Singer Toni Braxton's reality Tv star mum Evelyn is facing a stint behind bars after New York police found a taser in her handbag last year (13).

The Braxton family matriarch and star of Braxton Family Values was in the Big Apple promoting the show when airport security staff discovered the illegal device, which she was carrying around to protect herself from a stalker.

Speaking out about the incident, Evelyn says, "I have a stalker and so, with the advice of my lawyer, he told me to get a taser to protect myself... so I bought a taser and I forgot it was in my purse."

Daughter Towanda adds, "We had no idea that the taser was illegal in New York, so when she went through security they arrested her."

And now the celebrity mum is waiting to hear if she'll face a jail stint, admitting she's "devastated" about the prospect of doing time for protecting herself.

She tells Tv talk show host Arsenio Hall, "That's a very devastating thing, especially when you're trying to live your life and you're trying to be an example... and then you end up a jailbird."