Back to School

Getty Images

Health

Photodisc

Food

Jolie Novak, AOL

Stylelist

WireImage

Home

Getty Images

KOL/KOL Jr.

jupiterimages

ADHD

Damon Dahlen, AOL

Girl wins Hannah Montana tickets with a whopper

by Angie Felton (Subscribe to Angie Felton's posts) Dec 30th 2007 3:01PM

Categories: Just For Moms, Kids 5-7, In The News, Gadgets & Tech

Print Email More

While not quite as bad as Wanda Holloway,the Texas cheerleader mom who ordered a hit on the mother of her daughter's cheer-leading rival reasoning the thirteen-year-old would be so bereft after the death of her mom, she'd drop out of the competition, Priscilla Ceballos is pretty awful in her own way.

Ceballos, the mother of a six-year-old girl, helped her daughter craft an essay that won the little girl 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 and contained the heartbreaking opening line: "My daddy died this year in Iraq."

There is only one tiny little problem, her daddy DIDN'T die in Iraq this year, or any other year.

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

The sponsor of the contest was Club Libby Lu, a Chicago-based store that sells clothes, accessories and games intended for young girls withdrew the prize Saturday and awarded it to another contestant. It didn't identify the new winner.

"With this decision, we hope to revive the intended spirit of the contest, which was designed to make a little girl's holidays extra special," Club Libby Lu Chief Executive Mary Drolet said Saturday.

Source

Comments (11)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andy N. 2-28-2008 @ 1:42AM

Well, I wrote her on Myspace letting her know what I thought about the situation. She wrote back to me. This is what she said:
FUCK U!!HA HA HA PEOPLE WITH NO LIFE ARE SO FUCKEN FUNNY

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=319527286

I guess she doesn't feel bad after what she did. My E-Mail was well thought out. It wasn't full of insults either. I don't know why she chose to respond like a child.

M4Mommy 12-30-2007 @ 8:06PM

BRAVO for Club Libby Lu!!!!!!

That mom is nothing but trash. teaching her daughter that it is ok to lie to get what you want. And to lie about THAT!
What a slap in the face to all those families out there that have lost a loved one in this war
A husband, father, son, daughter, mother, sister, uncle, aunt
Next time we are in Chicago a trip will be made to club Libby Lu for standing up for right and against blatant wrong

Melissa 12-30-2007 @ 9:04PM

Wow. Just - wow.

My husband is in the middle east. I just want to slap these people. I don't use the fact that he's there to get anything. And to LIE about it, to LIE . . . I can't imagine anything more despicable.

I have to stop typing because I'm simply seeing red. The only words I can think of are of the four-letter variety.

SKL 12-30-2007 @ 9:54PM

I have to say I think it is beyond ridiculous that this became a national news story.

Lying disgusts me, and I can think of few things worse than teaching your kids to lie. However, I have to say I see it everywhere, all the time. It is becoming more and more normal. This should surprise nobody. The very news sources that reported this story think nothing of spinning a story to an extent that it no longer represents the truth - or even to outright lie. And the politicians who are plastered all over the news all day are demonstrating their range of abilities to lie to get votes. Nothing new about that either.

Frankly this story reminds me of a mother who severely punished her child for lying to her. After having openly modeled frequent lying, cheating, and stealing to the child for years.

If we really cared about these things we would be pushing for our whole society to practice honest behavior and honest reporting. Also known as morality. But boy is that going out of style.

pbhj 12-30-2007 @ 10:59PM

Did it specify the article should be factual?

The key phrase:

"But when [Caulfield] asked me if this essay is true, I said 'No, this essay is not true.' "

[quoting the Mother, source http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004099334_fakessay30.html]

is missing from your article. Making your article quite deceptive too! Without seeing the original competition details / rules there's no way to tell if anything immoral occurred. If it just said "write an essay about christmas with your family" then writing a fictional piece seems reasonable. They didn't hide that it was fiction (according to the above quoted source).

pbhj 12-30-2007 @ 11:42PM

Another source quotes the mother thus:

"We wrote whatever we could to win, the girl's mother acknowledged in a statement. It said to write an essay. It never said it had to be true. I never said it was true. ... It was just an essay."

[http://www.postchronicle.com/news/entertainment/article_212122074.shtml]

If the rules didn't say it had to be true then you, and about a million other bloggers, apparently just committed libel and along with clublibbylu owe this lady and her daughter a huge apology.

If your complaint is that the mother helped with the theme of the "essay" then that's a different matter; and again a point which should be spelt out in the rule.

Incidentally the companies current essay competition requires "girls to express their imaginations and individuality".

Angie Felton 12-30-2007 @ 11:59PM

I did a little more searching and found the rules to the Club Libby Lu Hannah Montana 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."

Joy 12-31-2007 @ 12:24PM

While “if” the rule didn’t say the story had to be true or not, I don’t believe for a fraction of a second that a 6 year old came up with this cockamamie story on her own. Children this age (in my opinion) don’t think of things like this. I agree with SKL that lying and cheating has become so commonplace that it’s no wonder we have the problems we do.

Jennifer 12-31-2007 @ 1:35PM

"The girl's mother had told Club Libby Lu officials the girl's father died April 17 in a roadside bombing in Iraq, company spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield said. But the mother, Priscilla Ceballos, admitted later Friday that the essay and the military information she provided about her daughter's father were untrue." (from the Seattle news story.)

Meanning the mother, at one time, presented the essay to be true. When it was shown to be a lie she then recanted and said the essay was "fiction." My guess would be that she never intended HER lie to be revealed (I am with Joy on this one- a child would not have instinctually come up with that lie.)

Troy Camplin 1-01-2008 @ 1:12AM

This woman needs to be shamed -- often. I think that every child who actually did have a father die in Iraq should write a letter to this family telling them about what it feels like to have their rather be dead. I go a bit further on this on my own blog at http://www.zatavu.blogspot.com

hannahmontanaconcert.net 1-07-2008 @ 7:28AM

You can't spell Ceballos without "B.S"

www.hannahmontanaconcert.net
"The next best thing to being there!"

How To Submit Photos:
If you'd like your children (any age will do!) featured on ParentDish, upload photos into the ParentDish Flickr Pool. Be sure to read our main Flickr page for more information.