The casting in Single Parents reflected the willingness of the industry, and of Meester herself, to put her in a register that bore no resemblance to what had made her famous. Angie D’Amato could not be further from Blair Waldorf in terms of material circumstances, social position, or emotional register. This may have been, in some ways, the most autobiographically proximate role Meester had played since establishing herself as the most recognizable rich girl on television.
## The Lawsuit and What It Tells Us
In 2011, the litigation between Leighton Meester and her mother, Constance, reached the public record in the specific way that family litigation tends to reach the public record: with both parties claiming grievances that are painful, difficult to fully adjudicate from the outside, and ultimately connected to money.
Meester filed suit against her mother, alleging that the monthly financial support — approximately $7,500 per month — she had been providing was supposed to go toward the care of her younger brother Lex, who had significant health problems requiring ongoing attention. Instead, according to Meester’s filing, the money had been spent on what TMZ reported, citing the filing, as personal expenses including cosmetic procedures. Constance Meester filed a counter-suit, claiming that there had been an oral agreement for $10,000 per month.
Constance also filed an allegation — which was ultimately part of the counter-suit she eventually dropped — that Leighton had struck her during an incident in December 2010.
In June 2012, a judge rejected Constance’s counter-suit. Leighton won the case. Constance dropped the counter-suit against her daughter in late 2011, before the main case was decided.