After Mother’s Day, many people have seen plenty of public messages of gratitude and love for the women who raised them, but others have less loving moms, like the one portrayed in the Lifetime original movie “Mommy Meanest,” inspired by the real-life story of a Michigan mom who bullied her own daughter online under a fake identity.
“Mommy Meanest,” starring Lisa Rinna and Briana Skye, is inspired by the twisted story of Kendra Gail Licari, who pleaded guilty last year to two counts of stalking a minor and was sentenced to between 19 months and five years in prison.
Licari used multiple phone numbers and location-obscuring software to send bullying text messages and social media messages to her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend at the time. Licari even accompanied her distraught daughter to report the harassment to police.
Isabella County Prosecutor David Barberi told Local 12 the case was like a bizarre form of “cyber Munchausen’s syndrome,” where Licari’s campaign of harassment “seems to be the type of behavior where you’re making somebody feel bad — or need you in their life — because of this behavior.”
But Licari entered into a plea agreement, meaning there was no public trial to reveal her true intentions, and “Mommy Meanist” reimagines what may have happened between the mother and daughter.
“Divorced mother Madelyn (Lisa Rinna) and her daughter Mia (Briana Skye) have always had a tight bond. But when Mia starts spending more time with her new boyfriend and is on the verge of leaving for college, Madelyn is panicked by her emerging independence,” a description of the movie from Lifetime reads.
“When Mia starts to receive a barrage of degrading texts, as a protective mother, Madelyn is determined to find out who is harassing her daughter and will do anything to help her, bringing them closer together again. As the hundreds of texts become more threatening, Mia begins to wonder if her tormentor is someone closer than she could have ever imagined,” the logline continues.
“Melrose Place” star Rinna’s real-life daughter, Delilah Hamlin, appears in the movie as Mia’s friend Summer.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum told People that in a meeting with Lifetime about potential roles, she told execs she wanted to play a villain.
“I said, ‘I’d love to play either a murderer or somebody really, really crazy,’ and they were like, ‘Oh my God. We love it. We think we have something for you,” Rinna, 60, told the outlet. They originally pitched her a murder story, but it was derailed by the dual Hollywood strikes last year.
Later, they pitched her “Mommy Meanest.”
“It hadn’t even been written yet. And I was like, ‘Oh, I love it. I love it. Let’s do it,’” Rinna said. But, “I still need to play a murderer,” she said.
“Mommy Meanest” premiered on Lifetime on Saturday, May 11, at 8 p.m. ET and is also available via Lifetime’s free app, which is available on iOS and Android.
Story via TMX