‘Sin City Rules’ has Twitter chirping

Lana Fuchs, the latest queen of mean, is taking some hits on Twitter.

The acid-tongued fashion designer lost 2,000 Twitter followers in a day, after her debut in TLC's "Sin City Rules."

Only 2,000, you say?

According to her Twitter feed, the outspoken Fuchs had almost 450,000 followers before the show's opening episode Sunday.

Expect those numbers to come under scrutiny from skeptics who track the famous and not-so-famous in the Twittersphere.

And the second most popular cast member, according to Twitter, is hypnotist and life coach Kimberly Friedmutter.

She has yet to appear on the reality show, but she has 330,000 followers as of Wednesday, up 2,000 from Tuesday. She joined Twitter on Aug. 30.

The other cast members and their followers:

■ Poker star Jennifer Harman, 46,600 (up 80).

■ Television entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs, about 9,400 (down 170 from Tuesday, although up about 1,000 since Sunday).

■ Cosmetics company owner Lori Montoya, 459 (down 8).

■ Hitman daughter Amy Hanley, 73 (up 3).

The New York Times recently investigated the practice of buying fake followers.

Among those interviewed was little-known comedian Dan Nainan, who told the Times he paid $424.15 to boost his Twitter follower count from 700 to more than 220,000.

There's nothing illegal about it, although it violates Twitter's terms and is "frowned upon by the public," the Times wrote.

Fuchs' and Friedmutter's numbers are more astounding considering the low ratings generated by the new show.

It didn't rank among Sunday's top 100 cable shows (in the 18-to-49 key demographic), and TLC has yet to respond to requests for the ratings.

There are rumblings it had less than 850,000 viewers.

SIGHTINGS

Gov. Brian Sandoval, taking a high-speed ride at Exotics Racing in a Ferrari Scuderia, with Exotics Racing owner and race car driver Romain Thievin at the wheel. A dressed-down Shania Twain, her hair in a ponytail and wearing a baseball cap and big reflective aviator glasses, during a shopping spree at Kids Kastle inside the Forum Shops at Caesars on Wednesday. She was seen purchasing Roberto Cavalli children's clothing. Country trio Lady Antebellum, among a group sharing cocktails and canapés at Restaurant Guy Savoy (Caesars Palace) on Sunday.

THE PUNCH LINE

"More problems for Lindsay Lohan. Apparently she can't pay her $8,000-a-month rent on her Beverly Hills mansion. Lindsay doesn't want to move because it's the perfect location. It's between two liquor stores, a bail bondsman and an auto body shop." - Jay Leno

Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 and norm@reviewjournal.com (Twitter: @Norm_Clarke.) For more info, go to www.normclarke.com. His weekly segment, "Norm Clarke's Vegas," airs during "Morning Blend" on KTNV-TV, Ch. 13 every Thursday.