Botox Mom, Who Said She Injected 8-Year-Old Daughter, Retracts Story, Ignites Firestorm

May 19, 2011— -- The California mom who said she injected her 8-year-old daughter with Botox retracted her story on Thursday after the state's Child Protective Services reportedly took her daughter out of her custody this week.

Sheena Upton, who used the alias Kerry Campbell, provided TMZ.com with a sworn declaration today saying the she made up the story in return for compensation. Upton's story first appeared in the U.K. paper The Sun in March, and she told the story again last Thursday on "Good Morning America."

"I was provided with the story, instructions and a script to follow for a recorded interview for a paid fee," she said in the affidavit given to TMZ in regard to The Sun article.

In the declaration given to TMZ, Upton also alleges that she was told she would be compensated for television interviews with "Good Morning America" and "Inside Edition." ABC News does not pay subjects for interviews.

After the initial story appeared in The Sun, ABC News contacted The Sun's reporter for sources on the story and was put in touch with Alley Einstein, a features writer from a U.K. news agency who originally brought the story to the paper.

Einstein told ABC News that she witnessed Upton, who purported to be Kerry Campbell, injecting her daughter, whom she called Britney Campbell, with a substance that appeared to be Botox in February. Einstein said she took photos of Upton administering the injections. A number of photos show Upton holding a needle up to the 8-year-old's skin as the girl appeared to wince.

ABC News proceeded with the story and agreed to license a series of photos from Einstein for $10,000. Einstein confirmed to ABC News that Upton would receive no payment and signed a contract stating the photos depicted the events as they actually happened, without any staging or altering.

Upton and her daughter appeared last Thursday on "Good Morning America" defending the use of botox on her 8-year-old. Upton, who said she was a part-time aesthetician, said she injected botox into her daughter's face to get rid of wrinkles and to give her a leg up to participate in beauty pageants. Her statements ignited an uproar online, in the medical community and amongst child advocates.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of Botox on children for cosmetic purposes. While the drug is generally safe, dermatologists worry about the potential for both emotional and physical damage of administering Botox to children.

A person with knowledge of the situation told ABC News that the girl was taken out of her mother's custody earlier this week. Child Protective Services had no comment on the investigation.

ABC News is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding this story.

"We have just seen the sworn declaration on TMZ written by Sheena Upton, a.k.a. Kerry Campbell , and are vigorously investigating her most recent statement and rapidly shifting story," an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement today. "'Good Morning America' has repeatedly questioned Upton, members of her family, and other sources who again and again stood by the Botox story. 'Good Morning America' is solely interested in getting to the truth and will share with our audience any new information that we find."

ABC News has been unsuccessful in its efforts to contact Upton since the publication of her declaration by TMZ.com.