Keep up people! Rob Lowe, dreamy star of Brothers & Sisters, is suing three former employees (two nannies and a chef), for violating non-disclosure agreements, theft, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress.

Lowe took to the Huffington Post on Monday before any of this became a headline, where he announced the nanny of kids Matthew and John Owen, Jessica Gibson, tried extorting he and wife Sheryl Berkoff for $1.5 million; if he didn’t pay up, she would allege the actor sexually harassed her. So he sued her for $1 million; ex-chef Peter Clements and ex-nanny Laura Boyce were sued separately, for violating non-disclosure agreements.

But much of this sounds quite suspicious. From the allegations on each side to the way the parties are handling the fall out. Is Lowe trying to shape himself into the victim when, theoretically, it’s quite the reverse? Quite possibly. Let’s look at where the suspicion falls.

First, Lowe is playing a game of aggressive defense. By blogging on HuffPo, he gets to frame the story as he sees fit, before the nanny or other employees can reach out to any of the tabloid press to tell their side. Commanding the direction of the story is crucial, and being first out of the gate, he gets the prize as the sympathetic party. It’s a smart PR move, whether he’s guilty or innocent.

Second, Lowe claims he’s the victim of alleged extortion, but refuses the help of law enforcement officials, who offered to open a criminal investigation. When the police get involved, Lowe could lose control of the situation’s press spin. Authorities would also have interview the ex-employees he’s accusing, which means their version of events would become public fodder. For now, Lowe gets to maintain the upper hand. But, generally speaking, victims of extortion refuse police help when they want to handle the matter privately, usually by meeting the blackmailer’s demands, so nothing reaches the press. But in this instance, Lowe volunteered to make headlines, guaranteeing the details of the scandal would become public, sooner rather than later. That he doesn’t want police help after airing the situation publicly rings sketchy. (TMZ says Lowe and his attorney didn’t want police help because it would cause the three ex-employees to go silent.)

Third,

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