'Orange Is The New Black' Star Taryn Manning Slams Rehab Rumor In Twitter Diatribe

“Orange Is the New Black” star Taryn Manning took to Twitter to slam In Touch Weekly after the publication claimed producers on the show demanded she go to rehab for alcoholism Thursday. Manning accused the magazine of “slander,” even though she meant libel.

Manning suspected her stalker, Jeanine Heller, as the source of the erroneous story. “Really @intouchweekly is that what my four-time convicted stalker and her GF sold to you? Exclusive you wish. Slander,” she wrote. Heller was sentenced to six months in jail July 16, 2015.

Manning didn’t deny the rehab accusations in her Twitter diatribe Thursday. “I will go ask my lovely producers today if that's how it went down, and no need to mention my friends in this trash,” she said.

In her final tweet of the day, the actress said there were bigger things to worry about. “Enough about that. Thunderbird talked me down. Life is short. People suffering daily. Find the joy in the bleakland,” she said.

Manning’s drinking interfered with the filming of “OITNB,” according to the In Touch Weekly article. “Taryn was told by production [on the Netflix hit] that if she didn’t get her act together, she would be off the show. So she’s set herself up in an outpatient program in NYC,” an insider told In Touch Weekly Thursday.

The star, who plays Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett, agreed to get help. “Taryn’s taking this very seriously. She has a 24-hour sober companion and is attending AA meetings. She’s truly on an excellent path right now,” the source said. “Producers love her on the show and want her to stay.”

Netflix hasn’t responded to the story. Season 5 of “OITNB” is currently filming. Manning will return to the series to reprise her “Pennsatucky” character, a struggling drug addict who killed people at an abortion clinic and became religious.

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