Yesterday, actor Rob Lowe filed a lawsuit accusing his former babysitter of attempting to extort money from him and his wife Sheryl. The lawsuit claims that Laura Boyce has violated a confidentiality agreement and is spreading "malicious lies" about the Lowe family.

According to Lowe, Laura Boyce worked for his family off and on for seven years and often traveled with the family. He says her extortion attempt is a "betrayal that reaches far beyond possibly marring the Lowe's image in the public eye."

In a piece he wrote for the Huffington Post, Lowe says that Boyce has demanded $1.5 million by the end of the week "or she will accuse us both of a vicious laundry list of false terribles." Apparently, the false terribles involve a claim of sexual harassment against Lowe, which he denies. "It is an attempt to damage and humiliate not only my wife and me, but our two young sons as well," Lowe writes.

In the blog piece, Lowe laments the fact that public figures are often targets, but acknowledges that he knows of "many people in everyday life who are paying the price of a climate where anyone can accuse anybody of anything, anytime, and hope for a big cash pay-off at the end." Not willing to pay hush money, Lowe and his wife say they intend to "defend ourselves with vigor and without fear."