Is Lifetime’s ‘Mommy Meanest’ based on a true story?

On May 11, 2024, a drama premiered on the popular cable channel Lifetime that appalled anyone who’s a parent — heck, it appalled anyone with a heart. It was a television movie called Mommy Meanest, and it depicted a teenage girl being relentlessly cyber-bullied for almost two years.

Sadly, that kind of story isn’t uncommon in the modern world, with so many ways to contact and influence people, anonymously or otherwise. What isn’t so common is that, in this case, the culprit responsible for the persistent bullying was the victim’s mother.

Lisa Rinna played the bullying Madelyn in the movie, and Briana Skye played her daughter, Mia. But was the story based on real-life events? That can’t be the case, surely?

The inspiration behind Mommy Meanest

Somewhat unbelievably, the events of Mommy Meanest are based on a true story, as confirmed by the network to People magazine.

In 2022, Michigan woman Kendra Gail Licari, from the city of Mount Pleasant, pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking a minor and was sentenced to between 19 months and five years behind bars. She’ll be up for parole on Nov. 3, 2024, and her maximum release date is April 3, 2028.

The minor in question was Licari’s own daughter. Both she and her boyfriend were relentlessly harassed by Licari, who used anonymous online accounts to send at least 349 messages, which were compiled by investigators on the case. Prosecutor David Barberi described Licari’s messages as “mostly just harassing-type text messages, demeaning, demoralizing, and just mean texts” (via Local 12)

The movie depicts the fictional version of Licari — divorced mom Madelyn — feeling replaced by her daughter’s new boyfriend. So, when her daughter Mia — played by Skye — is due to leave for college, she embarks on a cruel campaign to unsettle her, hoping to paint herself as the superhero mother who comes to her rescue.

Madelyn then feigns an investigation into the bullying and even accompanies her daughter to the police station to report it. Of course, Mia starts to become suspicious, and the whole thing comes to an unimaginable head when the truth is inevitably revealed. The reason behind Licari targeting her daughter and bullying her is not known and that’s the part where the film connects its own dots, but its ultimate revelation is how the real case also arrived at its shocking conclusion.

Mommy Meanest is now streaming on Lifetime.