Kellie Pickler grows accustomed to life in the spotlight
By BEVERLY KEEL
Before hopping a plane Wednesday for an interview with Larry King, Kellie Pickler spent the morning reading to nearly 300 students at Pennington Elementary School in Donelson. Transforming the cafeteria into a place where the wild things read, Kellie tackled The Giving Tree, answered questions and sang Red High Heels.
There were several TV cameras following her every move, a scenario that's becoming increasingly familiar to the girl who was a finalist on American Idol. For instance, a recent weekend outing at the Tin Roof was reported by several journalists, including me.
"It does kind of bother me," she says of the media spotlight. "Because things can be so fabricated and something that is complete innocence can be created into something it's not. Things can be taken out of context and, you know, that whole 'he said, she said,' thing. "You just can't believe everything you read in tabloids or see on TV. I wouldn't want anybody to think of me badly, so if anyone was trying to create a bad image for me, yeah that would (bother me) because I have little kids that look up to me, and I wouldn't want them to think any other way."
Sometimes she can't help but think about the coverage and sometimes she just lives her life as if it doesn't exist. "It's 50-50," she says. "Part of me feels like maybe I shouldn't even go out, but I am 20 years old. I'm going to go out and have a good time.
"I'm not causing problems; I've never been arrested. I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be doing. I can't just shelter myself, so I just don't even read the stuff. As long as I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be doing, I don't have anything to worry about."
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