LeAnn Rimes adamantly insists she was not drunk during her wobbly and slightly off-key duet on “The X Factor” last night.
“I was trying to help this 13-year-old girl who was having some trouble with the song,” she told TMZ.
The country singer took the stage with finalist Carly Rose Sonenclar to perform her hit “How Do I Live?” She said Sonenclar was very nervous and had difficulty with some of the notes and she was doing her best to help her get through it. She added that she does not understand why people believe she was drunk.
Rimes’ lawyer, Larry Stein told the gossip site that “LeAnn was not performing the way she would normally perform, because she was on stage with a young girl.”
Watch the video and indeed, Rimes looked like she was struggling through her own 1997 hit.
She often overlapped Sonenclar’s words and sang louder than the finalist. At one point during the duet, Rimes grabbed onto Sonenclar’s arm, seemingly for support.
Many viewers wondered if Rimes was perhaps under the influence.
“Was LeAnn Rimes drunk on last night’s ‘X Factor’ performance?” one fan tweeted. “I heard she’s been sick. Hope that’s all.”
“It’s been 12 hours and I’m still laughing and crying at the hot mess that was Leann Rimes on the #xfactor last night,” another wrote.
Rimes’ mental well-being has made headlines before but she insisted to Jay Leno on Tuesday that she is doing well after a 30-day stint in rehab for anxiety and stress.
She also opened up about her decision enter treatment on her 30th birthday. “God, the last four years have been super compressed with anxiety,” she said. “I didn’t know how to deal with it all.”
Rimes also touched on her drama with “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Brandi Glanville. She commented on how her husband Eddie Cibrian’s ex-wife often mentions her on the reality series.
“I should feel flattered that I’m that interesting, that I can be such an amazing storyline on a reality show.”