The View On Britney

Source: Slave For Britney

Dr. Phil: Britney's Hospitalization 'A Good Thing'

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

Having appeared on both Good Morning America and Today earlier this week to bolster his position after a spokeswoman for the Spears family said he had violated their trust by speaking out about the condition of Britney Spears, TV's Dr. Phil McGraw spoke out once again on the troubled pop star – this time with the women on The View Thursday.

He revealed that his hospital visit with Spears in early January was simply as a possible means to "start a low-key dialogue that might make her open to seeking help," and noted that, according to most recent reports, that is the direction that is being taken.

"If that starts [her] on the road to intervention," he said, "then that is a good thing."

McGraw's View guest appearance in New York coincided with Spears's trip by ambulance to UCLA Medical Center earlier Thursday morning in California for a second round of psychiatric observation. McGraw said he knew nothing more about Spears's condition than what has been reported. He also said that since he and her family have been at odds over his issuing a statement after visiting Britney, he has not been in contact with the Spears family.

He added that as far as his visit with Britney in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is concerned, "I will not disclose what took place."

On Today, McGraw said he wished Spears and her family well at this difficult time.

Source: People

When will this guy shut the f*ck up?

EXCLUSIVE: Lynne Spears Shocked Britney Had "Deteriorated to This Level"

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

Days before Britney Spears' "carefully orchestrated intervention," her mother Lynne Spears "flew out" to L.A. Sunday and was shocked to see how badly the singer's mental condition had deteriorated, a source close to the singer tells Usmagazine.com.

"Lynne was devastated," a source tells Us. "She hadn't seen her in a while and to see her deteriorated to this level – what mother wouldn't be affected by that? It's awful."

On Monday, pal Sam Lutfi phoned The View's Barbara Walters, saying that the the singer and her estranged mom were back on speaking terms.

Though the two appeared terse at a Beverly Hills Mercedes-Benz dealership Tuesday morning, Walters quoted Lutfi as saying, "her mother has been very supportive of whatever it is that Britney is trying to do."

Last night the singer was taken to UCLA Medical Center in a "carefully orchestrated intervention," the source says. (Lynne arrived with Spears' latest beau, paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.)

The singer "had been up since Saturday without any sleep," the source tells Us.

Source: US Weekly

Could Britney Be Committed Against Her Will?

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

It is hard for a family to watch someone like Britney Spears implode in public. It is also very difficult emotionally to force a family member to seek treatment involuntarily.

But in Britney's home state of California, once that hard decision is made, it can be as easy as calling a cop to have a loved one committed to a mental hospital.

Under a state statute known as 5150, an individual who is considered by a medical professional to be a danger to herself, others or is known to be gravely disabled can be involuntarily committed to a mental institution by her family or even friends.

"If a family member believes the patient needs psychiatric care and the patient refuses to get it, there are options available," said Keith Valone, a clinical psychologist in Pasadena, Calif., who is not associated with Spears' treatment and declined to comment specifically on her case. "And if that person meets the narrowly determined criteria, they can be put on involuntary hold.

"No Spears' family members have stated publicly that they are contemplating such a move.

Involuntary hold, which translates into 72 hours in a locked mental institution, must be approved by trained professionals like a psychiatrist or a nurse. But a police officer can also qualify, according to California law, to evaluate a patient and decide if that person meets the 5150 requirements, said Valone.

After the 72-hour stay is completed, patients can either voluntarily admit themselves to treatment or the family can request another evaluation for a 14-day stay, according to the California Department of Mental Health.

"Getting a 5150 isn't a very hard [process] to do," explained Valone. "Families can either call a hospital, ask if they write holds and then just present at the hospital. Or if the patient is uncooperative, they can call the police."

A spokesperson from the Los Angeles Police Department told ABCNEWS.com that 5150s are so common that they are an almost daily occurrence, and cops are often called upon to help transport unruly patients to hospitals, where they will they be kept on hold.

The reason most families seek involuntary committal is for self destructive behavior, and Spears' behavior over the past year has cost her a great deal.

In just the past few months, Spears was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after refusing to hand over her children to authorities and then later lost custody of her two kids. She then failed to even make it into the courtroom and subsequent hearings meant to regain custody of her children.

She has shaved her head in public, attacked a car with an umbrella, shoplifted a lighter from a gas station, and most recently sat down in front of paparazzi earlier this week and cried while holding her little Yorkie named London. That latest crying jag was apparently set off by her sometime manager Sam Lutfi telling ABC's "The View" that Spears has mental issues that are treatable.

Her behavior has become so alarming that last week it was revealed that The Associated Press is working on the 26-year-old Spears' obituary, just in case.

Source: ABC News

Britney Spears' Manager/Friend Sam Lutfi: Prior Restraining Orders Paint A Dark Picture

The following italicized article is taken from www.mtv.com:

Britney Spears doesn't really have a real "team" these days, save for friends who have evolved into her managers, bodyguards and publicists. Lately, one figure in particular has been a fixture for much of the singer's daily life: Sam Lutfi. He's been seen with her en route to aborted court appearances, during her frequent late-night dance practices and shopping sprees, and most recently, on Monday night and Tuesday (January 29), when she was reunited with her mother as intervention talk was in the air. So who is Sam Lutfi?

According to Barbara Walters, he is "the manager and very good friend of Britney Spears," as she said on "The View" on Monday. The host was talking about a phone conversation she had with Lutfi regarding the singer seeking mental-health care. "He seemed to be very knowledgeable, and he certainly was very nice," Walters said.

But according to three requests for restraining orders against him that have been obtained by MTV News — and are unrelated to Spears — Lutfi also has a dark side, one that caused Spears' parents to express grave concern to Blender about his relationship to their daughter. Before Lutfi hooked up with Spears, he was a fixture in the life of Danny Haines, a former friend who claimed that their association turned sour when Lutfi allegedly sent nude pictures of him to his family, friends and employer, and tried to convince Haines to kill himself. "Seriously, sleeping pills, lots of them," Lutfi allegedly wrote to him, Haines told Blender magazine.

After claiming extortion, emotional blackmail and humiliation, Haines got a restraining order against Lutfi in April, claiming he had sent him harassing and threatening e-mails and text messages. In his petition to the court, Haines claimed Lutfi was a "dangerous person" who wouldn't leave Haines' home until the police would ask Lutfi to. Haines also claimed Lutfi sent him messages reading, "I hope you end up behind bars or 6 feet under soon," and that he was praying for misfortune to befall Haines' family. Haines asked that his mother and sister be included in the protective order due to those and other threats, and an Orange County, California, judge granted a three-year restraining order.

A former neighbor at Lutfi's condo complex, Douglas Snoland, filed a similar complaint in 2004. According to his petition to the court, Snoland claimed Lutfi tried to kick down his front door when he suspected Snowland of having Lutfi's car towed, and that Lutfi made verbal threats of bodily harm against both Snoland and his mother. Snoland claimed Lutfi said, "I will make your life miserable. I will beat your ass the next time I see you. ... You will regret the day you ever met me. You better watch yourself when you leave your unit." Lutfi's attorney denied that he made the threats, claiming that Lutfi was only trying to figure out what happened to his car, since he was about to report it stolen. Nevertheless, a Los Angeles judge granted a three-year restraining order against Lutfi.

One other complaint was filed, but not granted, by business acquaintance Jumana Issa in 2005. She claimed that when she was trying to close an escrow account for Lutfi, he started harassing her with obscene e-mails, faxes and voice mails, which included his hanging up on her "around 15 to 30" times a day. In one such fax, which she included in her petition, Lutfi allegedly wrote, "Peel yourself away from all the candy, your dumb attitude and [fat] belly and answer my e-mails. ... Come on, big lady. ... Put down the donuts and call me."

"The ordeal with Mr. Lutfi has been an overwhelming nightmare," Issa wrote in her petition. "For over two months now, I have suffered substantial emotional stress and distress. ... His threats have violated my business operation." Issa's petition was dismissed because of her failure to appear in court for a preliminary hearing.

Despite the appearance that Lutfi and Spears' parents, Jamie and Lynne, are on the same team now, allied to get the singer help, trouble has been brewing ever since her parents recently tried to reunite with their estranged daughter, who was videotaped crying outside her home. Spears' father was taped having difficulty gaining entrance to his daughter's residence Monday night, with paparazzi at the house reporting that Lutfi tried to deny entrance to not only Jamie but also Britney's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Adnan Ghalib. Ken Dungey, who says he is a friend of Lutfi, told MTV News that Lutfi brags about the level of control he has over Spears, that he claims "he controls 99 percent of her life."

On Tuesday, Lutfi accompanied Spears and her mother to a Mercedes dealership, which caused speculation that he was forcing the singer to buy a new car, when those closest to her wanted her to attend to other matters.

To explain the Monday night events, Lutfi called TMZ on Tuesday, claiming that Spears' parents "barged in." "They have an agenda," he told TMZ. "Their agenda is jealousy because they don't fit in. I do. They see her three times a year."

Lutfi then asked Spears, who was near the phone, "Did I force you to buy a car?" She responded, "No." When he asked, "Do I ever bug you?," she replied, "We argue."

Source: MTV

I'm suddenly starting to like Adnan WAY more!

Tears For Spears - Britney Breaksdown

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

Britney Spears breaks down on the sidewalk on Friday, just outside her gated community in Los Angeles, Calif.

She left manager Sam Lufti’s car and after walking, sat down and started sobbing.

On Monday, Lufti was interviewed by Barbara Walters on “The View” and said the singer suffers from “mental issues” and has seen a psychiatrist.

See more pics here!

Source: Just Jared

Spears Takes Strides Toward Treatment

The following italicized article is taken from www.eonline.com:

Britney Spears appears to be on the receiving end of both personal and professional help.

The "Gimme More" star's manager-pal Sam Lutfi has confirmed that the troubled singer has begun treatment with a psychiatrist and is back in contact with her estranged mother, Lynne.

Lutfi chose The View den mother Barbara Walters as his vessel for the news.

"I can't vouch for this," Walters qualified Lutfi's information by saying. "He said that Britney is suffering from what he describes as mental issues, which are treatable. He said that she has been to a psychiatrist and that she, I assume, is starting some kind of treatment.

"She's been having mood swings, she's been having trouble sleeping, and also she is in touch with her mother—because we had heard she wasn't—and her mother has been very supportive of whatever Britney is going to do."

Sources tell E! Online that Lynne was "instrumental" in persuading the 26-year-old to seek treatment. Both Spears women are once again on speaking terms and Lynn has agreed to "help her through it."

Lynne Spears arrived solo in Los Angeles Sunday night and was photographed talking on a cell phone.

Britney had not spoken to either her mother or father Jamie Spears since her Jan. 3 meltdown. A source close to the situation says that Britney had chafed at her parents' insistence to begin treatment.

"She still isn't convinced she has a mental problem," the source said. "But she knows this is what she has to do to get her kids again."

Now, however, the Blackout artist is amenable to begin taking medication, should the psychiatrist recommend it. Spears spent about an hour at a Santa Monica psychiatrist's office on Friday.

The source adds that Brtiney hasn't been happy for quite some time "and she wants that to change, too."

Spears has not seen sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 3, since earlier this month, when she refused to return the children to Kevin Federline. A court commissioner subsequently stripped her of all visitation rights.

Walters, meanwhile, said on The View Monday that she believed the beleaguered pop star has "moved away" from her relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib. The two have been off-on in recent weeks, and over the weekend, Spears, Lutfi, former assistant Alli Sims and new hanger-on Chad Hardcastle—but not Ghalib—were spotted late Sunday taking in a showing of 27 Dresses in Los Angeles. (Then again, maybe the shutterbug doesn't like chick flicks.)

Sims herself recently spoke out about her feelings toward Ghalib after he shared private voicemails left for him by Spears during long interviews with Entertainment Tonight and The Insider last week.

"He's been around, what, three weeks?" she told People. "I don't really see the point of that...I only know him from him following us around for eight months. I don't personally know him. But I don't like that vibe."

Source: E! Online

Sam Says Brit Is Mental

The following italicized article is taken from www.tmz.com:

Sam Lutfi somehow got hold of Barbara Walters this weekend -- and fiwwed her in on Britney's mental problems -- saying they are "treatable." Praise Jebus!

Brit's ersatz manager, via Babwa on today's episode of "The View," says Spears has visited a psychiatrist and is in touch with her mother -- who arrived in Los Angeles last night.

See the video here!

Source: TMZ

Seeking "Treatment"

Barbara Walters announced on The View Monday morning that Sam Lufti contacted her and said that Britney is now in treatment with a shrink and that whatever she has is treatable.

He said she has been having lots of mood swings (duh) and was having major probs sleeping.

Why is Osama working as Britney's publicist????

He needs to STOP talking to the media. He should hire a professional and shut his pie hole!!!!

Source: Perez Hilton