lies leads... but I have my doubts the mother will learn much unless her family and friends will no longer look her in the eye.  

I think the part that makes me most angry is this quote: “We did whatever we could do to win.”  Like she's not even ashamed of what they did, which imo is disrespect every family who lost a loved one in military service.


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## Shimmer (Dec 31, 2007)

Y'all really have to know the people in the north Dallas area, and north Tarrant County area, to understand why this doesn't surprise me.


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## Evey (Dec 31, 2007)

Why in the HELL would you teach a child to lie about something so horrible to win some concert tickets?! dumb ass woman.


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## glam8babe (Dec 31, 2007)

what a sick woman!


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## purrtykitty (Dec 31, 2007)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *MAC_Whore* 

 
_"We did the essay and that’s what we did to win,” Priscilla Ceballos, the mother, said in an interview with Dallas TV station KDFW. “We did whatever we could do to win."_

 
I think that says it all.  I'll bet it's how she lives her day-to-day life and how she's raising her children.  We'll have a couple more self-entitled brats who will turn into self-entitled adults that the rest of us will want to strangle.


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## jenntoz (Dec 31, 2007)

I am so glad they decided to take away the tickets that she "won"


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## Divinity (Dec 31, 2007)

Dude...  This is such a shame.  Not only has this mother taught her daughter that it is okay to lie, but also to do whatever it takes to win.  AND on top of that, clearly the contest was during the holidays and to make it special for someone.  They both took this away from other deserving families AND have lost the true meaning of the holidays.  It's sad to see what the world is coming to, because it's a result of the people in it.


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## Beauty Mark (Dec 31, 2007)

I'd like to think they learned a lesson, but I doubt it. It's concert tickets. It's not like some life-changing opportunity, food to feed your family, etc. Maybe not the best reasons to lie, but they're certainly better than some dumb tickets.


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## Shimmer (Dec 31, 2007)

Was it in the rules that the essay had to be accurate? Was it expressly stated that it had to be a factual essay? 
I mean...don't get me wrong, I think it's disgusting, but...if it wasn't in the rules, then...don't be surprised if they sue and win.

 Quote:

  Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest:

"We want to hear how you're going to ROCK someone else's holiday. Maybe it's Mom, your best friend, or maybe it's someone you don't even know! It's easy: just write (no more than 5 sentences) and send it to us. Maybe you are donating a coat (sorry sis) or maybe you are making breakfast in bed for your Mom (maybe next year Dad!); whatever it is tell us all about it."

Here is the legal language: "No purchase necessary to win. You must be between the ages of 6 and 13 by 11/22/07. Club Libby Lu cannot accept any entries from individuals under the age of 18 without consent from parent or legal guardian. You must be able to attend the concert on 1/9/08 to be eligible. Grand prize consists of four round-trip coach class air travel on airline of CLL's choice from major airport nearest winner's residence to Albany, NY, on 1/9/08 and returning 1/10/08; 2 days, 1 night hotel accommodations. Winner and at least one parent/legal guardian of winner must attend a Public Relations event scheduled during the trip in NY. Winner and guest must travel together. All travelers must execute a Release of Liability and a Publicity Release prior to ticketing. Travel arrangements and accommodations are at the discretion of the Sponsor. Trip value may vary depending on point of departure and airfare fluctuations. Approximate retail value of Grand Prize is $3,000. Other great prizes will be awarded. Winners are solely responsible for paying all applicable federal, state, local taxes and all other expenses with the acceptance and/or use of prizes. For complete details including entry information and judging criteria, send a self addressed stamped envelope to Club Libby Lu Attn: Hannah Montana Official Rules, 2700 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612."  
 
Nowhere in the legal language does it say that the essay  has to be true. 

I think the mother is a pig, absolutely, but...technically, legally, they didn't really break the rules.

Perhaps if companies weren't looking for the most pathetic sob story they can find, stuff like this wouldn't happen. ABC and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and its ilk searching for families who've gone through terrible ordeals not because they truly want to help but because it makes ratings have fed this kind of monster. :/


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## MAC_Whore (Dec 31, 2007)

You're right, it doesn't state that it has to be true in that verbage, but it does state:

"For complete details including entry information and judging criteria, send a self addressed stamped envelope to Club Libby Lu Attn: Hannah Montana Official Rules, 2700 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612." 

So I would imagine the "complete details" and "judging criteria" disqualify her.  Perhaps the judging criteria includes: 

"Must not be a greedy, despicable douchebag"


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## *Stargazer* (Dec 31, 2007)

Pardon my French, but that bitch should have to spend some time observing the groups that support children who have been orphaned by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

I don't know if that would teach her anything though.


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## redambition (Dec 31, 2007)

i think the biggest giveaway is that the competition is for an essay - not a story. 

essays (in my experience, anyway) are non-fiction works. they are a piece of work where the author analyses and gives their view on a certain subject.


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## Shimmer (Dec 31, 2007)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *MAC_Whore* 

 
_You're right, it doesn't state that it has to be true in that verbiage, but it does state:

"For complete details including entry information and judging criteria, send a self addressed stamped envelope to Club Libby Lu Attn: Hannah Montana Official Rules, 2700 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612." 

So I would imagine the "complete details" and "judging criteria" disqualify her.  Perhaps the judging criteria includes: 

"Must not be a greedy, despicable douchebag" 




_

 
That excludes most people anyway. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Quote:

   Originally Posted by **Stargazer** 

 
_Pardon my French, but that bitch should have to spend some time observing the groups that support children who have been orphaned by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

I don't know if that would teach her anything though._

 
I don't think it would.  I'm not defending her actions and I certainly don't think they were right, but if she sues, she's got a good chance of winning, I would guess.


 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *redambition* 

 
_i think the biggest giveaway is that the competition is for an essay - not a story. 

essays (in my experience, anyway) are non-fiction works. they are a piece of work where the author analysis and gives their view on a certain subject._

 
That may be the basis the pair are being disqualified on the.


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## ductapemyheartt (Dec 31, 2007)

"okay, honey, it's okay to lie to get what you want." 
seriously, what is she teaching her six year old daughter?

i went to hannah montana and it was lame.


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## SuSana (Jan 1, 2008)

Disgusting.

And HOW OFFENSIVE to us military families who have experienced a loss, in real life, not just in a "story".


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## kimmy (Jan 1, 2008)

way for her to make light of the tragedy of losing someone in battle. give me five minutes alone with her. i'll fix her up good.


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## fingie (Jan 1, 2008)

Wow, that is so low.  But sadly, I'm not surprised.


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## tara_hearts (Jan 1, 2008)

That is really appalling. What a giant douche. & You know they are going to sue. I'm sure the self rightous b*tch thinks she "deserves" the money from having the tickets ripped away from her and her lying protege. Ugh.


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## lsperry (Jan 1, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Shimmer* 

 
_Perhaps if companies weren't looking for the most pathetic sob story they can find, stuff like this wouldn't happen. ABC and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and its ilk searching for families who've gone through terrible ordeals not because they truly want to help but because it makes ratings have fed this kind of monster. :/_

 
These are exactly my thoughts. Everyone is looking for photo-ops and praises in showing their support for the war in Iraq that they will do anything to grab ratings and sales. How easy would it have been to check w/the DOD to confirm the soldier's death? They were so quick to jump on the bandwagon that in their greediness they got duped. IMO, they're just as greedy as the mother.....

Yep, I feel the mother can win a lawsuit....I would be surprised if she hasn't been contacted by a ton of lawyers willing to take her case and create a sob story for the mother to gain sympathy from the public....

Dirt bags....


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## Reiko (Jan 1, 2008)

Wow, what a great example for all of humanity - gaining profit off of the deaths of U.S. Soldiers fighting in Iraq just to win "Hannah Montana" concert tickets.


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## Leopardskinny (Jan 1, 2008)

Ugh that just makes me so angry. I come from a family where most members have been in the Army or Navy. I intend to join the RAF later this year- maybe next, and this is just insulting to everyone who has actually served in the forces and has risked their lives fighting. 

I also can't beleive what that child is going to turn into.. I mean it has been said already but encouraging your child to lie? Wow. 

I also agree with the posters that commented on what she said- I mean, she almost is like "Um.. yeah I told my kid to lie.. but thats how it goes I guess!" ARGHHH!

Yeah, I hope the mum gets the tickets ripped up in front of her face. Lying biatch!


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## frocher (Jan 1, 2008)

Great parenting, what was that mother thinking.


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## HOTasFCUK (Jan 1, 2008)

I read on dlisted.com that they got the tickets taken away from them! I don't understand why they would even contemplate letting her keep it. That girl is just as bad as her mother and i'm glad that someone else who is truly deserving of those tickets will get it!


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## Shimmer (Jan 1, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *HOTasFCUK* 

 
_I read on dlisted.com that they got the tickets taken away from them! I don't understand why they would even contemplate letting her keep it. That girl is just as bad as her mother and i'm glad that someone else who is truly deserving of those tickets will get it!_

 
She's...six.
She doesn't know any better, especially with an example like that.


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## kristakamikaze (Jan 1, 2008)

this made me SO mad!!!!!!!!!!!


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## *Stargazer* (Jan 1, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Shimmer* 

 
_She's...six.
She doesn't know any better, especially with an example like that._

 
My guess is she wrote what her mother told her to write.


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## Shimmer (Jan 1, 2008)

That's my guess as well.


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## pahblov (Jan 1, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *redambition* 

 
_i think the biggest giveaway is that the competition is for an essay - not a story. 

essays (in my experience, anyway) are non-fiction works. they are a piece of work where the author analyses and gives their view on a certain subject._

 
However, to further support Shimmer's point that the contest rules were somewhat ambiguous (although I in no way support the mother's actions), the "creative non-fiction" genre has been growing quickly in literary circles, and mostly comes out of essays with fictional details, or auto-biographical stories presented in a formal essay-like setting. So there is certainly some leeway here.


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## HOTasFCUK (Jan 2, 2008)

You really think a six year old wouldn't stop and think about it and tell her mommy....ummm daddy didn't die! But i guess the mother just made her go along with it.

Thats so bull that the mother says its an "essay" and i'm sure a six year old really knows how to write one! That mother wanted her daughter to win so bad and they just created a mess out of it! The sad thing is i'm sure there must be a little girl out there who's father died because of the war. How greedy and twisted can you be to go to these lengths? The one that really loses is the child because of her stupid mother. Its sad that a mother would use her child's innocence and exploit that for her benefit. Yeah she may have wanted to make her kids dream come true but what a horrible example she set! I hope they do a story on the runner-up, the one who really deserves to go to that concert!


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## j_absinthe (Jan 2, 2008)

I hate to bring image into this, but as we are makeup enthusiasts, her eyebrows alone make her out to be somewhat dishonest...


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## BeautyPsycho (Jan 2, 2008)

I think she used the same pencil for her eyebrows and lipliner...  LOL


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## MAC_Whore (Jan 4, 2008)

You know, to be completely honest, I really dont care what the rules were.  I just know that the mother knew _exactly _what she was doing.  She was trying to pull a scam.  Period. Watching her read the undoubtedly lawyer-prepared statement pretty much makes me want to hurl. 

Today show video of story and mother's statement

Oh, and PS - She should have put the money she spent on postage stamps towards buying a #266 brush, a MAC Brow Shader duo and a Spice lip liner.


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## *Stargazer* (Jan 4, 2008)

Mom sorry for Hannah Montana™ essay hoax - TODAY: People - MSNBC.com


 Quote:

  Mother apologizes for "Hannah Montana" hoax
Woman who helped daughter pen phony essay says she meant no harm

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 1 hour, 58 minutes ago

The Texas mother who helped her daughter win a "Hannah Montana" essay contest by making up a story about the girl's father being a soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq says she made a terrible mistake and hopes she can be forgiven.

"I meant no disrespect. I just made a bad decision which I sincerely regret," Priscilla Ceballos told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer in a prepared statement she read from Friday. "I apologize to my daughter for getting her mixed up in his mess. I wanted to help my daughter realize her dream of seeing Hannah Montana. Instead, I brought so much negative attention to my family. Please accept my heartfelt apology, and please, do not punish my child for my mistake."

The 25-year-old Ceballos, who has two other children, said that the negative publicity and public scorn heaped on her since her ruse was exposed three days after Christmas has forced her out of her home and destroyed her life.

"I've had to move out of my home," she told Lauer. "I've received a lot of bad - a lot of harassment all over the Internet. I've been forced to close down my MySpace page. I have not been able to eat or sleep well. I have been very depressed."

"She's been constantly harassed," her attorney, Frank Perez, added.  

"There's been all types of shows and panels saying she's not a good mother, when, in fact, she is. Priscilla made a mistake. Priscilla wanted her daughter, Alexis, to see Hannah Montana and didn't have the means to do that. She used poor judgment in what she did."

At the center of the controversy is the essay Ceballos helped her 6-year-old daughter write last year to win a princess makeover and a trip to Albany, N.Y., to see a Jan. 9 Hannah Montana concert. 

The contest was sponsored by Club Libby Lu, a national chain that sells princess makeovers and pink and purple clothing to "tween" girls.

The winning entry, submitted in the name of Ceballos' daughter, read in part: "My daddy died this year in Iraq. I am going to give mommy the Angel pendant that daddy put on mommy when she was having 
me. I had it in my jewelry box since that day. I love my mommy."

Ceballos identified the allegedly dead soldier to contest organizers as Jonathan Menjivar, who is alive and well and has never been in the military.

More than 1,000 girls entered the "Hannah Montana Rock Your Holidays Essay Contest." Hannah Montana is the fictional teenage singing star of the hit show by the same name on the Disney Channel. Montana is played by Miley Cyrus, the 15-year-old daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus.

Ceballos' daughter had already received her makeover and was at a Dec. 28 party thrown in her honor at a local Libby Lu salon when it all unraveled with stunning swiftness.

The media had been invited to the party, and when the girl was asked about her soldier father, her mother interrupted, saying the girl didn't want to talk about that.

When reporters attempted to check on the story, they discovered that no soldier named Jonathan Menjivar had died in Iraq or was even enlisted in the armed forces. Confronted with that information, Ceballos said she thought the task was to write a compelling Christmas story. "We wrote whatever we could to win," she said at the time.

The news that the essay was not true was relayed to Libby Lu CEO Mary Drolet, who later that day issued a statement that read: "We regret that the original intent of the contest, which was to make a little girl's holiday extra special, has not been realized in the way we anticipated."

The tickets and another makeover were awarded to another contest entrant, whose name was not released.

Ceballos told Lauer that the tickets weren't taken away from her. Rather, she said, when the deception was revealed she refused to accept them.

In the statement she read on TODAY, she also said, "I sincerely apologize to those people who feel misled because of my bad judgment. I helped my daughter write an essay that was not true. It was not my intention to mislead. I just wanted to help my daughter write a compelling story. There is no more compelling story than the struggle and sacrifices of our military and their families. I apologize to our military and their families."

Asked how she explained the events to her daughter, she said, "I told my daughter the truth. I told her we wrote an essay and they said it was a lie. And I refused to accept the tickets. I told her there will be another time."   
 

This is one of those unapologetic apologies. The part where she says, "I told her we wrote an essay and THEY said it was a lie" says it all to me. I'd like to beat this woman. She should be ashamed of herself.


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## lsperry (Jan 4, 2008)

Quote:

  Instead, I brought so much negative attention to my family. Please accept my heartfelt apology, and please, do not punish my child for my mistake."  
 
The public punish her child??!! No woman! YOU punished your child. Children can understand anything you tell them. How so easy it would have been to tell her child they couldn’t afford to see Hannah Montana……Could have been a good lead-in to teaching her child how to be financially responsible and the importance of getting an education so that when she has HER children she can provide the necessities and some of the luxuries! How pathetically pitiful this is…

And I had no idea the child had received the makeover. This story just keeps getting worse for the child.

To be thrown out of your apartment because of your Mom is the pits!!

The mother only seems to be sorry her deception and lies were found out; not that she wrote lies to win a prize!


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## Beauty Mark (Jan 5, 2008)

She refused to accept the tickets? What? She would've totally taken them had she not gotten caught.

"No comment" would've been far more tasteful.


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## MAC_Whore (Jan 5, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by **Stargazer** 

 
_....This is one of those unapologetic apologies....._

 
Yeah, like when someone says "I'm sorry you feel badly about what I said to you" rather than "I'm sorry for what I said.  It was unkind."

Those unapologetic apologies generally deflect any guilt or responsibility for the actions taken/words said.  Really heart felt, eh.....not so much.

 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *lsperry* 

 
_The public punish her child??!! No woman! YOU punished your child. Children can understand anything you tell them. How so easy it would have been to tell her child they couldn’t afford to see Hannah Montana……Could have been a good lead-in to teaching her child how to be financially responsible and the importance of getting an education so that when she has HER children she can provide the necessities and some of the luxuries! How pathetically pitiful this is…_

 
Amen!


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