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NJ Teen Suing Parents Told Mom, 'I Wanna S*** All Over Your Face'
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 6, 2014
Modified Mar 6, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 6, 2014
Modified Mar 6, 2014
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The 18-year-old daughter suing her parents for financial support lost a Tuesday court hearing, where a judge noted that Rachel Canning had left an extremely disrespectful voicemail for her mother. And what did that voicemail say? "I wanna shit all over your face," for starters.
Rachel Canning, of Lincoln Park, NJ, contends that her parents essentially kicked her out and refuses to pay for her high school and college tuition. She also alleged they are controlling and abusive (she had an eating disorder) and wants them to pay for tuition, plus medical and legal expenses. Meanwhile, parents Sean and Elizabeth Canning say that Rachel refuses to abide by their rules (citing her alleged drunkenness and partying, bullying of siblings) and ran away to a friend's house, thereby emancipating herself from their guardianship.
According to the Daily Mail, the voicemail had Rachel saying:
Hi mom just to let you know you're a real f**king winner aren't you you think you're so cool and you think you caught me throwing up in the bathroom after eating an egg frittatta, yeah sorry that you have problems now and you need to harp on mine because i didn't and i actually took a s*** which i really just wanna s*** all over your face right now because it looks like that anyway, anyway i f***ing hate you and um I've written you off so don't talk to me, don't do anything I'm blocking you from just about everything, have a nice life, bye mom
Which Judge Peter Bogaard called vulgar, asking, "Have you ever seen a child show such gross disrespect for a parent?" Bogaard ruled against giving Rachel the money yet and scheduled another hearing for next month, because she's still allowed to attend her high school and college deposits aren't due until May.
Rachel set up a Facebook page, Education for Rachel, described as a "page...to support my cause for legally requesting my education tuition to be fully paid by my parents." However, legal experts doubt she has much of a chance. Randi Mandelbaum, a Rutgers law professor, told the Star-Ledger that she might "get her the money for high school, but I don’t know about beyond that. Otherwise, the judge would open the floodgates for anyone whose parents are not paying for college.”
And Silvana Raso says that even if Rachel is determined as not being emancipated, her parents might be off the hook financially, "Obviously parents have an obligation to support their child. But if she is asking for luxuries, the parents are not obligated to pay."
Unfortunately, the outrage about Rachel's demands has led people to a different 18-year-old Rachel Canning—a student at the University of Southern Florida—and her Instagram page, where they posted angry comments. The other Canning told the Tampa Bay Times, "At first, I thought, 'What the heck?' I was more disturbed at the online bullying going on. Regardless, this girl's only 18. I couldn't believe there were full-grown adults that spent their day not only stalking this girl but sending bullying messages.... I've never been on the receiving end of anything like that."
The Tampa Bay Times reports, "Many who left negative comments realized it too late and wrote follow-up posts apologizing to Canning. Some even posted links to the correct page, which Canning deleted. One commenter posted an address to USF's student tuition payments account, urging others to donate to help Canning finish school."
Sean and Elizabeth Canning say that Rachel is welcome back home, if she follows their rules; Sean Canning told the Post, "I’m a liberal, liberal parent. I wish I could have grown up in my house. I was tougher on my cops at work than I’ve ever been at my home, that’s for sure."
Tagged
lawsuit
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Rachel Canning
sean canning
teen
tuition
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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