Shape Editor Says LeAnn Rimes Cover Apology "Taken Out Of Context"

After apologizing to readers for putting homewrecker LeAnn Rimes on the cover of her October issue, Shape editor Valerie Latona is now backtracking, saying she "stands by" her decision to feature Rimes.

"My comments have been taken out of context," Latona told USA Today. "I used the words of the few unhappy readers who wrote in."

(In the e-mail, Latona referred to Rimes as a "husband-stealer.")

Latona goes on to say, "I stand by the fact that LeAnn's story is compelling--and her courage and strength in the face of so much adversity is compelling. That is why I put her on the cover of Shape for what is now the third time."

"The fact is a mere 40 readers out of almost 6 million readers wrote in to complain calling LeAnn a 'husband stealer' and a 'terrible mistake for Shape'," the editor explained. "I wrote to those women apologizing that our cover choice did not make them happy--as I have done for other cover stars in the past."

In the accompanying cover article, which ran under the coverline "How Working Out Saved Me", LeAnn told the mag, "My relationship with Dean was great, but ultimately it wasn't a fulfilling marriage for either of us. We got married so young: I was 19 and he was 21, so as we got older, we grew apart." LeAnn added, "I understand why people are disappointed in me, especially since I grew up as America's sweetheart. I think any relationship is hard to get out of, and I don't think the way I did it was right."