Britney Spears Redux

[Fairy]

I've been watching in disgust-turned-outrage as Britney goes off the deep end. It's not like I care about her, but as a mother, it bothered me to see her latest antics with the naked nether regions and obvious lack of interest in motherhood so quickly after having become one for the second time.

However, now with the the shaved head (at least now the carpet matches the drapes) and very very very public meltdown, I finally -- finally -- get it. This girl is in serious mental trouble. I don't know if it's PPD or even PPP. I don't know if it's just the pressure's of having every trip to the bathroom and every need to sneak a public scratch recorded for the public record by not just tabloids but mainstream press. I don't know if becoming a mother, which meant she had to call the shots now, rather than have her be managed by someone else, was too much for this girl. I don't know if she's just far to young to be having babies; not all 20-something's are created equal, and she might be 20-whatever going on 16. But whatever it is -- and it might be a little bit of all of the above -- I now get it that she's having a true and utter mental breakdown.

So, I've gone to despising this girl to feeling genuine concern that she's gonna make it into tomorrow. To say nothing of her kids.

-- Fairy

[JBaxter]

Fairy
You caused my DH to spew his water when he read the carpet drapes comments!!!!

[megs4413]

the kids have been with K-Fed for a week now....while she's been in and out of one rehab after another....

i feel terrible for those boys. i really don't understand the whole situation but it's clear that she's got more serious issues going on and i hope she's able to get the help she needs.

[psophia17]

Something is clearly wrong in her world...I hope things improve.

[Fairy]

All part of the service, ma'am.

[shilo]

same boat. i don't normally pay a whole lot of attention to celeb type stuff, but she's hard to miss lately. for a while there, i thought she was actually getting a bit of a bumm rapp - actually, i guess i still do. she may have made some parenting choices that i might not have made, but for a celeb, she did always seem to have her kids with her, which i guess i almost respected her for. unlike so many celebs where you never see them spending much time with their kids, at least hers were often with her, in arms, complete with gooberry faces and walmart strollers. but at some point, it's almost like all the media attention for those parenting decisions (the carseats and the fall from the highchair come to mind), her questionable taste in a spouse, etc. finally made her crack. i think a lot of people might have a nervous breakdown if subjected to that kind of scrutiny on a daily basis. i'm not excusing her most recent behavior, but i am at least a little bit empathetic i guess. the girl obviously needs help, but more, i think she needs to be left alone. if she chooses to get back in the spot light and become a public figure again, then i guess she's fair game, but for now, i wish they'd leave her alone and let her work on getting her life back together. she clearly seems sick and certainly appears to need help at this point.

lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[chlobo]

I guess I'm somewhat in the minority. I do feel bad and I hope she gets the help she needs and thank god she can afford it and having a nanny because millions of people out there have real problems but not the access to the kind of cash she has but.....

She's the one who chooses to live the kind of lifestyle that the tabloids thrive on. Do you think if she wasn't out clubbing in short skirts without her underwear there would be AS MUCH attention as she's getting? Do you think if she merely took her kids to the park instead of driving around with them on her lap there would be so much scrutiny?

I guess I'm just tired of all the excuses that are made on behalf of celebs gone bad. Hello, you are an adult now. Stand up and act like one.

I'm sure once she out of rehab she'll go on to write a book about how hard it was being a childhood star and then having to become responsible for oneself at some point & it will be a best seller.

[tarynsmum]

I feel for the boys a lot more than I feel for her. Honestly, she'll be able (hopefully) to go through rehab and put it behind her, but that's the kind of thing that scars a kid for life, you know?

Maybe it's a good thing they're so young, maybe my the time they're old enough to "understand" she'll be normal again, and no one will be talking about it (hey, a girl can dream)

[Radosti]

OMg... first I also had to get over the carpet/drapes comment... OK, I am now composed enough to answer.

I think the girl is in deep deep trouble. She's gone from a role model to white trash to junkie in a matter of a few years. And it's a great shame that she now has two kids along for the ride to drag through the mud with her. Maybe it is PPD, but mostly, I believe it's her desperate need to remain in the spot light.

What is it that I always tell adopters of my dogs... even negative attention is still attention. In dogs and little kids, negative behavior is best treated with ignoring the dog or the kid to show that a negative behavior doesn't get the desired attention. I don't know how she should be treated, but my guess is that ignoring her for a while might be the best possible thing for her. Unfortunately, the press loves watching someone completely self-destruct and she's doing a stellar job.

She has actually achieved the impossible. If there was a custody hearing today, that white trash ex of hers would actually have absolutely no trouble getting custody.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Along that line I can't understand why the celeb du jour sticks in LA, where the paparazzi seem to be in their largest masses. If you want to stay out of the spotlight then maybe move out of the line of sight a bit. I keep thinking about Johnny Depp and his move to France. In an interview he talked about how he just gets left alone there- I am sure his every move would be tracked in LA. I just think Britney would get more peace if she opted for a simpler life in a quieter place...or at least one that wasn't so celeb/ tabloid driven. I guess when you are "in the business" you want to be where the action is but even the parents in NYC (Sarah Jessica parker et al, etc) seem to live a simpler life. Then again, maybe they just don't make the parenting/ lifestyle choices Britney does.

ANyway, long ramble aside, I too hope she gets the help she needs. I hope she takes some time off to figure things out. And I hope her kids find some stability.

Beth

[kellyotn]

I alternate between feeling sorry for her re: the paparazzi and frustrated at her re: the paparazzi. YES they hound her, but she also makes a huge point to put herself in their line of vision, too.

She didn't need to be bar-hopping panti-free with Paris Hilton (the most photo-stalked psuedo-celeb out there), come on, how is THAT trying to maintain privacy?

She constantly chooses eateries and coffee shops that the paparazzi have staked out (and every celeb knows this fact). Its like she's addicted to it, she wants privacy, but if she has it for more than 1 hour, she's running to The Latest Hot Spot to get a photo-fix.

I think a very, very large part of her self-identity is wrapped up in being a celeb. I don't think she'll be able to lead a quiet no-paparazzi life like Reese Witherspoon or Sarah Jessica or Jennifer Garner or Gwen Steffani. I see those women as actresses/singer. That's their job and identity. To Britney the "celebrity party-girl" part seems WAY more important than the singer part.

[VClute]

I gotta tell you, I knew there was trouble all the way back to the Matt Lauer interview. She spoke in a way that made it clear she was troubled - It was clear to me, anyway. I would love to be a friend to that girl. She probably doesn't have a REAL friend in the whole world. Even her family is living off her (she bought her parents' estate in Kentwood) so they have conflict of interest, too.

Even if she's NOT suffering from PPD, if I were her publicist, I would DEFINITELY imply that. Regardless of the reason, she's definitely not in a good place mentally right now. And as much as she was photographed with Sean Preston, hardly anyone's seen her with Jayden James. Her behavior certainly seems PPD to me.

I think it must be tough to be a celebrity. Yes, she chose this path, but how do you stop that runaway train once it's on the tracks? You think she could decide to be something else at this point in her life? I actually have more career options than she does! And to have a job that is almost in DIRECT conflict with having true relationships has got to be taxing. Celebrities are constantly being told a) what they want to hear so the person saying it gets something in return or b) that they suck. I can't imagine a life like that. I just hope Brit doesn't end up like Anna Nicole...

Amy in NC
mom to Dixon, born 2/14/05
...and let the shopping begin!

A GIRL (!!) Due 3/30/07

[chlobo]

"I think it must be tough to be a celebrity. Yes, she chose this path, but how do you stop that runaway train once it's on the tracks? You think she could decide to be something else at this point in her life? I actually have more career options than she does! "

I don't think she should get a new career. I think she should make better choices with what she has before her. Does being a pop star mean she needs to go out without underwear in a short skirt? Does it mean you put your child's safety in danger by driving with that child on your lap? Does it mean endless partying when your time might be better spent at home with said children? Personally, I would be embarassed to do those things and completely mortified my kids might one day see the pictures. We're not talking foolish stunts she did before she got married & had kids, we're talking about the way she has been conducting herself since.

And I agree she probably doesn't have "good" people around her. And it doesn't help that everyone seems to be making excuses for her behavior - no matter how outrageous. Her behavior has been really bad for quite some time now. I guess I just get tired of rich, spoiled stars who behave badly and never seem to grow out of it.

I guess I'm just feeling grumpy today.

[MeAndMyStar]

I do feel bad for her. She is obviously under so much pressure. I can't imagine how it must feel to be scrutinized, followed, photographed coming out of the bathroom. Also, going through a divorce, being responsible for two small children, her recent boyfriend supposedly dumping her over the phone...this girl is stressed!

I just hope she has the support she needs right now. I am blessed in that I have a wonderful family and great circle of friends. I wonder if Britney feels like she has anything *real* or normal in her life. I lightheartedly posted a few days ago that her shaved head looked cool, but obviously it was an act of desperation on her part. I hope she gets the help she needs.

[bubbaray]

Carpet/drapes -- Good one!

It definitely sucks to be her right now, not to mention it sucks to be her kids. I feel sorry for them more than anything. I hope for their sake, she gets the help she clearly needs.


Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[Mommy_Again]

I have two comments:

1. I don't buy the excuse that you can't have a normal life if you are a celebrity. In addition to a PP's Johnny Depp example, look at Julia Roberts. 10 times the celebrity Brit will ever be. She took her two kids and moved to the middle of no where in New Mexico. You never see her in the tabloids, unless she is (tastefully) promoting a project.

2. Britney hit stardum at age 15, and I truly do not think she ever matured beyond that age. Every interview I have ever heard of her, I have been astounded at the immaturity of her speech and actions. It is like she never developed past that age. I don't know what the cause of all her issues are, but I blame her parents a lot, too. Just like Lindsay Lohan's mom- too concerned with being their best friend and getting all the perks of celebrity than being a parent, setting ground rules, and teaching right and wrong. I understand that when your child is making millions of dollars it might be a little tougher than it is for you and me...but come on.

[Fairy]

See, now that's the thing. K-Fed asked for an emergency hearing to gain sole custody of her kids, and then at the last minute before the hearing, she enters rehab for the 3rd time in a week and actually stays there ... and K-Fed mysteriously asks that the hearing be cancelled. Seems like he said, get into rehab or I'm taking the boys. Good move, if you ask me.

I agree that she craves the spotlight. But no truly stable or sane person is going to outright risk losing their children solely to be in the spotlihgt. I really think the girl is ill and/or a complete junkie (hence, the rehab, willing to risk her kids, etc.). I really hope she's getting the help she needs and that those boys will come out of this unscathed.

*sigh*

[Fairy]

>She probably doesn't have a REAL friend in the whole world

100% agree.

[Marisa6826]

I think it totally sucks for her kids, but at the same time, this girl has literally snapped in front of millions of people. I can't imagine how *bad* her situation had to have been for her to go to such lengths in screaming for help.

It really is a true shame that things got as far as they did without a single person in her life reeling her in. This must have been coming on for months on end. I've done the PPD thing, and it isn't a sudden epiphany.

Yes, she has more money than probably all of the Mommies here combined. But it clearly doesn't buy happiness. Bigger income usually equals bigger problems, as evidenced by the past few weeks in Britney's very public life.

I'm amazed that nobody has had the good sense to tell her NO. Are they all afraid of losing their jobs, or their piece of the pie?

Really, unless things do a total 180 in her life, it will be those two helpless little boys that will undoubledly be responsible cleaning up after her nonsense one day.

And to think, that Federline is the more responsible one at this point. Who would've guessed?!

I hope she finds the help she so desperately needs.

-m

[megs4413]

but don't you think there oughta be a law that you can't photograph a person and sell it for profit without getting their permission and giving them a commission? i guess there would have to be a dollar limit like a profit of $500 or more (so as not to effect news photography). i hate how the paparazzi seem to set all these people up for failure because these people are PARENTS. not saying that celebs don't play their own part in it, but i do feel like the industry isn't regulated enough....

[Tondi G]

I personally wouldn't called K-Fed the more responsible one!!! If he had any sense he would be by her side helping her get the help she needs rather than threatening her with taking custody of the kids when she is in her time of need! The poor girl is run down, confused, brokenhearted. He is an A*S if you ask me. Sure she should ahve known considering he picked up with Brittney while Shar was still preggo with THEIR 2nd child. He got what he wanted ... a little fame... 2 kids for which he can attempt to collect child support for (if he manages to get custody) and allimony. What more could that scumbag want!!!!

I truely hope she manages to get the help she needs and surrounds herself and her children with loving, caring people!

Hopefully she can hire the right Nanny to help her raise her boys up right ... And not let them fall out of the high chair on to their heads again!

~Tondi

[deannamorrison]

ITA. K-Fed is still an a$$.Any half decent father would be trying to help. What makes him so honorable?

[Marisa6826]

I'd not put him up for Father of the Year, but in terms of the lesser of two evils, he's the more 'responsible' at the moment. Maybe he was just the smarter of the two and didn't get caught by the paparazzi running around without underwear, vomitting on himself, passing out in public, driving around with a kid on his lap (or incorrectly placed in a carseat), almost dropping a kid while being sure to hold onto a beverage, etc. etc.

And FWIW, I've read several different times that he's the one that has been going to visit her at the rehab, and was 'instrumental' in getting her to commit to staying there.

Hey, if it was an ultimatum about the kids that is making her get help, then so be it. If nothing else, I'm glad to see that the kids' grandparents are stepping up to make sure the kids are cared for (or at least attempting to make it seem so).

The bottom line is that these people make absolutely no difference in my life. It's just sad to see another woman - another MOTHER - lose her mind.

I hope she finds it again.

-m

[denna]

ITA Megs.

I thought there was a law that minors could not be photographed w/o the parents permission. I guess Im completely wrong because look how many pictures are taken of Brit and her kids, as well as other celebritis.

Paparrazi are just rats.