Vanessa Minnillo

Photographs of Vanessa Minnillo and rehab pal Lindsay Lohan were released this week by gossip site x17online.com. The photos show Minnillo and Lohan holding knives in dangerous ways and one picture was even taken of Minnillo pulling down Lindsay’s shirt and pointing a knife at her chest. At first it was believed that the pictures were taken this year, right before Lohan went to Promises rehab center after being charged with a DUI but X17 reports that the photos were taken last year in June 2006 after a night of partying in New York at the Bungalow 8. A source told US weekly that Minnillo, 26, "got caught up in the moment and thought it would be fun." "It was stupid and she regrets it," says the source. "They were only fooling around."' On the contrary, The New York Post reports that the raunchy shots are hurting Minnillo's career prospects. Best known for dating Nick Lachey, the former Entertainment Tonight correspondent was reportedly smarting over allegations of her bad behavior even before the photos surfaced. "Vanessa wants to be a celebrity, not interview them," a source tells the Post about Minnillo's departure from ET. "She wouldn't conduct post-show interviews because she wanted to party. She expected to be paid a full-time salary for a part-time job." A rep for Minnillo denied the diva demands, telling the Post, "She chose to leave ET because her contract ended. This is the first I've heard about any bad behavior."