What Would You Do For Hannah Montana Tickets?

By: Paul Lim

College Press Staff Writer
 

 

People have gone to severe lengths for family or themselves to see their favorite music acts live.  One Texas mother took an extremely odd route to get Hannah Montana tickets for her daughter.

Priscilla Ceballos’ and her 6-year-old daughter entered an essay contest where the winner would receive four tickets to a Hannah Montana concert in Albany, New York.  The contest named Ceballos’ daughter the winner, beating 1,000 other entries in the contest.  The first line of her essay read, “My daddy died this year in Iraq.”

The problem:  the story is fabricated.

Girls’ Clothing and Furniture retailer Club Libby Lu sponsored the essay contest and has since given the prize to another contestant.  “After awarding the grand prize, we unfortunately learned that the statements made in the essay were untrue," Club Libby Lu CEO Mary Drolet said in the statement. "Club Libby Lu greatly values honestly and integrity. In order to uphold these values, we have decided to withdraw the award initially given to the Ceballos family.”

Priscilla Ceballos has continued to defend the essay saying, “It was supposed to be told like a Christmas story,” she continued, "and that's what she wrote, a Christmas story. But she didn't know it had to be true or anything.”

There are conflicting reports regarding the story.  MSNBC reports that Ceballos told contest organizers that her husband died in service on April 17, 2007.  Records show only one soldier died that day and it was not her hudband.  Reports say her father is actually a carpet cleaner and not a soldier.  Ceballos claims she told organizers outright that it was a fictional story.

“We never said anything like this was a true story. Never. It was just an essay,” Priscilla Ceballos said. “I never lied and said that the essay was a true story.”