Vanessa Minnillo's career is on shaky ground

We called it earlier this week and x17 has confirmed it - Vanessa Minnillo is the woman who posed in photographs last year with Lindsay Lohan and a knife. The racy photos, which were taken on June 16, 2006 in New York, may now damage Minnillo's fragile career.

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An insider told Us Weekly that Vanessa "got caught up in the moment and thought [taking the photos] would be fun…It was stupid and she regrets it. They were only fooling around." But Vanessa's regret might not be enough to save her reputation, which has already been damaged by her diva actions in the past.

Minnillo is best known for her work on "TRL," in which she interviewed celebrities who visited the MTV offices in New York to promote their latest projects. She has also been a correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight" doing basically the same thing. But in April, Vanessa's contract with Viacom, which owns both shows, ended.

It's blurry whether Vanessa chose to leave Viacom or whether the network axed her. Page Six claims that the company was unsure about her after she made some big demands for her appearance at the Grammys in February. One snitch says, "She was extremely high maintenance. She insisted they fly her own hair and makeup people and her personal assistant out with her every time she flew to L.A. She only flew first class and stayed at the Four Seasons, and then she didn't want to work…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."

Pals say that the 26-year-old former Miss Teen USA chose to leave "Entertainment Tonight" and that the network did not choose to lose her. Page Six's source claims, "Vanessa wants to be a celebrity, not interview them." Minnillo seems to be showing the truth to that statement as she is now pursuing acting jobs. She stars in this summer's Fantastic Four sequel.