Lisa Marie Presley says it takes some gall for a nanny who she treated like a celebrity to turn around and sue her. Lisa Marie says her nanny Christine White has "self-entitlement" issues. White just sued Elvis' daughter for not getting meal breaks and allegedly being forced to work 7 days a week during her stint as a postpartum caregiver after the birth of Lisa Marie's child last October.Lisa Marie now says she paid Christine $650 a day and White had chefs and other staff at her disposal. Lisa Marie goes on ... Christine had her own guest house on the property where she would sleep and take "many breaks." Here's the best part: "Ms. White's self-entitlement became more and more severe as she became exposed to the various 'perks' she was given on the job.
38 comments:
Wow...$650/day!! I would forgo my lunch breaks for that amount any day!~
When you consider how rich LMP is, 650 a day is a drop in the bucket. Self-entitlement my ass. Good for the nanny for suing.
and spammers, get off this site.
She could have eaten when the children were sleep.
I doubt LMP had her doing housework, I'm sure she has maids for that.
still, when you are a nanny for a celeb, 1000 a day is not too much to ask. I mean, come on: LMP is probably one of the riches women in the country. Freaking cheapskate. I'm not bending on this one. She is Elvis's daughter for cripes sake. Cough up, lady. That's what I would say.
How wealthy an employer is has nothing to do with what you should be making. MM has a chip on her shoulder and a grandiose sense of entitlement. I'd screen her out of my list of candidates straight away.
Wow I work 10 hour days and I don't get a lunch break or any sort of a break unless my charge is sleeping and now because he has a 2 1/2 week old brother I get no break (unless you hold him he wont sleep more than a few min) but I would never sue the parents.....that's part of the job if you don't like it find another profession.
I have to (reluctantly, if it's the same helaine I remember) say I agree with helaine on this one. LMP's wealth should not be a factor here. Assuming she advertised the job as a 24/7 baby nurse position and the salary was adjusted to include the OT (which at $650 a day, it very likely was), then the Nannny should not be complaining after the fact.
I'm sure we don't have all the facts here. However, based on what I have read. The nanny was fired and did not file a complaint prior to being fired. Also, we know there was a personal chef, cleaning staff, and private guest house for the nanny. I'm sure she endured some of LMP's reputed craziness, but it doesn't sound like her working conditions were unbearable.
I find a statement such as "She is Elvis's daughter for cripes sake. Cough up, lady." really disgusting. *That* is the definition of entitlement - the idea that just because LMP is extremely wealthy others are entitled to that wealth and she should simply hand it over. I'm not even sure what has been said that would justify LMP being sued beyond "not getting meal breaks" which most nanny jobs don't include anyway. Just like a SAHM, you eat when the children sleep or while you carry them. The only other listed complaint is "being forced to work 7 days a week." Again, were the nanny truly forced against her will, I would empathize. But if the working conditions were this inhumane, wouldn't she have just quit after the first week of this forced labor?
I'm glad to change my opinion as more facts emerge, but so far don't see much to support the nanny's suit here.
I have to agree that how much income a family makes has nothing to do with how much money should be paid to the nanny. The pay should, however, be proportionate to the job. If you are working 7 days a week, round the clock, $650 may not seem like enough to make up for the burn out. A sleeping child is not considered a break, if you are required to be responsible for the child you are not on break. I don't doubt that the nanny had many many perks and probably more free time than she's letting on, but it's probably not unreasonable to assume that someone as prividged as LMP doesn't understand what is realistically appropriate and inappropriate to demand of hired help. This is a very good example of clear work hours and boundaries not being drawn ahead of time. LMP should have 2 nannies, each at less pay, if she wants round the clock child care.
While I think the nanny might've felt a little entitled, honestly, working 24/7 for months will kill a person.
When I was working 65-70 hours a week, always on my feet, 6 days and sometimes 7, I'd dropped so much weight my poor parents asked me if I had an eating disorder. (I lost 35 pounds within two months of that schedule, and I was only 145 to start.)
Even if she signed on for an all day, all night job, you can't expect a nanny to never eat, or never have a moment to sit down and just breathe. Still, if the nanny truly said nothing before quitting, that's cold as well on her part.
Nanny Val
650 a day =4550 week.
Give me a break. It's the job a professional nanny would take, albeit not for a long time. And since this nanny did not quit, but was fired; it's quite clear to me that the lawsuit was an afterthought.
NannyVal - you make an excellent point. I completely agree that two nannies or even 3 dividing this job would be a much better arrangement for the nannies and the children. I would never ask a Nanny to work those kinds of hours for exactly the reasons you and Anni describe. But I do think the Nanny has personal responsiblity to know her limits and could have quit this job instead of working for a year and getting fired, if it were truly horrible enough to sue over. My suspicion is that the job was an undoable one from the beginning. LMP wanted only one other primary caregiver for whatever reason and had a poor understanding of the demands of twins. Nanny was attracted to the celeb position and high pay. It was doomed from the beginning. I haven't yet heard anything to warrant suing LMP, but maybe that will emerge.
650 a day = $20+ per hour for 8 hours, and $30+ per hour for 16 hours (OT).
Of course, we will never know the real circumstances, but an infant specialist/nanny worth 650 a day should be experienced enough to eat a meal with one hand, especially if a chef is there to MAKE something for her to eat.
LMP may be crazy, demanding, whatever, but I bet this nanny is a little nuts too. No pity here.
I totally agree here with NYCMom and Nannyhood. It will be interesting to see how quickly her suit will get thrown out.
Good grief, I want to nanny for Lisa Marie! I would work one month straight, quit, and then not work the rest of year. That one month's salary is about all I make in a year, anyway.
Shame on this nanny! She obviously effed up on the job anyway, or she wouldn't have been fired.
Cheapest. Celeb. Ever.
oh and ps to helaine:
I have no chip on my shoulder. I do not have a sense of entitlement. I would not work for you for a million dollars.
I do agree that under normal circumstances the amount an employer makes has nothing to do with what they get paid. However, I do think that a celebrity nanny should get celebrity nanny perks. They are in the public eye and have to deal with that lifestyle. Do you think a celebrity hairdresser gets paid the same as someone at Supercuts?
Furthermore, you're a bitch.
I'm sorry but, LMAO!!!!! Hahahahaha! You are too flipping funny MM! "Furthermore.."
Thanks, JMO. Right back at you.
Ok, ok. It is a great deal of money. Probably way more than the nanny is worth. But I stick with my original statement. With celebrities it's a whole different ballgame.
On the flipside, I personally would clean the bathrooms of the Harry Potter movie cast for minimum wage. Or even free. Go figure.
Hi I'm new but had to comment.
I'm not a Nanny, or a parent, however I have been a live in Nanny and would never go back to it due to the experience I had.
Anyhow,
Celebrities should pay top dollar for their Nannies, especially if they have twins that are infants. Considering LMP doesn't really DO anything I don't see why she didn't help take care of her own damn children. Sorry, but it drives me crazy when Celebs have kids and then pass them off to the Nanny so they can do whatever they want.
MM, why all the hate towards LMP? I think you just dislike her period, it has nothing to do with this lawsuit.
And lunch breaks? Now there's a thought! I eat lunch when my kids are eating/sleeping. Are we entitled to more? Maybe I should start suing all my past employers.
Reality check here!
At $650 dollars day 7 days a week? That comes to $231,400 dollars a year. I would never call that a drop in the bucket. Then there is all the housing, taxes, perks etc.. the employer pays for the Nanny. So call that overhead 20-30% above salary. That is a cost of $277,680 to $300,820 to the employer. Hello? Reality check here, drop in the bucket my ass. I do not care how "rich" you are, that's a hell of allot of money being shelled out. Also remember most of the high net worth people that the media shows everyone being worth, that net worth is NOT income. Actual income is usually about 1%-10% of net worth, before taxes if any. Net worth is the value of everything they own, if it was liquidated right then and there.
So "LMP" hired a nanny to stand in for her as mother, that actually might be a good thing considering her past and present exploits in the tabloids. Though I seriously doubt she actually let go of any real decision making powers or that the nanny was "working" 24/7. Otherwise the nanny would have been required to live in the main house, not have a house on the property she can commute from.
What is probably true is that the Nanny was on "call" 24/7 by contract agreement, and was paid $650 dollars a day every time she showed up for work. Did she get 2 days off out of every week, maybe, maybe not? Did she get a set schedule of hours to work? Probably not. The lawsuit will say and the tabloids will splatter it for us to read. But I seriously also doubt that LMP got this Nanny from Craig's list, but from one of the domestic service agencies and this Nanny should have known what was expected form her by such a high profile and socially active person. Weird hours, long days, tabloid photographers and overprotective "people" around the celebrity. Does the Nanny have a case? Maybe, she "might" get some overtime owed to her. But it does look like the Nanny was pissed off at being fired and is taking it out on LMP.
MM,
You're gross.
thanks gag. ditto to you.
Minute Muggle,
Curious as to why you say spammers get off this site, I don't see any spammers.
Also, $1000 a day even at only 5 days a week is 240,000 dollars a year. Do celebrity nannies really make this much? Which ones? I would think something along the lines of $100,000 a year with benefits would be a very nice salary for a nanny.
P.S. Sometimes you seem rational, kind, funny etc. But SOMETIMES you seem very hostile!
Just because a person may be wealthy, it does not entitle their household employees a share in their wealth. She did not adopt this nanny to be her child, she HIRED her to WORK. And $650.00 a day seems like a pretty good wage to me.
Nanny gave up most, if not all, of her personal free time, BY AGREEMENT, in order to make this extraordinarily high nanny salary. There are always tradeoffs in life. Unless LMP locked her in the basement and didn't allow her the choice to quit her job, the nanny is out of gas with her ridiculous, retaliatory "slavery" suit.
My husband sometimes works around the clock, and nobody pays him extra for it, and he does not file suit against his firm. He makes a fine salary, and we accept those sometimes oppressive hours as part of the bargain...just as this nanny did until she got fired and became bitter and greedy.
I have raised three kids without benefit of a nanny, 24/7, and lived to tell of it. It can be done. While I was sometimes dead tired, I never felt "oppressed" or in need of governmental intervention to "releive my plight." (Although for several years in a row, as a joke, I did list my occupation as "slave" on my income taxes.)
Sounds like LMP hired this woman to be a stand in mom for her. And she probably has chewed off her own foot with this ridiculous suit. Who will hire her as a nanny after this? Anybody willing to pay top dollar will hopefully do enough checking to figure out who she is and what she did before hiring her. Next time we hear of this nanny, she will likely be pictured on this site, sitting on a park bench, instead of lounging fireside in her private nanny guest house.
lola,
you're right. I do feel hostile sometimes. I'm just all over the place. I really am. I don't blame people for hating me.
Please forgive me. I'm totally feeling unsettled lately: my daughter, who has autism, is starting school tomorrow. She has been with me forever and I can't believe a bus is picking her up tomorrow morning. I'm going to cry, I know it. :(
That being said, I've never liked LMP. And yes, it is a great deal of money for any nanny, even if she is a celeb nanny. I was just being snarky actually. Sorry.
p.s. the blog administrators usually remove the spam pretty quickly which is why you don't see it.
Awww, MM, that first day of school is a very hard one for mommies.
(But what I just found out is even harder, is leaving them on a college campus thousands of miles away and saying goodbye. Waaaa!)
Have a fun morning with your little girl. Make her an extra special breakfast and be very excited with her. Smile big when you put her on the bus, wave goodbye excitedly, and then go in and have a good cry when she can't see you. You'll feel much better after the first few days.
MM, my dd has autism too so I just wanted to say good luck tomorrow. Hope yours has a great school and caring teachers.
Oh, and so as not to totally hijack, sounds like the lawsuit is whack.
MM,
I appreciate how insightful and honest your last post was; it took a lot of guts.
Good luck to you and your daughter! Mom's advice is right on target! On the day Jack started kindergarten, the teacher actually had a couple of boxes of kleenex near the door for all of us mommies as we left; they were most definitely appreciated! I hope both of you have a great day tomorrow!!
Minute Muggle,
I too appreciate your honesty, maybe that's why I feel, if I ask you these questions, you will in fact (and do) answer them! Cool. Good luck with your daughters first day. Mine is in second grade soon, and it doesn't get any easier!! ahh! Now she is in love....with a boy....oh lord..
thank you ladies! xoxoxo
Uhhh $650 a day is a lot more than any nanny should make regardless of how rich the bosses are. Sorry. Not even a professional in a decent position makes $5000 a week.
MM,
I forgot to say, if you didn't take pictures of your baby girl this morning before she left, be sure to take some of her getting off the bus this afternoon and in her "first day of school outfit." In years to come, the mementos of this day will be priceless to you.
Lola, I'm sorry it keeps being hard for you! The first day of first grade was actually harder for me than the first day of kindergarten, because it was the first time they would be gone all day long (I sent them to half day kindergarten), but after that it got easier...until the last years in high school because at that point each new school year meant one year closer to graduation...and leaving home altogether...which turned out to be far more painful even than I had dreaded than I might be.
I am now telling my remaining daughter daily (as a joke of course...but one I halfheartedly wish was true) that she isn't allowed to go to college and I will just teach her everything I know right here at home. She is very sweet and on hand with plenty of hugs and kleenex. Last night I wailed to her, "Who will give me hugs to make me feel better when you go away?" She pointed to the puppy. I said that was not the same, so she reminded me that Dad will still be here. That lug has the nerve to be happy for my son just because he is away having the time of his life at a great school...so fat chance that he'll be sitting here wailing with me. (But just watch, he'll probably be a mess when his baby girl is the one to go!) Men! heheheehe!
MM: I have a child on the spectrum too and it was SOOOO hard to put him on a bus the first time he went to school. Far harder than walking my daughters to their first day of kindergarten. I got misty eyed and took lots of pictures and was standing outside the classroom a half hour before the bell rang to make sure they were OK, but autism magnifies everything--from a milestone like a first word that FINALLY comes when you didn't know if he'd ever communicate in any way to going to school--which in many cases is far too early. My baby was only 2 when he started going to an ABA based school. I cried from the moment he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS through making the decision to send him to a special shcool to watching the assistant strap him into his carseat on the bus his first day. But, you know what? He went from the quiet boy sitting in the corner who never wanted to be touched and didn't seem to hear you when you called his name, to looking at you, to reaching for and actually HUGGING his parents (that one had both me and dh in tears), to a year later actually starting to communicate and saying Mama (still working on Dada). One of the great sources for support I've found is Autism blogger http://www.autism-blog.com/ I found it a comfort and great resource for practical advice and discussion--many people who have walked in the same shoes and understand the ups and downs.
thanks you guys: you are so supportive, all of you! she did great on her first day of school!
yes, mom, I did take pics! :) I got some shots of her eating breakfast, shots of her in her "big girl" outfit (a gift from her grandparents: they will be pleased) and also pics of her sitting outside on the porch with her backpack on and a picture of her climbing on the bus with the aid! lol
Anyway, big hugs: thanks for all your advice! I was so nervous but my daughter is so blessed that her early intervention team got her a spot in public special needs preschool! Her teacher is excellent: he called me to let me know how her day went even before the bus came back home! Great communication too. I can relate to your story because my child was not talking and when she went into early intervention they just did wonders: it is amazing to hear her talk now: I could listen to her talk all day! lol And she never even looked at people, and now she hugs her cousins and aunts and uncles etc. and looks right at people. I have high hopes for her that she will progress more.
Again, thanks for the support everyone! xoxo
MM,
I can't find the "hug" key, but I'm sending you one anyway!
Someday you will be preparing a montage for her high school graduation and those pictures will be so precious to you! I made a habit to take "first day of school" pictures with my kids every year. On day when I manage to organize the boxes and boxes of photos I have stored up, I imagine that will be fun to have them lined up in a "watch them grow" series. You might want to do that too.
Also MM, you might have fun hiding a little note for your daughter each day...in her lunch if she takes one already, but otherwise somewhere in her backpack where she will be sure to find it. Since she can't read yet, you can just draw a heart or a star...or put a fun sticker on the paper, or send a photograph...but it will be a moment in the day when she is reminded that you love her. My daughter had a tiny little stuffed Clifford the dog (maybe 2-3 inches long) and I used to put that in her lunch sometimes, just for fun. All of those little things become very special to kids. (And it helps us moms feel like we are just a little bit more "there" with our kids during the time when they must be away at school.
Mom:
At my last position, I cared for 4 & 5 year olds whose mom was on complete bedrest, due to a severe back injury. She was never able to see the kids before I took them to school, because she refused to allow them to see her when she was heavily medicated for the pain. But every single night, she drew pictures or dot-to-dots and wrote a note for each child's lunch and it made their day! When she had surgery, she even drew out enough notes for the week, in case she forgot due to the meds. I'd pick them up from school and hear "look what Ima sent me today!" It only took a few moments of her time, but it meant the world to those kids :)
I being a celebrity nanny have to say you know what your getting into when you take the job!You really have to love what you do ....when you are at work it's all about the children and you eat when they eat or sleep ...I have been very lucky to have very nice employers who treat me very very well ..I love what I do and I know what comes with the job ,I really hope Ms. Presley treats her help better than said ...the nanny is taking care of the most important people in her life!!!!
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