Gwyneth Paltrow thinks Britney Spears has been driven insane – and it’s all because of the paparazzi. I think Gwyneth may be the first celebrity to all-out call Britney Spears insane. And considering that Brit seems to have gotten a little better lately, I’m guessing that that might sting a bit. But either way, Gwyneth has accused the paparazzi of making Britney Spears literally go insane.

Gwyneth Paltrow has accused Adnan Ghalib and the paparazzi of pushing Britney Spears over the edge. She said the media frenzy surrounding Spears and her relationship with the Birmingham-born snapper had caused her to go “insane”.

Paltrow, whose own marriage to Chris Martin has been scrutinised in the press, said: “Look at what they’ve done to Britney. The paparazzi and magazines have blood on their hands. They literally made her go insane.

“She’s got classic Stockholm Syndrome - she fell in love with a paparazzo and went insane. The photographers and editors of these magazines have such bad karma. It’s pretty dark.”

[From Digital Spy]

Britney seems to have gotten better lately, and has been avoiding the paparazzi. Maybe there’s a connection between the two. Of course having someone else make decisions for her probably helps a lot too. Because Britney’s been reigned to such an extreme degree (which seems to be a good thing) it’s hard to tell if she’s really gotten better or if we just aren’t seeing the crazy out and about and on display.

Gwyneth’s reaction to the paparazzi’s treatment of Britney could explain the lengths she goes to in avoiding them, and keeping her kids sheltered from photographers. Husband Chris Martin has also been known to strike out at paps that get too close to his family. Everything considered, maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Here’s Gwyneth Paltrow with Elizabeth Hurley at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s ‘Hottest Pink Party Ever 2008′ at The Waldorf Astoria yesterday. Images thanks to WENN.

This quote is from a WENN wire piece and I can’t find the source for it at all, but supposedly musician Moby said that he loves Britney Spears, and that the fatter and weirder she gets the more he finds himself oddly drawn to her.

Dance star MOBY is harbouring an unlikely celebrity crush in the shape of troubled star BRITNEY SPEARS.

Moby admits he would wed the Toxic singer “in a heartbeat”, as he has fallen for her “weird” charms.

He says, “She’s like this (U.S. playwright) Tennessee Williams tragic figure.

“The fatter she gets, the weirder she gets, the more I love her. I found her moderately appealing in the late ’90s, but now I would marry her in a heartbeat.”

[From WENN via Hollywood.tv]

I searched Moby’s blog to see if he wrote this there or if I could find contact information to confirm this quote from him, and there wasn’t any way to e-mail him so I kind of gave up. I’m not about to comment on an unrelated post asking him if he said this, that would make me feel like a tool.

While there isn’t a post about this on his blog, Moby has referenced Tennessee Williams twice though, and I would bet he said this about Britney at some point. She is kind of oddly fascinating, although she’s losing her audience as she gets more normal. Buzzfoto has a photo of her yesterday taken by a freelancer and they note that only three paparazzi were trailing her that day. Maybe she was being especially elusive.

Moby has been DJing and keeping busy in and around NY city, where he’s lived for 10 years in the same apartment in Little Italy. He will have his first and he says his only gig this year at Maxwells in NJ on April 10th for MusicSnobbery.com’s third anniversary. Unfortunately the $8 tickets are completely sold out.

As for why Moby would have an inexplicable attraction to Britney Spears, he has a love of beer and regularly talks about it on his blog. I didn’t think he was into chicks, but he said in a 1999 interview “I’m neither straight nor gay, I’m pretty much bisexual.” And beer-goggle susceptible like most men.

Britney is shown in the header in early March of this year, thanks to Splash. Moby is shown in March, 2006, thanks to PRPhotos.

Star Magazine says that Britney Spears has been talking to a designer at the Ed Hardy company about creating her own clothing line. Designer Christian Audiger confirmed to Star that he is talking to Britney about collaborating on a clothing line. Britney was seen at the Ed Hardy offices and a clothing line seems like a real possibility for her.

Britney Spears may soon be releasing her own clothing line — if she seals a deal with Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigier. “I have known Britney for a long time — she is a good friend of mine,” Audigier tells Star. “We’re talking about working together, designing a line of clothing.”

Britney was at Ed Hardy’s corporate offices in Culver City, California on Thursday to meet with Audigier and while she was there she picked out some Ed Hardy duds she liked. “Britney came in to talk with Christian about working on a line together,” Ed Hardy’s Marissa McMillion tells Star. “She was really nice to everyone in the office. Her mom was with her and Britney asked us to send some clothes to her sister Jamie Lynn for her birthday tomorrow (April 4). Britney’s favorite piece was a leopard hoodie and she loved the sunglasses — she put them on immediately. But most of all she was a fan of Christian Audigier’s own line.”

[From Star.com]

Of course Britney loved the leopard hoodie, in July 2006 she replaced her website briefly with a picture of her face morphed into a tigers, like something a child would find fascinating. She wrote at the time “I’m mesmirized [sic] by tigers. Their eyes, their stripes, their constant quest of [sic] survival. They almost have a sense of mysteriousness about them. They pull you in and make it difficult to look away.”

Now Britney will be able to mesmirize us with her fashion sense, which we find difficult to look away from, like a car wreck. The girl can’t put a decent outfit together, and she’s working with a company known for garish tattoo-like designs, so together they’re bound to create some tasteless fashion for the masses. At least she’ll have some money coming in once she inevitably starts blowing it again when her father is no longer in control.

The Internet is abuzz today with rumors that Justin Timberlake recently called his ex, Britney Spears, to express his concern over her health and wish her well. So far, I haven’t seen a single credible source to support this phone call. A teen magazine called “Twist” reportedly broke this story, but I couldn’t find it anywhere on the Twist website. Here is one version of the rumor:

After more than three years of not having contact with Britney Spears, the singer Justin Timberlake spoke for the first time with his ex- girlfriend.

Justin was worried about Britney’s health, and called his ex- father-in-law Jamie Spears, Jamie was dining with Britney at the Katsui restaurant.

According to Twist magazine Jamie gave the call to his daughter.

Britney asked her dad, “Are you sure he wants to talk to me?”

“She was very excited and shaking, ” said a witness.

[From Oh No They Didn't]

There are a lot of things wrong with this- most blatantly, Jamie Spears was never Justin’s father in law. Secondly, if Justin truly is concerned about his ex, why would he wait until now to reach out to her? I think this is wishful thinking on those fans who still think Justin and Britney belong together. And finally, if this alleged witness was close enough to hear all of this, why does the story end there? This sounds like an April Fool’s joke.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Britney is shown at Tracey Ross boutique in Sunset Plaza in LA yesterday, where she needed a police escort to help her through all the photographers. Thanks to WENN.

An undated photo of Britney, Larry and Sean Preston
The behind-the-scenes campaign to revive what’s left of Britney Spears’ career- that is, if she still wants one- has taken another positive step. Britney’s longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, is in talks to begin representing the fallen star again. Rudolph got the cold shoulder from Brit after working with her parents to get her checked into rehab the first time around. After Brit stayed at Promises just long enough to realize she didn’t like being bossed around, she went off on a bizarre tirade against Rudolph and her parents. This was shortly before the head-shaving incident. After Britney dropped Rudolph as her manager, the door was wide open for faux-manager/creep extraordinaire Sam Lutfi to worm his way in.

As Britney Spears continues to strive to get her personal and professional lives back in order, OK! has learned she’s turned to a familiar face for help — former manager Larry Rudolph. Though the pair had parted company a year ago, sources confirm exclusively to OK! that the “Toxic” songstress has once again been taken under Larry’s wing.

Larry and Brit share a long and bumpy history. He was the visionary who discovered the young star Britney and shepherded her career from teen pop tart to international superstar. And when her life began to spiral dangerously out of control in the weeks and months following her Oct. 2006 divorce from Kevin Federline, it was Larry who Britney’s parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears, turned to for help getting her into rehab.

After her brief stint at the Promises clinic in Malibu, Brit went public with her ill-feelings toward Larry, chastising him on camera in a bizarre, disjointed rant, for what she viewed as siding with her folks against her.

However, Brit’s dad has always been open about his positive feelings toward Larry, even publicly thanking Larry for his efforts. And now Jamie, who has continued to think the world of Larry both as a manager and as a friend who has Britney’s best interests at heart, has finally convinced Britney to let him take over the reins of her recently resurgent career.

[From OK! Magazine]

Let’s just pause to examine this for a moment, shall we? “Recently resurgent career.” Britney has had one guest appearance on a mediocre sitcom. For other popstars who’ve sold as many CDs as she has, that kind of career move would be deemed pathetic, bordering on desperate. But I suppose it’s all relative. I hope Larry Rudolph realizes that this is not the Britney of 1999. Putting her back in that grueling schedule of recording a CD and going on a massive world tour is not what she needs right now. Hopefully he gets that, and gives her just enough work to keep her out of trouble but not so much that she cannot take care of herself. He does seem to care about her welfare, and even tried dodging the subpoenas of K-Fed’s attorney, Mark Kaplan, during their custody battle, saying at the time that he “never wanted to do anything to hurt Britney.”

Update by Celebitchy: I forgot that I downloaded this photo of Britney going to the dentist on 3/26/08, from WENN. It’s a really crappy photo but I may as well include it. She needs a new weave.

Though Madonna and Britney Spears don’t seem to be on BFF terms like they used to be back in the day when they would tongue each other on national television, Madonna is still clearly on Brit’s side. Even though she worked with Brit’s ex, Justin Timberlake (and my eye doctor is 100% sure that they’re hooking up) Madonna has finally commented on the media hype surrounding Britney. Last week she was widely quoted as saying, “Let’s go save her!” about Britney. At the time I thought she might have been saying it sarcastically, since every celeb seems to feel the need to jump on the “Let’s talk about how we’re going to rescue Britney” bandwagon. But it’s clear Madonna has genuine sympathy for Britney, even if the popwreck doesn’t sport her Kabbalah string on her wrist anymore. Madonna is doing a lot of press for the upcoming release of her new album “Hard Candy.” She’s on the cover of the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, and talks about the media’s unfair treatment of Britney Spears in the story.

“When you think about the way people treat each other in Africa, about witchcraft and people inflicting cruelty and pain on each other, then come back here and, you know, people taking pictures of people when they’re in their homes, being taken to hospitals, or suffering, and selling them, getting energy from them, that’s a terrible infliction of cruelty. So who’s worse off?” she asked.

[From Us Magazine]

Boy was that one charmingly convoluted quote. I wasn’t under the impression that witchcraft was the biggest problem in Africa right now, but maybe I’m just hopelessly out of touch on the dark arts. In a weird way, it seems like Madonna is comparing the struggles faced by many Africans to those faced by Britney Spears. And I would never say that Britney’s got it easy right now… but that still seems like a bit of a leap to me. And if witchcraft really is a big problem in Africa… something tells me it’s worse than having paparazzi snapping your picture everywhere you go. I mean I’m sure that’s a pain to deal with and you couldn’t pay me enough to endure that… but I’d probably pick it over “cruelty and pain” and such. Or even over a really bad hex. You can probably figure a way to profit from the paparazzi, but I don’t think you’re going to find many advantages to someone putting a curse on you. Best case scenario, nothing happens. Worst case, you find yourself morphed into a cow from your waist on down. I would definitely rather be Britney Spears than a half-cow. And considering how confusing her quote was, I think that’s what Madonna was really getting at.

Here’s Madonna in the upcoming Vanity Fair.

Kevin Federline seems to be mellowing with age, despite his hard-partying, blunt-smoking reputation. In a recent interview with In Touch, the former back-up dancer says he is trying to stay positive about co-parenting his children with ex-wife Britney Spears despite the drama of the last year.

Kevin Federline and his ex-wife, Britney Spears, have had more than their fair share of bad times. But as he turns 30, Kevin tells In Touch that he’s put his anger behind him — he has become a good father and a caring friend to his exes. “I will always love the mothers of my children, and I will always be there for both of them,” Kevin, who also has two children with his ex-girlfriend Shar Jackson, explains in an exclusive interview with In Touch. “I believe that any good energy I put out there brings more good energy into my own life,” he says. “The relationships with my kids and family will last my whole life and are the most important to me.”

Kevin’s behavior post-split with Spears certainly bears this out- although I’m having a hard time believing that Federline was that articulate, based on his less than stellar vocabulary and voiceover work from the ill-fated reality show, “Chaotic: Britney and Kevin.” But that’s beside the point. K-Fed says that the first year after the divorce, during which Britney had the mother of all breakdowns and was hospitalized twice, was “rough,” but he remained focused on his children throughout that time. Now, he says, he and Spears are in a better place as co-parents are get along better “for the sake of the boys.”

For nearly a year after they separated in November 2006, Kevin and Britney barely spoke. But in recent months, Kevin reveals, they’ve become close again, mainly for Preston and Jayden’s sake. As Britney gets help for her mental issues, she may soon play a more active role in their sons’ lives — and Kevin is glad for that. “It is so very important to me that my children will always know and never question, that no matter what happens, they have a mommy and daddy who love them very much,” he says.

On his long-term goals
Kevin shares, “I’m going to be the best role model for my kids. And if that example helps other young, single dads who might be going through the same experiences that I am right now, it would be a great compliment.”

[From In Touch]

While there is still a slight aroma of douchiness around Kevin, he does deserve credit for giving his children a safe, stable environment amid all the nuttiness of their mother’s lifestyle. The days of seeing those two boys, frightened and helpless in the back of Britney’s convertible, are thankfully long gone. He should also be commended for not giving up on allowing Britney to visit with the boys, even after the much-publicized stand-off with the cops that ultimately got her hospitalized. A lot of custodial parents would have pulled the plug on visitation after a stunt like that, but Kevin gave Britney some time to stabilize, and the supervised visits with the boys seem to be working well for everyone.

As long as Kevin doesn’t try to rap anymore, he’s cool with me.

Britney Spears appeared on CBS Sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” last night. She played the ditsy secretary to a dermatologist that one of the characters, Ted, is interested in. I’ve never seen this show before and it looks kind of stupid from the clips, but Neil Patrick Harris really stands out as the womanizing character Barney.

Britney is not a fabulous actress, but she’s not bad either and she does comedy well. She could easily play an ongoing supporting role on a sitcom.

One thing that struck me is that Britney does look pregnant to me in the scenes where she’s standing up. It could just be the outfits they put her in. The first one is 30 seconds into part two below, and the last one is toward the end of part three, which is just a 13 second clip.

Britney Spears on “How I Met Your Mother”
Part 1 - Full Scene

Britney Spears on “How I Met Your Mother”
Part 2 - Full Scene

Britney Spears on “How I Met Your Mother”
Part 3

Britney Spears on “How I Met Your Mother”
Part 4

Britney surrounded by paparazzi earlier this year. It looks like that’s Silva to the right of her.
Photographer Alison Silva is suing paparazzi photo agency X17 after he was beaten unconscious by their photographers outside Britney Spears’ house. On March 5, Silva says he was parked a block away from Britney’s house when three photographers working for X17 ganged up on him, beating and kicking him while he lay on the ground. He had to go to the hospital for treatment for a broken nose and head trauma.

Alison Silva told MTV News that on March 5, he had parked one block away from Spears’ home when three X17 photographers — whom he identified as Thomas Madiana, Carlos Madiana and Max Rinadelle — allegedly approached him and said, “You should not be here. Only X17 gets these shots.” Silva claims that one of the photographers punched him and knocked him to the ground, then the three kicked him to the point where he passed out. When he came to, he claims they were kicking him in the face. “I didn’t know what was going on,” he said.

Three witnesses called 911, and Silva was taken by ambulance to the emergency room with a police escort, according to the police report. One of the witnesses told police officers that he heard one of the attackers say, “Let’s go f— him up, there are 10 of us here,” saw one of the attackers go get a metal tube from his car for that purpose, and heard another attacker say, “Don’t kill him! Don’t kill him!”, according to the report…

“They kicked and punched me almost to death,” Silva said. “I was beat up for doing my job. Most people think, ‘Oh, he’s just a paparazzo, he’s nothing.’ But this is not nothing. This is a big business, and if it weren’t for people like me, those pictures wouldn’t be in the magazines you enjoy.”

Silva asks for unspecified general and punitive damages in his suit, in which he accuses X17 of battery; assault; false imprisonment; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; negligence; and negligent training, supervision and retention of unfit employees.

[From MTV News via Gawker]

Gawker points out that it’s not like X17 owners denied that the beating occurred. Owner Brandy Navarre is quoted as saying the suit won’t hold up because the photographers are freelancers, not employees, and that “They give me their pictures but whatever they do on their own is their own business.”

In February there was a story that photo agencies were hiring gang members to muscle out competition and get access to shots of Britney, and given this latest accusation that story doesn’t seem so far off.

Photographers may be getting desperate for another reason. Britney isn’t driving around aimlessly all day or getting in mishaps now that she’s under her father’s care and that’s bad for the paparazzi’s business. Yahoo’s OMG! quotes X17 photographer Felipe, as saying that “After [Britney's dad] took over the conservatorship, it got really, really slow for us.” Owner Brandy Navarre is quoted as telling Access Hollywood that “The subject of the photo is just not as interesting as it once was, so the prices do go down.” She also says they have only three photographers down from ten on Britney now, and that “We’re moving on to other celebrities like Brad and Angelina and Jamie Lynn Spears.”

The quotes from X17’s owner remind me of the end of the Britney Spears South Park episode, in which the townspeople hone in on their next target to ritualistically sacrifice. At least Britney really hasn’t been photographed to death, and has managed to rebuild some semblance of a normal life.

Britney had a relatively quiet Easter. She spent the holiday at her old home in Malibu with her mom and dad, and they were seen walking along the beach. Just stay boring, Britney.

Britney, K-Fed and Sean Preston in June, 2006
The National Enquirer is claiming that during that K-Fed and Jamie Spears’ golf outing they discussed the issue of whether Federline would step in for Britney’s dad as the conservator of her estate. They also claim that Britney’s dad tried to convince the Fed Ex to reunite with his daughter and get back with her. Since there was a custody hearing after this golf date, everyone assume that Jamie and the Fedex were trying to work out a way to let Britney spend more time with her sons, but it’s possible that they Jamie was also interested in a handover of his daughter’s affairs. The Enquirer focuses on the fact that Britney is going to need mental health treatment for the rest of her life, which would be a potential reason for her dad to want to bail out now:

With Britney Spears likely facing life-long mental health care, her dad Jamie Spears has asked her ex-husband Kevin Federline to reunite with her and assume legal control of her affairs, sources say.

But Kevin is resisting Jamie’s request to relieve him as a conservator of Britney’s estate, according to insiders.

“Jamie is tired, and he’d like Kevin to be involved with Britney’s medical care,” and insider told The Enquirer…

Jamie, 55, has been overseeing [Britney's] medical care and estate as her court-appointed co-conservator. But his conservatorship expires on July 31 - and he discussed his troubled daughter’s future with Kevin while the two played golf on March 8, the source revealed.

“Jamie knows that Britney has never stopped loving Kevin - and Jamie wants his grandsons to be raised by both their parents,” added the insider.

But 30-year-old Kevin… says he’s too busy raising their sons - Sean, 2, and Jayden, 1, - to look after Britney, too.

“Kevin said he can’t worry about Britney - and worry about his children being around an unstable mother, too. Kevin doesn’t want the burden,” said the insider…

“Kevin told Jamie that he is not in love with Britney anymore - and he can’t get over the fact that Britney slept with some of hsi friends, plus other people he knows in the music business,” added the insider.

“Kevin just doesn’t see how they could ever get back together and make things work.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, March 31, 2008]

If all this is true, you can’t blame Britney’s dad for trying - or K-Fed for turning him down flat. Britney is doing better and all, but there isn’t much motivation for Federline to get back together with her. His life has only improved since they’ve split up while Britney’s has obviously been incredibly rough for her and her loved ones. At least she’s sort of back on track now and seems to have her medication stabilized.

According to the March 17 edition of In Touch, she is on just Lithium, Risperdal and Xanax now, which is down from a cocktail that included Ativan, Vicodin, Thorazine and Oxycontin. As to how they would know this, 13 hospital workers were fired for snooping through her records at UCLA medical center. These didn’t include her psychiatric records, but it’s possible that her medications were listed.

Meanwhile Britney’s creepy ex-friend Sam Lutfi is still not out of the picture. He filed papers last week asking that her commissioner case be reassigned to another judge. Lutfi’s restraining order which prevents him from seeing or contacting Britney was extended until April 16, at which point the man who bragged about drugging her food can appear in court to plead his case. He has no lawyer and will be representing himself.