Melissa Etheridge: Ex Used Kids as "Pawns"
Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage for ASCAP
Another bitter chapter in the Melissa Etheridge-Tammy Michaels split.
In a declaration released Thursday, Etheridge, 49, accuses Michaels, 35, of using their 3-year-old twins as "pawns."
She claims that on July 6 -- during a break from her summer tour -- Michaels told her their kids were going to meet her at her Boston hotel.
A short time later, she "received a text message ... stating, 'My plans changed, sorry,'" the singer recounts in the court papers, obtained by E! News.
Etheridge says she was then served with court papers from her ex.
Etheridge says it was "a ploy to have me served, and mistakenly believing that by serving me, I would have to dismiss my Petition ... [she] used our children as pawns."
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Etheridge's claim is an attempt to fight back at Michaels, who is asking for in excess of $12,000 a month to take care of the kids and find work. See more volcanic relationships.
Michaels, a former actress who is now a full-time homemaker, claims she has no income.
Michaels says she doesn't see why Etheridge can't support her, considering that the rocker rakes in between $600,000 and $750,000 a month.
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Etheridge's attorney says the singer currently gives Michaels $2,000 a month and pays all of her household bills. Etheridge announced she had split from Michaels earlier this year.
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45The 12,000 ms.michaels is asking for is extremely minimal, especially with the income ms.etheridge is getting. 2,000 a month is way too little, and gives ms. michaels no chance to obtain work and be independent. cmon ms. etheridge give up the money. I would probably ask for 50,000 a month or 75,000 especially with the lifestyle with ms. etheridge.
No Free Lunch said: "Last time I checked staying home is WAY easier than working a job". LOL. Oh God. Obviously you have never had children. They have four kids... right? Two of them are very young. That is a lot of work. You are very naive.
Tammy could go back to acting. She's not a has been. She has potential. I liked her when she was an actress and was sorry to see her go.
She should pay up...$12,000 per month seems fair. They have been together many years and had pretty much been the primary care giver and will continue to be, so, she should pay up!
Note to US--this Sharpie thing you have going on is very annoying. I've been the biggest Melissa Etheridge fan for as long as I can remember, but she has totally disappointed me with her handling of this breakup. She should pay just what any other divorcing person would pay. Her kids are used to a certain lifestyle and are entitled to continue on in that lifestyle. Also, given that Tammy did give up her career to take care of Melissa throughout her breast cancer ordeal, as well as to take care of the kids (theirs AND Melissa's kids from a previous relationship), she is entitled to alimony until she gets on her feet. Actions speak louder than words. As of now, all Melissa is doing is complaining that she won't get to see her kids until she is back in L.A. at the end of August. Apparently, her kids mean the world to her. *eyeroll* Totally disgusting. You won't see this fan at any more of your concerts.
lets see she should pay the same amount of Child support and allimony if she was a husband.I get 21% for 1 child how mayn do they have????so yea she needs to pay up!!!!
Um---this is no different than any bitter heterosexual divorce. Using it as an excuse to spew bigoted, homophobic comments is what's disgusting.
... so Melissa wants to get married like a man, but not deal with any of the consequences. 12k for a rich Hollywood couple is nothing. To top it off Tammy says the 12k is to find work, so she will have the amount lessen if her luck turns around. P.S. Melissa if Tammy is such a gold digger she would have went for a bigger prize than you. In fact she would have been with a man to have a more guaranteed lifestyle. Oh and I am not impressed by Melissa's paying the household bills. Because that could easily turn into a mechanism for control. It's the equivalent to a guy that buys pampers when more baby food is needed. The primary caregiver knows best what is needed in the household. Even Lamar Odom promised Khloe (whom he knew less than a month before marriage) more than that per month. But I guess Melissa is showing what she really feels; REAL MARRIAGE is only between a REAL Man and Woman. THANK YOU below. July 16, 2010 - 12:40pm Thanks for the laugh Says: Thanks for the laugh Royal. Melissa has done this before. She makes babies with women and then leaves them for someone else. Tammy is the one who raised those kids, Tammy is the one who took care of Melissa when she was sick. All Melissa did was cheat on Tammy and abandon another family. Melissa lost me as a fan, no more CD's, no more ITunes and no more concerts. I don't pay money to scum like than
After reading about all of her outrageous financial demandsâ?¦.it certainly seems she has lost her focus on the â??lessonsâ?? she wants to teach their children. This is from Tammyâ??s (Hollywood Farm girl) blogâ?¦ â??at times i feel that living the life we do (money, cars, assistants, managers, private jets, etc) really does a disservice to the children. the life i live in is not typical, and it is very easy to become accustomed to certain things, thereby multiplying the chances of having TYPICAL life things feel aggravating. since the likelihood of the children building a life like this is narrow (i don't believe in trust fund babies- well, to be specific, i believe in them, and i have experienced that many are spoiled and empty of forethought or passion) *sigh* where was i? right. raising children in a purple world when they are more likely to live in an orange world. i feel as if we are missing out on opportunities to show them how to live one day. so i'm going to start with clipping coupons, showing them bargains and sales, and then looking at price tags before we buy things. Maybe the next time they ask for gum at the store, i can sort of turn the gum over in my hands, looking for a price, and when I don't find a price, i'll simply put it back and say "i don't know if we can afford it." and leave it at that. right? â?¦i just want the kids to know what hard work is, what it can bring, and what laziness will bring upon them. we are just starting to let go of the remainder of people that live off of us. we pay their rent, food, bills, etc. just cuz they don't feel like getting a job. (i wish i had thought of that as a career: mooching.) i don't want to raise children to behave as if they need the financial assistance of others to make a life for themselves. if my kids want to flip burgers, i don't care. they just better have integrity and pride when it comes to their burgers. and pay their bills themselves for f sake.â??
Interesting that Etheridge is such a proponent of gay marriage "rights", but in wake of her divorce she doesn't want to support her kids? So much for all the people who say homosexuals have more success at relationships than heterosexuals. That was a flat-out lie. They knew it all along, but it's all about rubbing their lifestyle choice in the faces of people who do not support their deviant lifestyle.
Interesting that Etheridge is such a proponent of gay marriage "rights", but in wake of her divorce she doesn't want to support your kids? So much for all the people who say homosexuals have more success at relationships than heterosexuals. That was a flat-out lie. They knew it all along, but it's all about rubbing their lifestyle choice in the faces of people who do not support their deviant lifestyle.
oh yes, it looks like homophobia is alive and very well in America! Very sad indeed!
Tammy is taking revenge in every way possible. Tammy is proving to be a gold digger because she felt it was ok to sponge of melissa for 9 years and didnt save a penny. If her independence was slipping away from her, she could have done something about it!!! Didnt she want to earn her own money? Did she feel its ok to live of her partner? They must have decided on what they were going to do once Tammy had the kids, so no one forced Tammy to sit and at home 24/7 to look after the kids. Melissa has said on many occassions that her kids are priority. Melissa is hiding her pain from the public and is carrying on with life, while Tammy is being like a kid blogging to vent. It just shows what kind of a person Tammy is.
Actually Phoebe, I have done exactly that! I had to move my three children in with my parents for a year and found a job in one month! Believe it or not, there are jobs, even in this economy. People with disablities need aides, resturants need waitresses, 7-11 needs cashiers. They may not be the best paying jobs, but, hey, suck it up and deal with it. I lived on a whooping $600 a month child support for 3 kids, plus $800 a month paycheck AFTER I moved out of my parents house. Tammy's getting $2000 a month in child support PLUS all of her living expenses paid. Forgive me if I'm not boo-hooing over the selfish witch.
Gay is still wrong. Two men or two women will NEVER be able to produce children together. Sorry, adoption is not the same. Also, allowing a sister to have sex with a gay man's partner is not only UNETHICAL but UNACCEPTABLE. Real families are man + woman = baby. I come from a normal family so I know what I'm talking about.
Cases like this are why I'm beginning to be against marriage in general, gay or straight. It all starts out lovely, with people saying things like "Oh, this person is the love of my life!" Then it comes down to fighting over money and property. Gay or straight, it really doesn't matter. Living together, married or cohabiting, just sucks the life out of a relationship. And if kids are involved, all they can do is duck when the adults start throwing things at each other. It's the single life for me, any day!
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Tammy is too pretty for a manly-looking woman. She needs to find a REAL MAN. Seriously.
Tammy is too pretty for a manly-looking woman. She needs to find a REAL MAN. Seriously.
where are all the harsh comments for the other hollywood wives who NEVER work and get a heck of a lot more than 12k a month.