Rep: Britney Is Not Dating Bodyguard

The following italicized article is from www.accesshollywood.com:

Almost a year to the date that news broke suggesting Britney Spears was dating a member of her security team, the same rumor cropped up again pitting the pop star in a romantic relationship with an employee.

Several gossip sites suggested Spears has been dating a member of her latest security force, but the rumors are absolutely not correct, her manager, Larry Rudolph, told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush.

“There is no truth to this at all,” Rudolph said.

The man Spears has been spotted with is not Spears’ security, but a staff photographer.

And, Rudolph noted, Spears is “100% single.”

In July 2007, Spears was spotted out on the town with former bodyguard Daimon Shippen.
Sources denied the two were in a relationship at the time.

Source: Access Hollywood

Britney Spears Is Gone In A Flash

The following italicized article is from www.latimes.com:

She's rarely seen now, and when she appears, she's good. And that's bad for the paparazzi.

To the mortgage crisis and the energy crunch and the devalued dollar, add this: a recession in the Britney market.

The young woman who rose and fell (and fell and fell) in the paparazzi's strobe lights seems to have put bizarre public displays behind her, and the photographers who made hundreds and thousands -- and in some cases, hundreds of thousands -- capturing her missteps must look elsewhere for celebrities more predictably unpredictable.

"She's boring. She doesn't even have a boyfriend," said Francois Navarre, the co-owner of X17, the photo agency that set the standard for aggressive 24/7 coverage of Britney Spears.

The Spears of today may not be any more boring than dozens of celebrities who fill magazines, but she is decidedly duller than her former self. Photographers who relied on her for hourly material for the gossip blogs are confronted by a lack of access and a lack of drama. She rarely goes out and when she does, she behaves herself. No umbrella attacks. No head shaving. No fake British accent. No panty-free car exits.

Agencies that dispatched SUV-loads of freelancers to track her every move last year have downsized their Britney teams.

"At the height of the story, we had maybe six or eight guys on it round the clock," said Chris Doherty, owner of INF, which sells pictures to magazines, websites and TV shows. "Now we would have at most two. There's no real point to being there all the time."

Spears' allure remains, as evidenced by two paparazzi arrested last week near her residence, but the coverage does not compare to the intense stakeouts that proceeded her confinement in a psychiatric ward in January.

A commissioner in Los Angeles County Superior Court subsequently named her father, Jamie, co-conservator of her and her estate, giving him and a lawyer control of the 26-year-old's medical care, finances and day-to-day activities.

Out went the paparazzi-friendly advisor, the British-accented outbursts and the aimless driving excursions that sent caravans of photographers coursing through the city. In came meals at home, family talks, conferences with attorneys and, on a good day, dance class.

The structure and supervision transformed Spears' life for the better, her representatives say.

Ten months after she lost custody of her sons, she finalized an agreement with her ex-husband that provides for gradually expanding visitation rights. She is reportedly back in the recording studio. On the rare occasions she ventures out, the gossip sites that documented her woes have congratulated her on her healthy, happy appearances.

It is welcome news for her family but an enormous change for those used to translating Spears' intemperance into a paycheck.

"Her father is doing what a good parent would do, but that doesn't help the paparazzi," said Bonnie Fuller, who was editor of Star magazine and Us Weekly when Spears was a staple.

"She's not going out with her former BFFs Paris and Lindsay anymore," Fuller said, referring to Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

Before the court intervened, Spears was seemingly omni-available to the videographers and still photographers who camped outside her Studio City gated community.

She dated a paparazzo. Her closest friend and advisor, Sam Lutfi, allowed photographers into Spears' house and provided them with information about her comings and goings, according to her mother, Lynne.

Her spacey ramblings and constant wardrobe changes made her a tabloid photographer's dream. Every rant meant salable video; each new outfit meant fresh photos. The prices that photos fetch are often overstated, but Navarre said an exclusive photo of Spears today would only bring a 10th of what it did during her most erratic times.

"Then it could sell for $10,000 to $15,000, but now it would be hard to get over $1,500," he said.

Others who sell photos disagreed, saying the smaller number of paparazzi has kept the prices relatively stable.

Navarre's agency, X17, had 25 people assigned to Spears duty earlier this year. Now it's fewer than 10, he said.

On a recent weekend, "we were the only ones," he said.

Nick Stern, a veteran photojournalist who quit his photo agency in disgust at the apex of Spears' coverage, said many photographers who tracked her were foreigners drawn by the relatively easy money. When their access to Spears dried up, Stern said, they had no incentive to stay on the beat or even in the field.

"These guys don't really have any interest in the media or reporting news. It was about money. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the snappers covering Britney have moved on to other jobs or other parts of the U.S. or even back to their home countries," said Stern, chief photographer for the Australian agency Crocmedia.

Some have refocused on up-and-coming celebrities, including Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.

An attorney for Spears said the singer did not miss the glare.

"Britney and her family are delighted to dis-incentivize the outrageous behavior of the paparazzi," lawyer Blair Berk said.

Her neighbors have noted the shrinking number of lenses camped outside the guardhouse.

"At the peak, there were 25, but now it's down to three or four," said Jim DeBoard, a resident of the Summit.

He said it had been about six months since he saw paparazzi breaking traffic laws to get behind Spears' vehicle.

"We are still all amazed at how crazy it was," DeBoard said.

The paparazzi's presence may never again reach the levels that preceded Spears' hospitalizations, but neither is it likely to remain as low as it is now, those in the industry say.

Eventually, she will resume a more public life, they say, and when she does, the cameras will be waiting.

"If Britney were to walk out tonight with a new boyfriend, we could still command high prices for those photos," Doherty said.

Frank Griffin, a partner in the Bauer-Griffin photo agency, said the reduced coverage of Spears was proof that the safe money is in happy stories.

"At the end of the day, people don't want to see train wrecks. Yes, they might want to see the mighty fall, but they don't want to kick dirt in their faces," Griffin said.

In the long run, he said, flattering photos of babies, new romances and weight loss trump even the most unflinching views of scandal.

"I guarantee if Britney were lying on the beach with Brad Pitt in a skinny bikini, it would be absolutely crazy," Griffin said.

Source: LA Times

Britney's Comeback Plans

The following italicized article is from www.ok-magazine.com:

Gone are the pink wigs, ratty hair and fake british accent the world has come to associate with Britney Spears. In their place, a fresh faced, natural brunette who has been reporting to work, making regular visits with her sons and seems in general, to be focused on taking her life back.

On March 24, the once reigning pop star made a highly anticipated cameo appearance on the CBS sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. Her performance was so good, she managed to wow not only the audience, but her co-stars as well.

"The only thing scandalous about this is how un-scandalous it all is," says HIMYM co-star, Josh Radnor, of Britney's appearance on the show.

Playing Abby, the nerdy receptionist, the bit part is just one of the baby steps the singer seems bent on taking to get back in fighting form. As she begins to rediscover herself, she seems to also be rediscovering her love for dance.

In addition to teaching kids at Millennium Dance Complex, the singer has been rehearsing alone, stopping in for two hours at a time to learn a chair routine for her new song, Hot as Ice. Sources say Britney may even want to open her own dance studio in the future and is considering The Dome, a 25oo sq. foot section of Millennium, currently closed.

Even Brit's father, Jamie Spears, seems to be loosening up on his rules---a bit.

"Britney is addicted to driving," An insider tells OK!. "Initially, her father wouldn't let her drive at all, but he knows how much she loves it and it calms her, so he's softened the restriction. He now lets her toodle around the block in her gated community."

Source: OK Magazine

Britney Spears Dines With Bodyguard on Night of TV Debut

The following italicized article is from www.usmagazine.com:

Britney Spears celebrated her big TV comeback Monday night with a dinner date with her bodyguard and a female friend in Beverly Hills.

Throughout her meal at Italian restaurant Dominick's, Spears, 26 — who did not drink — spoke in her British accent, a fellow diner tells Usmagazine.com.

"She looked so good, completely normal," the eyewitness adds. "She was smiling and laughing in the loud obnoxious Britney laugh."

The singer had a good reason to rejoice: Her cameo on CBS' Hot I Met Your Mother helped the show earn its highest ratings ever!

(Mother spiked to a series high 4.5 preliminary rating among adults 18-49, according to the Hollywood Reporter.)

Critics also praised her performance.

"She looked beautiful and had screen presence," Charna Halpern, artistic director of Chicago’s Improv Olympic Comedy Club, tells Us. "Even when she was behind the desk and they made her look kind of homely, she was adorable."

Source: US Weekly

Wacky Attorney Still Claims He's Britney's Lawyer

The following italicized article is taken from www.ok-magazine.com:

Despite his inability to meet standard court deadlines and a federal judge's ruling against his claims, Jon Eardley, the attorney who says he represents Britney Spears, vowed Wednesday to continue his fight."We have only just begun the fight,"

Eardley said in a statement. "There is nothing that will stop me from dismantling, if necessary, this oppressive and unjust conservatorship."

On Feb. 1, a California court appointed Brit's father, Jamie Spears, conservator over her personal and business affairs. A court approved attorney, Andrew Wallet, was named co-conservator and another attorney, Samuel Ingham, was appointed as the singer's lawyer.

Eardley still claims Britney, 26, hired him on Feb. 12; however, lawyers for Jamie Spears argued that Eardley's claims were invalid because under the conservatorship, Britney is not legally able to hire her own counsel.

Yesterday, Federal District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled the state court's appointment of Sam Ingham precluded Eardley from acting as Britney's lawyer. Judge Gutierrez also ruled the case would remain in state court, not federal court as Eardley sought, because Eardley had no authority to move it.

Since the conservatorship was established, Jamie Spears has managed to quiet his daughter's usual out-of-control lifestyle which, over the past year, has spiraled downward into a whirlwind of craziness, including a stint in rehab, British accents, pink wings and, ultimately, Britney's hospitalization and the loss of custody and visitation rights with her sons.

Eardley claims the conservatorship violates Britney's civil rights and that her conservators are not acting in her best interest.

The conservatorship has been extended on two occasions and remains in effect until March 10.

Source: OK Magazine

Britney's Rocky Reunion with Her Mother

The following italicized article is from www.people.com:

Britney Spears is having some family bonding time with her mom – but the pair have been seen arguing, according to sources.

Lynne Spears, who arrived in Los Angeles Monday, accompanied her 26-year-old daughter and pal Sam Lutfi to a Mercedes Benz dealership in Beverly Hills Tuesday morning – but it was not exactly a happy family outing.

"Lynne and Britney were arguing in the car the whole time. They're both upset and arguing, not having a good time at all," an onlooker tells PEOPLE.

After 15 minutes at the dealership, Britney drove a black Escalade off the lot. "After she came out, she pulled over to the side of the road to argue with her mom more," adds the onlooker.

The previous night, Lynne had visited her daughter's home, but then was left to pace around the house after Britney left the house to meet Adnan Ghalib.

“Lynne, at one point said, 'I just want to give her a hug. I'm very worried," says a source. "Lynne was so nervous and worried, she just kept asking how they could get her daughter back home."

When the pop star did return home, Lynne, Britney and several friends including, Alli Sims and Sam Lutfi, had a "family bonding session over a lot of things," says the source.

But the family time does not seem to have changed Britney's behavior. On Tuesday afternoon, she and Lutfi visited a nearby J. Crew, where an onlooker described her as "totally out of it."

"She was talking in a slight accent. It was a little of a British accent," says the eyewitness. "She kept to herself, quiet, she just wanted to go. She really wanted some Bubblelicious gum and she kept asking Sam for it and got frustrated when he didn't have any. Her mood lifted when she found some in her bag."

BRITNEY, GET RID OF SAM AND ADNAN AND TURN TO THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY LOVE YOU.<3

Source: People