Brooke Shields Upset Mother Checked Out of Nursing Home by Reporter

Brooke Shields Upset Mother Checked Out of Nursing Home by Reporter

Written by: Karen Benardello


Brooke Shields is livid at, and considering taking legal action against, the New Jersey nursing home where her mother Teri is living after she was checked out by a tabloid journalist, PEOPLE Magazine is reporting.

The actress was taken by surprise on Thursday, May 14 when police notified and informed her that an unauthorized person checked her mother, who suffers from dementia, out of the home. Teri was found talking to the reporter, who Brooke believes works for The National Enquirer, at a restaurant near the assisted living center. Brooke believes the tabloid wanted to run a story about her, but the magazine denies the claim, saying the reporter was just having lunch with a friend.

“For her safety, she has temporarily been in a senior living facility, a very difficult decision for me,” the actress told PEOPLE about her mother. Brooke felt her mother was being taken advantage of, and called the reporter’s actions reprehensible and disgusting.

In response, The National Enquirer posted a story on its web site on the following day, saying there was nothing behind the story and the reporter was simply an old friend looking to catch up with Teri. In fact, the post even claims that she’s the one that asked the reporter to take her out to lunch and to run some errands. The tabloid also claims that the nursing home gave the reporter permission to take Teri out for the day, and there was no wrongdoing from any party.

Capt. Thomas Shine of the Old Tappan Police Dept. said the journalist was interviewed at the restaurant, and no charges have been filed as of yet. However, there is an ongoing investigation into the nursing home. “The part we’re investigating here is who allowed her to leave the facility,” Shine said. “It appears that there were some permissions that were given for Mrs. Shields (Teri) by the family, be they written, be they verbal-we’re investigating-to allow her visitation for a variety of different reasons.”

Brooke also told PEOPLE that she plans to file suits against not only the journalist, but the nursing home for their alleged lack of security measures as well. “I intend to take every lawful action against all who were involved or who authorized this despicable act,” she said.