Anthony refuses to talk about trial, only takes questions on the bankruptcy filing

Jan 30, 2013 08:12 GMT  ·  By
Casey Anthony breaks her silence in first TV interview, talks bankruptcy filing
   Casey Anthony breaks her silence in first TV interview, talks bankruptcy filing

For the first time since she was accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, Casey Anthony is speaking out in a television interview. We don’t have video yet, but TMZ has learned that she refused to answer any other questions save about the bankruptcy filing.

As we also reported the other day, Anthony has racked up major debts to about 80 creditors, including her legal representatives and the IRS, so she filed for bankruptcy in Florida.

She gave her first interview to CBS 5 in AZ, with the condition that she only be asked questions about her financial situation – and nothing else.

TMZ reports that she wasn’t paid a single cent to speak out. The interview was conducted over the phone, but Anthony was kind enough to provide the network with recent pictures of herself.

“This is the next step towards closure for me,” she said of being bankrupt.

“Anthony was also asked about a pending lawsuit filed by a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez who claimed Casey had defamed her when she told cops in 2008 that a fake nanny named ‘Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez’ kidnapped her daughter, Caylee,” TMZ reports.

“Gonzalez is suing Anthony for unspecified damages. Anthony told CBS 5 she hoped that case (and two other pending lawsuits against Anthony) would be behind her by now,” adds the same media outlet.

“These are the things holding me back. This is the key for me to move forward,” she said.

Of the photos provided to the network, one is of a tanned and smiling Anthony posing for the camera with members of her legal representation. It’s dated August 2012.

Anticipating major backlash after the interview aired, the reporter who conducted it later released a statement to say that neither he nor the network had paid Anthony a dime for it.

“TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR... Anthony and/or her legal team are not, have not and will not be paid or compensated in any way by me or my news organization. Nor have I personally received any financial consideration in relation to this story,” the statement reads.