Britney Spears Watch

A restraining order against the man who’s been at Britney Spears’ side during her downward spiral portrays him as a Svengali figure who held her a virtual hostage in her home, drugged her, took over her finances and controlled the ravenous paparazzi “like a general.”

The order against 33-year-old Sam Lutfi was based on a lengthy declaration from Spears’ mother, Lynne, who says they met in October 2007, when he “essentially moved into Britney’s home and has purported to take control of her life, home and finances.”

Lynne Spears’ account of a long, chaotic night at Britney’s home depicted a drugged and confused pop star being led around by Lutfi, who was setting up pictures for the paparazzi even as she was spinning out of control.

The documents released by the court Tuesday ordered Lutfi to stay away from Spears, her homes, her parents and siblings’ homes and the hospital where she is confined for psychiatric evaluation.

On Monday, Lutfi told The Associated Press in a text message: “I have no problems with anyone writing anything negative against me. My image is not of concern, hers is.” He has not responded to further inquiry.

Lynne Spears said in the order that Lutfi “drugged Britney, he has cut Britney’s home phone lines and removed her cell phone chargers. He yells at her. He claims to control everything — Britney’s business manager, her attorneys and the security guards at the gate.”

Much of the 6-page declaration centers on the night of Jan. 28, just a few days before Spears was whisked by police and ambulance to a hospital psychiatric ward, where she remained Tuesday night. Her mother outlined increasingly bizarre behavior through the night, and said her daughter asked at one point, “When do I get to see my babies?” to which Lutfi answered, “Wednesday.”

Spears has been in court with ex-husband Kevin Federline over custody of their two small children, 1-year-old Jayden James and 2-year-old Sean Preston. She lost visitation rights last month after refusing to hand them back over to their father.

Lynne Spears described a harrowing night that stretched into the wee hours when she, her husband and a friend went to Britney’s home because they’d heard Britney was crying after a fight with Lutfi. Once inside, Lynne Spears said she was told by Lutfi that her daughter didn’t want anyone but her in the house and she was afraid to see her father.

Lynne Spears also said there were several photoggraphers present, who deferred to Lutfi. “The paparazzi reported to Sam and addressed him with great respect,” she said. “They treated him like a general.” (more…)

Britney Spears was nowhere to be seen today as a court hearing convened in her child custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Responsibly, and continuing to prove himself in the court’s eyes as the better parent, Kevin and his lawyer were on hand as Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon began the hearing, which was scheduled after Gordon suspended Britney’s right to visit her sons.

Gordon allowed reporters into the courtroom for about one minute before he announced that the hearing was being closed.

The commissioner granted a motion from Britney’s attorneys to quash a subpoena, but there was no information given about what the subpoena involved or to whom it had been issued.

A throng of photographers and reporters waited outside the downtown courthouse to see if Britney would come to what one attorney described as “the most significant hearing in the case so far.” Law enforcement officers watched over the scene.

Britney, 26, has had trouble making recent legal dates: On Dec. 12, she called in sick for a court-ordered deposition, then arrived nearly two hours late at an attorney’s office on its rescheduled date, Jan. 3.

Kevin Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told The Associated Press on Sunday that he didn’t know if Britney would come to Monday’s hearing, and he indicated that it would be important for her to be there to take the opportunity to try to persuade the court restore visitation.

“You can’t phone this one in,” he said. (more…)

Even after I bothered to get up from the couch and set the DVR yesterday (Okay, fine, it didn’t actually involve getting up from the couch. That’s what we have remote controls for.), Dr. Phil has pulled the plug on airing his Britney Spears exclusive, originally set for Tuesday, January 8th. (more…)

Britney Spears was released from her “medical hold” at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center yesterday, but still needs psychological help. (As if that weren’t obvious already.) And guess who’s helping her? (This shouldn’t be that hard of a guess, if you read the headline above.)

Yes, that’s right. It’s Dr. Phil McGraw, who was thrown into fame after several appearances as Oprah Winfrey’s go-to psychological expert.

A press release quotes Dr. Phil making a statement about his meeting with Britney:

“My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention.”

“She was released moments before my arrival and was packing when I entered the room. We visited for about an hour before I walked with her to her car. I am very concerned for her.” (more…)

TMZ was there as Britney Spears was wheeled out of her home last night on a gurney by paramedics. Look at that shot of her inside the ambulance — she’s smiling! What in the world is the problem here?

The short story:
The incident occured after a three-hour custdy standoff with Kevin Federline - Britney REFUSED to give back her kids. The police were called, Britney went crazy, she was hauled off for mental evaluation, PRAISE GOD.

Want the long story? Keep reading.
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Britney was finally deposed today, after rescheduling twice due to a “breakdown” in communication, in relation to her ongoing child custody case against Kevin Federline.

The deposition was scheduled to take place from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. However, the depo did not begin until 11:32 a.m. for undisclosed reasons. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that not a lot can be discovered in 14 minutes.

Read on for the full Yahoo! News story.
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Poor Britney – she really was the last to know. It turns out that even Kevin Federline knew that Jamie-Lynn was pregnant before Britney did.

A Federline family insider said that Lynne Spears called Kevin on Monday to tell him the news because she wanted him to be prepared for when Britney found out her little sister was pregnant.

Britney reportedly still calls on Kevin during difficult times and the news of Jamie-Lynn’s pregnancy was expected to shake up poor Britney. She learned that her 16-year-old sister was three months pregnant when the rest of the world did, on December 18.

The insider says Kevin is still prepared for fallout. He expects Britney to flip out any day now and blame her mom and dad.

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Yahoo! News just reported regarding Britney’s court-ordered deposition today:

Britney Spears was apparently too under the weather to go under oath. The pop star was a no-show at a court-ordered deposition Wednesday morning in her ongoing child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline. (more…)

Yahoo! News just reported:

Child welfare investigators are looking into “multiple child abuse and neglect” allegations in the custody battle between Britney Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline, according to court documents released Tuesday.

In a request to unseal parts of the case file, an attorney for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services wrote that there are concerns about the safety and welfare of the two toddlers, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, if they are left in their mother’s care. (more…)

Troubled pop star Britney Spears will be allowed to spend Christmas with her two sons, according to US reports.

While ex husband Kevin Federline continues to maintain full custody, a judge granted the Toxic singer access to Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, on the upcoming holiday.

Britney currently has three weekly visits with her sons, including one overnight stay, all supervised by a court-appointed parenting monitor.

Britney and Kevin were not present at the hearing, leaving their lawyers to thrash out a deal at the The Superior Court in LA.
It’s a minor win for Britney, who has struggled to prove to the court that she is a responsible mother after regularly failing to turn up for mandatory drug tests. (more…)

TMZ was in a Van Nuys courtroom yesterday as Britney Spears‘ attorney, Michael Flanagan, asked that her driving without a valid license case be continued until January 2.

As TMZ first reported in October, the L.A. City Attorney wants to place Britney on 12 months of probation for driving without a valid license. If they do, and she picks up another citation or happens to run over a photographer’s foot, that could constitute a probation violation and she could end up in jail just like Paris. (more…)

While lawyers were in two L.A. courthouses yesterday, Monday, arguing over her various driving violations and custody issues, Britney Spears spent her time readying for her next musical move: a new video.

Usmagazine.com has learned that production on the video for her single “Piece of Me�? was scheduled to begin this morning at 8 a.m. at Social Hollywood. A source tells Us that the video will be directed by Wayne Isham, who helmed the video for the 2002 Brit hit, “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.�?

A set source tells Us that since Spears, 25, has a scheduled visit with sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, on Tuesday, she will only be available to film for two hours, between noon and 2 p.m. During that time she will shoot scenes where she dances on a bar and runs down a staircase. There will be 15 extras, as well as a body double for Brit. (more…)

Ummm…what?

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It seems like a no-brainer that Britney should have to pay Kevin’s court costs, or at least some of them, since she earns roughly $737,000 each month and Kevin only earns…nothing. Or so he claims. (more…)