Over the weekend I commented on Denise Richards’ allegations against Charlie Sheen and his addictions. In it, I suggested that Denise may have bitten off more than she can chew, and the power of the Sheen family may be brought to bear against her. This morning on Today, I saw the first indication I may be right.

In a segment about her filing, the coverage made passing mention to her allegations, had Charlie on camera saying it was all lies and a smear campaign, and made not a single mention of his past problems with drugs, prostitutes or gambling. He has admitted to just about everything but porn addiction and domestic violence in the past, so it’s not a real stretch to think he’s capable of that, but the media is leaving it out of the story.

Denise was shown, but most of the images of her were unflattering at best – including the one of her astride Bon Jovi guitarist Ritchie Sambora wearing a skimpy bikini. They went on to paint that picture as some sort of betrayal of her friend and Sombora-ex Heather Locklear. In short, the piece painted him as shocked that anyone would make such claims, and painted her as a whore.

I hate being right all the time, but I suspect this won’t be the last hit piece we see making her out to be a skank. I suspect, by the time all is said and done, she’ll have a hard time finding work or being taken seriously.

Michael Douglas in The War of the Roses may have summed up Sheen’s feelings:

lf this is a who-can-sink-lowest-fastest contest, you won… you have sunk below the deepest layer of prehistoric frog shit at the bottom of a New Jersey scum swamp.

Denise, by filing her statement, fired what the family will see as the first shot. There are two reasons that may have been a horrible idea. She’s taking on the Sheen family – a family with great clout in the entertainment world. But more importantly, the world of the famous is a very incestuous place. It is filled not only with real celebs like movie and music stars, but psuedo-celebs like TV anchors. None of those people want a precedent set that encourages the airing of dirty laundry.

If the media gives Denise credibility, or treats her fairly, then the next divorce will get uglier, meaner, and more public. Pretty soon all the vices the rich and famous will be on full display – and none of them want that.

The easiest way to protect against that is to discredit Richards, and make the next person think twice. Just watch, it’s going to get really ugly and painful for her. She had better hope that every single detail of her past is squeaky clean, or she’ll quickly find herself in a world of hurt.