Britney Spears is still under a conservatorship, run by her father and now co-managed by her fiance, almost five years after her public breakdown in January, 2008. That means that she has no legal control over her affairs, including her money and her healthcare. It also means that this 30 year-old woman, who just earned $15 million for one year on The X Factor, can’t get on the Internet and search for whatever she wants, and can’t use her cellphone to call whomever she wants. They’re treating her like a preteen, aren’t they? A source tells Radar that this is all for Britney’s own good, since she was so controlled and manipulated by creepy user Sam Lutfi right before she shaved her head. (Go here for a review of some of the accusations against Lutfi. He’s said to have given her drugs without her knowledge and to have also controlled her phone use.) The three year restraining order against Lutfi has expired, and Britney’s family is said to be concerned that he’ll try and exert his influence in her life again, so they’re controlling her cell phone and Internet use. It sounds kind of counter-intuitive, but they’re said to be doing it for Britney’s own good. Here’s more, thanks to Radar:
“Britney’s cell phone and internet use is restricted and heavily monitored, and this is done for her protection,” a source close to the situation tells Radar. “Britney’s father, Jamie, and her fiance, Jason, want to make sure that her former manager, Sam Lutfi, isn’t able to contact her. Britney and Jason essentially share a cell phone, and it’s routinely checked to see who has been calling. Furthermore, the cell phones have been programmed to block calls from phone numbers associated with Lutfi. Brit’s computer usage is also restricted in the sense that certain websites are blocked. Her family doesn’t want Britney reading negative stories that would upset her. Again, this is all done with love and for her well-being.”
Meanwhile, a restraining order that the conservators had filed against Lutfi on behalf of the pop star and her children expired earlier this year. “After the restraining order expired, the conservators went to extra lengths to make sure that Sam wasn’t able to contact Britney because there was no longer any criminal threat if he were to violate terms of the restraining order,” the source says.
As we previously reported, Lutfi is suing Britney and her parents for defamation and breach of contract. Lufti took particular issue with Lynne Spears’ portrayal of him in her book, Through The Storm, that discussed Lutfi’s role in Britney’s life leading up to her very public meltdown, which resulted in Jamie gaining conservatorship of his daughter in 2008.
Jason Trawick, Jamie and Lynne Spears, talent agent Kevin Huvane and current manager Larry Rudolph are all expected to take the stand against Lufti in the upcoming trial.
We covered Lutfi quite a bit during Britney’s whole ordeal, and I do believe he’s as bad as Britney’s mom claimed. People came out of the woodwork to say he’d tried to manipulate his way into Britney’s life, and three other people (that we know of) had restraining orders against him before Britney did. He’s a shady character, and this lawsuit is suspicious. Maybe he wants a payoff and thinks that Britney’s people will give him a chunk of money in order to keep it from going to trial.
So because of Lutfi (and probably Adnan Ghalib, although he’s out of the picture) Britney can’t go on the Internet alone, or use her cellphone without getting spied on. People Magazine claimed back when Britney’s man Jason was appointed co-conservator that “Britney enjoys plenty of personal freedom and that the conservatorship is mostly in name only.” That doesn’t sound true if they’re going to all these measures to make sure she doesn’t talk to Lutfi or see anything negative about herself on the Internet. As I’ve said before, I hope that she doesn’t marry Jason if she feels like he’s controlling her. She’s worlds better now than where she was. Are they ever going to cut the cord? Should they?
Britney is shown on 9-11-12. Credit: PCNPhotos and WENN.com
I find it very hard to feel bad for celebrities but I feel bad for her. Even if her family is trying to look out for her, there is such thing as going too far. I understand she’s mentally ill or whatever she is, but making someone feel like they can’t be trusted to even have a cell or the internet probably isn’t doing her any favors as far as her self esteem.
What’s the deal with her fiance? I’ve never gotten a good vibe off of him.
Let’s be honest. She is just cash cow for them. As long as she makes money she is “safe”. When she will become useless for them they will “set her free”. And then there will be another break down. I’m pretty sure that her mental condition is worse than people think.
I find it so funny that she did not show any signs of mental breakdown until after Kevin left her… Which to me this is not a mental issue like we think it is called KARMA… Kevin was in a committed relationship and his girlfriend Shar was pregnant with their second baby … Britney wanted him and used her CELEBRITY to get him … she did not care about his other relationship… he was with her long enough to run her crazy… take her money and leave her NOW mental… look she has no business judging Xf actor if she is this “MENTAL”… that is sad for any person to be used like this… I mean she is in her 30’s about to be married and still under a conservatorship …. And there is no way in HELL… her future husband should have anything to do with that … this will be hubby # 3
You are wrong. The signs started to show after her very public breakup with Justin. She screwed up by cheating on him, but then again, she was a 20 year old that had been in a committed relationship for over 3 years that was unlucky to get caught – Britney was told on by the other guy. She was a victim of a lot of media hatred while Justin played the pity part, which he surely took advantage of by releasing Cry My A River and openly saying he ‘f#cked’ Britney, though she vowed to stay pure. After that, she was used by almost everyone she had a relationship with to get media attention. Fred Durst was one of them.
So you’re saying Britney is the one who uses her CELEBRITY to get people? Don’t you think it’s more plausible that K-Fed was the one using his ‘charm’ to marry her CELEBRITY in order to achieve fame & success with his rap career? I mean, he proposed to her after only 3 months! Britney is a very naïve girl, and because she’s rich and famous, she’s bound to be used by people. It’s happened again with Adnan Ghalib and Sam Lufti, and I’m afraid that’s the case with conversator/fiancé Jason Trawick.
It’s sad people call it Karma. We all bear our crosses…
I do think she gave in to tabloid pressure to dump Federline because he was presented as a “loser”. I remember photos of her in convenience stores reading those tabloids. I don’t see that it was a harmful relationship, but ending it seemed to leave her unmoored.
It’s well and good to keep Sam Lutfi from controlling her; however, her father and fiancé seem to have taken over that role, which I don’t think is better.
Marrying her guardian is wildly inappropriate.
We don’t know what is really going on. It’s all hearsay and speculation. I wish her the very very best. She has had a long hard road that few of us will ever understand.
+1
So true. She was so unwell mentally for so long. It was good that her dad started living with her, feeding her food instead of Cheetos and frappachinos. I don’t know anything about the Trawick character, but she’s really been able to dress and act like a normal, healthy person for a couple of years now.
wow. How bad is her mental health for the conservatism to last this long?! Its not usually easy to get this much control over an adult.
Exactly. This is clearly a mental health issue, and a serious one at that. I suspect she’s bipolar. My guess is that mentally, she has no business being out in public, being a celebrity, or furthering her brand. But because she’s a money maker, she’s been rolled out there to do it anyway, albeit under the watchful eye of her family. And say what you will about them, they stepped up and did the right thing, even though she probably fought like hell against it at the time. Dina & Michael Lohan should take note.
Do you even know anything about bipolar disorder? People with bipolar disorder shouldn’t be out in the public eye?
So Diane Sawyer and Catherine Zeta-Jones who are also bipolar have no business being public figures either according to you?
I have bipolar disorder and I work full time while going to school 20 hours a week. I have a normal life and your comment insinuates that people with mental illness belong “away from society”. It is thinking like that which is archaic and dangerous.
After all the erratic behavior she showed, it is good that people are taking care of her. It doesn’t matter if she’s 30 or 100… I’m glad someone finally stepped up.
agreed….she needed someone to step up.
In any other instance we would call this an abusive relationship. Why is it not now? Don’t get me wrong, I think her dad did a good job of getting her back to ok, but if she truly is ok then she needs to be able to lead her own life. And I’m sorry but Trawick gives me the heebee geebees..
agreed.
controlling a woman to this extent seems extremely harmful to me.
she is a grown adult who happens to have a mental illness…she is not a criminal who requires 24 hour surveillance.
If everyone is healthy, then yes, that level of control is abusive.
However, there are some degrees of mental illness that require that level of control if the patient isn’t going to live in a residential unit and wants to have some kind of ‘normal’ life but with reduced dosage of drugs.
I find it very skeevy that she is allowed to have a relationship with a person who has control over her legal life and meds. For someone with Britney’s wealth, it can never be a clear cut relationship without conflicts of interest.
As her conservership is still very much in place, and she’s robotic due to thE drugs, you can be sure that she is still incapable. The drugs are probably enough for her to function without any other stresses like day-to-day decisions which makes it all very sad. She still has supervised visits with her kids. All the information that comes out about her reinforces idea that she’s living in a residential situation albight in her own home.
And because her life has been so simplified, she can do what she always has done eg sing/dance after a fashion, but no more. If you notice, she doesn’t really do press anymore. Even for her tours, videos. When she does make an appearance eg MTV awards last year, she doesn’t do interviews. Rushed through red carpet without questions etc. And xfactor allowed her to do multiple breaks. With additional editing, you are seeing the best parts of that, and yet reports still leaked of her unconventional behaviour.
The only thing good about all this, is that her father stepped in. I really want someone to step in for Lindsay too.
Her eyes look empty she seems robotic. Poor girl she needs to get away from showbiz and go somewhere with her kids and live “normally”. At least away from the vultures of Hollywood.
She doesn’t seem like she’d be able to, frankly. She’s desperate to be liked and will do just about anything for it. She lets ppl control her, like Lufti.
She’s likely on a heavy-duty medication cocktail, which can lead to being empty-eyed and robotic.
How horrible to live under a microscope and not be able to just “be”. While she may not be emotionally ready to make certain educated decisions on her own as they relate to finances, her businesses….it seems odd that she would still need someone around her when she has custody of her kids and she would have to have constant cell phone and internet monitoring. Sounds like a more serious mental disorder like schizophrenia is what she’s suffering from and if thats the case, the kid gloves are completely justifiable.
I think part of Britney’s unstable mental state is because she has been so heavily controlled her entire life, starting from the mickey mouse club. They don’t monitor her for her own well being, but to insure that their cash cow is still appeasing the masses and bringing in the cash.
This whole thing is very sad and I don’t buy for a second Britney is any better off then she was during her meltdown, the only difference is that her puppet strings were reattached once again.
Watching x factor reconfirmed that for me, it didn’t show me that she was any better off then her meltdown days. She looks sad and empty. Someone described Britney as looking like a neglected puppy doing whatever she could to please her handlers, looking for validation, so she isn’t scolded again. That’s all I can see when I watch her on Xfactor, completely beaten down and holding on by a string.
I think both her father and fiance are shady as hell and I don’t understand why more people don’t question that or their intentions, not to mention where are her mom and sister? Britney doesn’t seem to have any interactions with other people outside of the show, Simon and her handlers? How is that healthy??
Her Dad is shady as hell? Really???, she was destined for death before he stepped in and now she is well and alive. So i have no idea how you think that. Clearly she has some major issues going on or the courts wouldn’t allow this to continue on.
I question it because she looks severely unhappy and being heavily monitored and controlled, no matter how mentally unstable she is, doesn’t create a healthy environment. I question her father’s integrity because he seems to only care because her finances are at stake when crazy Britney emerges.
As I noted in my comment, where are her mother and sister? Why is her father the only one “supporting” her. I think it is strange that Britney seems to have absolutely zero interactions with anybody outside her handlers.
Another thing, we can assume that Britney isn’t behind her twitter page if her internet usage is restricted? I think her new, revamped image is entirely manufactured and fake, there is just a shell of a person behind it all.
Before her father took over the conservatorship, he was a reformed alcoholic who was working as a cook. What I’m saying is that he wasn’t sponging off his daughter – he was living a quiet life and supporting himself through a real job. His drinking had screwed him out of a family and a marriage and he was working to put his life together. I don’t think he was much of a father to Britney before (when he was drinking) but I get the feeling he is stepping up and trying to do a better job now. I don’t think anyone wants to see their child struggling with mental illness like Brit does. Brit’s life is much more stable now with her father running the show. I’m OK with that. And I believe she does have a lot of contact with her other family members including her mother.
I agree–if they really cared about her, they wouldn’t push her into the spotlight, first with touring and now with X-Factor.
Yes it’s shady her future husband controls her,but at a certain point there were rumors she was trying to contact Lufti again, so I don’t know.
Wow, the Big Brother thing needs to stop…but she’s allowing it to happen. I really like her and hope everything works out for her. When are they supposed to get married, anyway, or is it on “hold”? I think she needs to spend more alone and free time w/ her kids somewhere quiet
Has it ever been made public what she is exactly dealing with, other than vague “mental health” issues?
Her mental health issues aren’t vague. She is Bipolar 1, the worst. People with Bipolar 1 can be the life of the party and so much fun when they’re manic (I have known someone like this and been with them for both good and bad), but when they crash they can become psychotic. My friend was out screaming that the trees were sucking her blood. The problem with bipolar (and I too have it, just not nearly as bad) is that once the medication kicks in and you feel normal again, people think they don’t need it, quit the meds and the cycle starts again.
Plus it was reported that her getting up and leaving, and taking breaks on X-factor is because she’s also got ADHD which is unmedicated because the meds for that clash with the bipolar. I’m not a doctor, but if she was taking meds for ADHD, I think that could have contributed quite a bit to her meltdown.
All this being said, watching her like this is creepy and wrong.
She has never publicly said what her diagnosis is. The Bipolar disorder talk is just speculation.
Yes, what andy said.
For all we know she doesn’t have ‘mental health issues’ and just had a drug addiction that possibly did lead to some mental health issues/a break down.
No one in the general public knows what is actually ‘wrong’ with her.
Aaaaurgh, Britney’s life seems so sad to me. I hope one day she gets to experience real happiness and freedom and that she gets away from all the pond scum people in her life. God, what a mess.I feel so sorry for her. It’s painful to watch her on TV sometimes, esp. when they’re trying to present what’s clearly a lie.I wonder how those showbiz people can look themselves int he mirror.
Whatever happened to Adnan Ghalib anyway? It’s like he’s dropped off the face of the earth.
She should NOT get married. Then again, can she get married? I’m not sure she could meet the legal standard of competence for consent. Very tough situation.
Exactly. I’m not sure she can legally marry. You must be able to (competent) to enter into a contract in order to marry- I’m not sure she can meet that standard yet.
And with her future husband as a co-executor- the fox is in charge of the hen house. It sounds like a voidable marriage to my legal ears.
She is clearly bat sh** crazy. If these things are true, they are for her own good.
Two words… MK Ultra. Britney is a mind control victim. From the beginning of her Mickey Mouse days to now. She tried to escape before when she flipped and shaved her head and now they really have her cornered. Heavily medicated, and controlled and followed by the creepy version of Sam Merlotte. She remains as her family’s cash cow puppet, and I have the worst feeling that she will get tossed aside or “offed” soon. You people really need to pull back the curtain and really take a look into the dark side of being a popstar… It’s not all really hidden in plain sight anymore.
You cannot seriously believe that Britney was being mind-controlled by the CIA, can you?
Amen Molly. Bluedog, it’s not exactly difficult to find information on Disney’s dark and evil side.
🙁 I feel so bad for her. Wish things for her could go back to normal.
I don’t think we have a clue about what truly went on with Brit Brit back when things fell apart and I don’t think we have a clue about what’s going on now. My hunch is that she has a severe mental disorder.
I didn’t start liking her until she broke down.
me too! It made her feel real to me.
Whatever the conservatorship entails, it seems to have worked for her. I only wish Lindsey Lohan had a stable family that could do the same for her.
Britney is very subdued for the most part on the X Factor and emotional, especially when someone young comes on stage. She seems very sweet. I don’t know that she’s necessarily mentally ill as much as she is just easily mislead and impulsive because she’s not used to handling her own life. Hopefully she’s learning from those around her and they will know when she’s ready to be on her own.
The fodder for stories wouldn’t be threre and there wouldn’t need such tight monitoring if she was allowed to retire.
The strain of trying to be normal in a very abnormal profession is taxing and stressful on the healthiest person. With her apparent issues- if she was an “average” person she probably would have quit and gone on disability.
I have nothing but pity for this woman-child and her sons.
It doesn’t seem like many people here have experience with mental disorders that are as severe as Britney.
Yes, she LOOKS clean, happy, and shiny BUT that’s on the cocktail of drugs she’s on.
She always has SUPERVISED visits with her kids, and that conservership hasn’t been lifted or modified in ways that give her substantial independence and free will. Which means she’s worse than we are told.
If she wasn’t the family cash cow, she’s be back home in louisiana with some kind of supervising attendant and not much required of her.
Those who think she’s well are just buying into the PR that makes her appear well. She may not be shaving her head anymore, but when was the last time since then that Britney has done anything either spontaneous or Alone. She is under constant supervision, is on meds, and is wheeled out to shake that money tree.
Thank you Molly. Same for Lohan, Bynes, and a myriad others. Taylor Swift’s behavior at the weddding is suspect as well.
I think at the very begining she was excited and happy because she “made it”. Instant fame can spiral out of control quickly and involve a whole entourage of hangers-on with their …..uuhhhh good intentions for her welfare. Every picture I see now she looks like she aches inside. I do not think she wishes to be a celerity anymore. She looks to me like she is on “automatic pilot”
I’m wondering about something. I came across a video on youtube which got me thinking. It said something about some A-list celebrities especially in the music industry that are involved with the freemasons. The latter practice some sort of mind control over them. The examples were Madonna (openly Kabbalist) and others, who died under mysterious circumstances (Huston, Alyah) who were apparently sacrificed by the organization on symbolic dates (smth about numerology). Britney came close to a demise under their control. There were some recordings with her in a dissociate state calling herself Mona Lisa (apparently a freemason alter ego she was given). What do you make of that?
Houston had a very long history as a drug addict and died from her toxic lifestyle. I don’t see anything suspicious there…
There were abrasive marks on her body and her sister-in-law commented on Houston’s aversion at getting into hotel bathtubs. I’m not saying it WAS foul play but these circumstances remain mysterious.
In all of her pictures and interviews lately, she has this constant weird look to her mouth. ALL the time. Its like she just ate a lemon or something. I watched an interview with her on Ellen, and even when she was talking the look never left her face. I agree, mentally ill and heavily medicated. She doesn’t seem like the Britney from before she went crazy. She seems almost numb, and I feel bad for her.
I’m bipolar I rapid cycling and mixed episode, that is actually the worst.
I’m OCD, Clinical Depression sub type Melanchol.
I didn’t find out I was bipolar/OCD till I was 30ish when I had some euphoric manic episodes, before I was just diagnosed as Clinical Depression.
Looking back I had childhood onset bipolar and ocd from a small child.
I had my first euphoric manic episode (which is very different than typical mania or mixed episode mania) after I had my second kid and had bad postpartum depression,
I was put on prozac and was awesome for about 8 months then I went back to college for the spring semester (spring is a bad time of year for going manic for a lot of bipolar people, odd I know) then I got too awesome then it got jagged then I came very close to having to go in, it took me 5 months to come down to normal and I was on heavy mood stabilizers and clonpin too.
anti depressants and ambian among other things trigger major manic episodes UNLESS you are on a mood stabilizer
medicating for ocd/bipolar (and they almost always go together)is tricky as hell. you need to find the right balance between zombie and normal.
Stress and having to be “ON” like performing or thinking at a higher level like in University are triggers for mania.
So no, her still being in the spotlight is without a doubt bad for her, so they would have to be more heavily medicating her.
She is functioning it looks like right now, so if she was out of the spotlight she would most likely be off the conservatorship.
because if she wasn’t functioning at all she wouldn’t look as healthy as she does even with all their supervision. She would not be able to do it at all most likely
she is a cash cow to them obviously and any reputable shrink would be telling them this is not healthy for her.
my talking about all this is both from personal experience and a masters in clinical psychology.
I’m doing pretty good right now, I’m 43 and am on a pretty good cocktail. I take 9 pills a day. Some people take as many as 20 a day and still aren’t controlled, some people can’t tolerate the drugs, lots of nasty side effects.
For some the drugs just don’t work (the mood stabilizers) those people are usually the pot smokers, because it does help for them. And will be prescribed by the shrink, usually as more of a last resort. (One of my sisters)all 4 of us are bipolar, it is very hereditary.
My Dad and his 2 brothers and 3 sisters have it bad, and they got it from my grandma who got it from her Mom.
I’m very lucky in that I respond pretty well and my side effects are livable.
I know this is a epically long post but maybe people will understand a bit better, lots of misinformation out there, and I just touched on the tip of the iceberg.
They arent going to lose their cash cow no way. I do think that sam lufti would try to contact britney though so I understand why their keeping an eye on her. They dont want another sex tape like she did with adnan again. I do think that they are treating her like a prisoner and child. I would go crazy if I had no phone of my own and no internet. I think she knows better now and wouldnt even talk to sam if she had the chance.
I question all of this. I dunno. 1.) if she is that severely mentally ill how would a judge and or her family still want her performing and being the cash cow? Are they that addicted to money? Surely she doesn’t want to perform anymore, she doesn’t do her dance routines nothing anymore. 2.) kevin has custody of the kids so surely something went on there.
Overall, I remember the days of britney driving to starbucks and shopping, can she even drive anymore? Does she even love her fiance? Those pics above tell an interesting tale.
Personally, I love my parents to death but I would never ever allow them to manage me etc if I ever become famous. This should be a lesson to us all.
I agree that Britney should be out of the public eye, but there may be nothing else she wants to do and this could contribute to her depression. She might get into worse trouble with nothing to do, as before her dad took over. She is not going to become a soccer mom, wish she could but it’s not going to happen. I think it would be nice if she could be a dance teacher – I think she did this once and enjoyed working with kids. But I don’t know if she can stick to a regular schedule and be trusted around children consistently.
I heard it was bit vit who really wanted to do the x factor and her “handlers” didn’t think she was up to it and tried to convince her not to take the gig. I think when you have been at the top of your game for years – and britney was THE SHIT man, it is hard for a person to accept their career is over.
I do believe it was bit bit who wanted the x factor job. She was desp to get back into it again. Life being handled and at home twidling thumbs must suck. Missed the lime light maybe? Wanted to be relevant again? Yeah all that. Don’t think its fair to pit britney the cash cow vs the evil handlers.