LeAnn Rimes Sues Women for Invasion of Privacy

Aug. 31, 2012— -- Country music star LeAnn Rimes has filed a lawsuit against two women she claims illegally taped a conversation with her and posted it online.

Rimes filed an invasion of privacy lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that Kimberly Smiley and her daughter Lexi Smiley secretly recorded a telephone conversation "to spitefully ensure that out-of-context excerpts of that recording would be disseminated to the public on various websites" and to portray Rimes "in an egregiously false and negative light and cause her emotional distress."

It is illegal in California for a party to record a phone call without the other person's knowledge. The alleged phone call took place in March. Rimes is seeking more than $25,000 in damages.

The lawsuit alleges that the Smileys were supporters of the ex-wife of Rimes' husband, Eddie Cibrian. The lawsuit states that a friend of the Smileys encouraged Rimes to call them and ask to stop the "negative Internet activity."

"However, Kimberly Smiley insisted on re-hashing the past and repeatedly insulted, taunted and provoked Ms. Rimes," says the lawsuit.

Kimberly Smiley denied she posted the recording, saying she shared it with online acquaintances, one of whom played it for Cibrian's ex-wife, Brandi Glanville. "The whole thing is just ridiculous," she said according to The Associated Press. "It's just a celebrity who's too full of herself."

The suit states Rimes has put up with their "campaign of harassment in the hope they would tire of posting false and defamatory statements."

Smiley said she kept her Twitter profile and YouTube page private, which contained the call. She says that she did not sell the recording, which she said her daughter made because of some "outrageous" things the singer was saying.

Rimes is no stranger to scrutiny over the last few years. Her relationship with Cibrian began while the two were married to other people. Rimes was labeled a home wrecker, something she discussed on "Good Morning America" with Robin Roberts.

"It happens every day to so many people, and if I take away my albums sales, my words, and you have just another couple, you had two couples whose marriages didn't work, who really stumbled upon each other and fell in love. And never, ever was I thinking of hurting someone," said Rimes.

On Wednesday, Rimes entered a treatment facility for anxiety and stress.

"LeAnn has voluntarily entered a 30-day in-patient treatment facility to cope with anxiety and stress," her rep, Marcel Pariseau, told ABC News in a statement. "While there will be speculation regarding her treatment, she is simply there to learn and develop coping mechanisms. While privacy isn't expected, it's certainly appreciated."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.