Music News

LeAnn Rimes Responds to Stalking Accusation

By Marisa Laudadio and Anne Marie Cruz

06/03/2009 at 02:30 PM EDT

Country star LeAnn Rimes is responding to a report in which Brandi Glanville, the wife of Eddie Cibrian – Rimes's costar in the Lifetime movie, Northern Lights – claims that the country star is "stalking" her husband.

"These comments are incredibly defamatory," a spokesperson for Rimes tells PEOPLE. "While there are always two sides to every story, LeAnn continues to remain above the fray and chooses not to play this out in the press."

Rimes, 26, has been working in Los Angeles, while her husband of seven years, Dean Sheremet, 28, has been in Nashville writing and producing.

Last month, Rimes was spotted chatting with Cibrian, 35, who's married to model Glanville, 36, at a L.A. Lakers game, two months after reports of an affair between the country star and the actor. Rimes's pal told PEOPLE at the time that it was not a planned meeting.

As for Rimes and Sheremet? "They're still working on their marriage," says a Rimes pal, who adds that the idea that LeAnn is hungry for fame is "extremely disparaging. To think that someone as successful and accomplished as LeAnn would want this kind of publicity is laughable."

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