Ya either got it, or ya ain't.

I've been dealing with a stalker since August of last year, and it has just gotten out of hand. This individual has attacked me and my business. She has spread rumors about me. She has spread vicious lies about me. I literally have done NOTHING to this woman, yet I am in her crosshairs. I've been dealing with her obsession of me since November. It's starting to get scary.

Her name is Brenda Landry.

There are so many stories floating around there, I just want to set the record straight. Some man wrote a blog about me that I have never dealt with before, and every lie that he spewed about me sounded like it came from Brenda. It amazes me how people can make snap decisions about another individual without contacting that person in the first place. I contacted my attorney about legal action, and he told me that it would be VERY hard and not worth my time to pursue a Defamation of Character case due to the First Amendment, and this woman doesn't have the money that I would win in a libel suit. It was recommended that I address her publicly to set the record straight.

Let me start from the very beginning... I own a company called Cain Casting & Talent Management. It is a talent management and consultation company. The consultation fee for my company is $500. I have absolutely NO apologies for that. My staff and I work extremely hard, and our services are worth a heck of a lot more than $500. It is a fee for consultation services, not for management or representation.  This post, however, isn't about my company nor my fee. If you have questions about it, feel free to contact me via my website.

Brenda contacted me over the summer, asking me if I would accept her daughter's paychecks to pay for her $500 registration fee. I declined. She told me how badly she wanted to register her daughter with my company, but couldn't afford the fee. I introduced a payment plan thinking that her daughter would earn money and then Brenda would be able to make the installments (which is basically what she would be doing by offering me her daughter's paychecks). Brenda still insisted that the $500 was too much for her. 

At the end of October, I came up with an idea called the "Cain Talent Test Drive" where people could sign up for $50, try out my company and services until they received their first paying job. Once they worked and earned at least $50, the Test Drive would be over-- No strings attached. If they wanted to register with my company, they could. If not, they could just walk away, their money back and then some.

The Test Drive was a hit with others immediately. People started signing up for it right away. After about a week, Brenda signed her daughter up for a Test Drive. She was added to one of the FaceBook groups specifically created for people with my company. I corresponded with her quite a bit about her daughter. On November 17, a little over a week later, her daughter was cast as a photo double in a mini-series:

Her daughter was booked on a SAG photodouble rate, which was $158. The check would be mailed directly to her, so she would get her $50 back plus another $108. Yes, I knew thet she was coming down from New Hampshire, but Brenda knew that the Test Drive was only available for the NY area. As a matter of fact, she was excited about getting a hotel with her daughter (note the smiley face):

Well, I got her information over that weekend, sent it off to her, and she attended the shoot. She got there early and texted me when she arrived, as is required of all of the people that represent my company on any set. When her Test Drive was over, I sent her the standard email that I send to anyone that takes a Test Drive. She told me - well after leaving set - that her daughter was not used and was released early. PLEASE NOTE: HER DAUGHTER WAS STILL PAID THE $158.

Mind you, this was the weekend before Thanksgiving. As you can see from the note above, Brenda told me that she wanted to register her daughter after the holiday. I left it at that. We had Thanksgiving at my house last year, and I don't believe in pressuring people at all. Either people like me, or they don't. They had a good Test Drive and want to sign their kids up, or they didn't like it and want to do everything on their own. Whatever-- I'm pretty easygoing in that respect.

Then the crazy started. Before I get into the crazy, I'm going to give you a little break-- Mainly because this is such a long blog entry and this is a good place to take a place and rest your eyes. Consider this ad your placemarker:

Now, on to the crazy...

A week after Thanksgiving, Brenda started her own "company." She created a website and started sharing it in different groups on FaceBook:

I found it interesting, since I knew all of the casting directors from the shows she mentioned. I asked one of them about her, and they told me that they had no idea who she was. I thought nothing of it and moved on.

Then she started personally reaching out to people, including approximately 70 of my clients. One of these people happens to be one of my best friends, Kevin. Well, Kevin was a bit angry that this woman reached out to him, knowing full well that she had her daughter take a Test Drive with me. (Kevin is protective of his friends.) So, he responded to her and posted it in the Cain Talent group:

From Kevin's post in the FaceBook group, I learned that Brenda had been doing this since September. I reached out to her to find out what she was doing. She ignored me. More and more stories started coming to me from clients about things she was saying about me. I posted on her FaceBook page to get her attention. I posted something to the effect of, "Please stop trying to poach my clients. It's pathetic."

Well, Brenda went ballistic. She posted an angry message on FaceBook, tagging three casting companies that I work with, calling me and my company a scam and then blocked me on FaceBook. It was completely out of left field for me-- I thought she was going to register her daughter with my company after Thanksgiving. I was baffled. I tried to call her, but she didn't answer. I emailed her, but no response. The next thing I know, I get a chargeback claim with PayPal from her for the $50 that she spent on the Test Drive. I immediately called PayPal, and the chargeback was denied and found in my favor in a matter of 13 minutes. Brenda filed an appeal, which was found in my favor in 7 minutes. That was the end of it in my opinion... Or so I thought.

On December 14, I received an apology email from Brenda. I've broken it into two parts so that you, my dear reader, can see how I refute and correct what she wrote:

So, let me break this down for you:

1. I didn't want to communicate with her anymore. I didn't have to jump to conclusions-- She already prooved the kind of person that she is.
2. Rosemary, Natasha and Lisa were three other women from New England that I had never worked with before that also accused me of being a scam. Someone told me that Brenda was friends with them, and I believed her. (I still do, FYI.) I commented in the PayPal chargeback about the three women, saying that I believed that Brenda was trying to infiltrate my company to provide them with information.
3. The "casting calls" I receive come directly from Casting Directors that know and trust me to provide them with excellent talent.None of them knew who Brenda was.
4. I am not educated on Brenda's fee. I do, however, know that several people paid her $50 to join her "network."

Here's the second part of her email:

1. I never thought it was about competition. I don't have competition, because no one out there does everything that I do.
2. Aha! She admitted to wanting to find out what I did and how I did it! So she was trying to infiltrate my company... Perhaps not for those women, but certainly for herself.
3. I NEVER said "until [her] daughter films" she would have a Test Drive. I have absolutely NO control over what happens on a set. It was "until she works and makes at least $50 back." She worked. She earned $158. Test Drive = Over.
4. Yes, I think it is fair. "That's showbiz." She was paid for a job. She went to set. She filled out a voucher. She wasn't used, but she still earned her money. It happens all the time.
5. I never did anything to hurt her daughter. I would NEVER do anything to hurt a child. Ever. Period.
6. She's right-- I didn't care. I just wanted it to be DONE.
7. I couldn't believe that she was offering to both register her daughter with me AND promote my company-- including to people that were a part of her network. After all this, there was no way on God's Green Earth that I would partner with her. I don't think any good business person (or SANE person in general) would.
8. Some of the things I said? Okay, I'll just bite my tongue here...

I replied to her simply. I wrote, "Do not contact me again. I have alerted all of the casting companies that I work with about you. You are disgusting."

Should I have called her "disgusting" in my response? No. I was angry, and I felt the need to get an insult in there. My bad.

Did I actually contact the casting companies I work with about her and/or her daughter? No. I actually didn't. I vented to a very close friend of mine who happens to be a casting director for one of those companies, but she talked me back from a ledge. I genuinely did nothing. I took the advice of my friend, who said, "Candy, she's going to screw herself. Just let her do it to herself. Take the higher road."  So, I did. I never wrote back to Brenda to tell her that I didn't contact anyone. I took my friend's advice and kept my mouth shut.

Unbeknownst to me, my response to her sent her right over the edge. Again, this is a super long blog entry, and now is a good time to take a break. So, here is another placemarker for you:

The crazy REALLY kicked into high gear.

The next day, FOUR of my Casting Director friends forwarded me an email that she sent to them about me. Now, I have never addressed this epic message, so I will take the time to do so in this epic blog.

It begins as such:

• My "at-home business" is actually a different company that I've worked with since 2011. You can read all about working from home in one of my other blogs. That at-home business has absolutely nothing to do with Cain Talent, which is a registered S-Corporation. Also, what is the "fraudulent information" that she was given and by what parents? Where is the "long line, filing dispute against" me? 

• I do not charge "over $500" and I never have. I am not an agent, nor do I act like one. I have NEVER sold a casting call, WHICH IS ILLEGAL TO DO. She was not defrauded-- She received absolutely EVERYTHING that she signed up for. She was angry that her child didn't film-- Something that I had absolutely NO control over.

• I don't know why she is quoting "until she physically filmed," as I never, ever, ever said it. Ever. The "rude comments" were me asking her not to attempt to poach my clients. I didn't call her pathetic--  I called poaching clients pathetic. Kevin called her "pathetic" in a private message. I called her "disgusting" in a private email. And, as I said before, I never contacted any companies about Brenda or her child.

• The only bit of the above section that is true is that I told Brenda that I wrote to casting companies about her. As I said before, I did not.

• This is where it just gets plain weird. I own The Candy Cain Travel Company, Inc. My mother has taken it over since the entertainment industry has been so great for me. Candy Cain Travel has NO complaints against it. As a matter of fact, the company was honored by Sandals with a STAR Award two years in a row. I was a destination wedding planner and traveled the world teaching workshops about destination weddings. The Candy Cain Travel FaceBook page is absolutely still there. I have ZERO BBB reports against me or any of the companies that I am affiliated with. Produce them, Brenda. Please. What I don't understand is how she can bring up Candy Cain Travel. It's just odd. The company was - and still is - very successful. As for N.E. Kids Actors, Brenda's original email to me shows you, my dear reader, what REALLY happened with the group. A woman in the group DID comment against my business, and the other one defended me, saying that I'm not a scam. (I have those screenshots, too.) 

• I'm sorry, what? 

• Annnnnnnd there it is. The pitch for business. The self-victimization in a situation that Brenda created, hoping that a Casting Director would feel bad for her and throw business her way. 

Okay, I'll admit it. I didn't let Brenda know that I didn't contact the casting companies because I knew that she would implode somehow. But this? It's a whole new brand of crazy. Impressive crazy, actually. It's too bad that her spelling and grammar aren't as great as her lying prowess. This email was sent to many different people at many different companies, and at least four sent it to me. From different companies.

This is called libel and defamation of character. 

But, I let it go. I kept my mouth shut. My business was (and still is) absolutely BOOMING. We worked on 49 television shows and 23 feature films since August 2014. I'm a big believer in karma. I kept doing good things, and good things kept happening to me and my business.

In March, Brenda decided to write a review about my company on FaceBook. However, since I have her blocked, I wasn't able to see it. Someone sent me the following screenshot of her review:

Isn't it lovely how she creates her own reality? You can see in the progression of all of the emails what ACTUALLY happened. I had not mentioned her name AT ALL, and this review happens in March. It was, once again, out of left field. A few of my clients saw what she wrote, and defended me. Then a Casting Director defended me, and another wrote a review of my company. I didn't even know that the bad review existed, until another friend of mine pointed it out last week! Again, I ignored it. I literally did nothing.

But, as I'm sure you know, the crazy just keeps coming. Here's another placemarker for you:

Brenda has been the furthest thing from my mind. I've been insanely busy, partnered with several Casting Directors and a Talent Agency so that my talent gets more exposure. I'm working on the Second Annual Cain Awards. Business has been great! I've been really busy in my personal life, too.

Yet, two nights ago, I received the following email entitled "Move On Now. Thank You" from my long-lost chum:

She sent me this message both via email and through the contact form on my website. She used an email that she subsequently deleted so that I couldn't respond to her. I don't know who Gina is, and I forwarded her message to Noel. I have NEVER blasted her name. Truthfully, I feel sorry for her. Moreover, I feel very, very bad for her children. She ruined it for them.

Brenda, please move on. You're embarrassing yourself. And if you insist on attacking me - or anyone else for that matter - you can at least look intelligent with proper grammar and spelling. My company is doing quite well, and you're not going to change that. Find another line of work. Find someone else to attack. 

I do right by the parents in my company. Read the reviews about Cain Casting & Talent Management on the BBB. Read the reviews on the fan page. Just move on, Brenda. You're upset because your daughter isn't a star. It's sad. You can't live vicariously through your child, no matter how hard you try.

And I'll say the same thing I said to you in the "vulgar voicemail" I left for you... I hope you go to church, because you need Jesus. You need good in your life. You need something to believe in. You need light. You need hope.

You need to leave me alone.