There was some confusion yesterday over how much additional visitation Britney was granted with her two boys, Sean Preston, two and 1/2, and Jayden James, one and 1/2. Some reports had her being granted overnight visits after a positive court hearing, but OK! Magazine clarifies that it hasn’t happened yet. They have a source that says she’s been granted more supervised time on a trial basis to show the court that the boys are well adjusted and that they are handling the transition well. They say it’s not about how Britney behaves around them so much as how they’re coping with seeing her again:

Reports that the pop superstar will get overnight visits with her boys within the month, and that 50/50 custody with K-Fed is imminent are false, sources close to the case confirm to OK!.

“Britney will not get automatic overnights in the future,” the insider tells OK! exclusively. “Right now, the amount of time she gets for her day visits has been increased, but no overnights are planned.”

According to the source, more information is needed before the issue of overnight visits is even considered.

“The court needs to see how this first step goes for a significant amount of time,” explains the insider, adding that things won’t be able to move forward until after a review of this latest expansion. “It’s not about how well she does with the boys,” the source said, “But how well the boys do. That’s what it’s all about.”

[From OK! Magazine]

TMZ is more optimistic about Britney’s chances of regaining overnight privileges with the boys. They claim to have the specifics that she gets “three days of supervised visitation per week,” and that they have sources that say that “within a month” she’ll have overnight visitation.

The commissioner is said to have been “extremely impressed” by how much she’s changed and is taking this issue seriously. It seems to be a move in the right direction to let her see more of her children along with easing them into it so it’s not so much of a change to be with their mother.

Britney was controlled, drugged and abused by a man who weaseled himself into her life. She lost custody of her boys when Sam Lutfi was at the height of his influence over her, and he should be held criminally responsible for the way he abused her. I know those cases are difficult if not impossible to prove, but this guy needs to go jail. Britney has mental health issues and an arguable amount of personal responsibility for what happened - she is notoriously flaky and self-centered, but this is a guy who used to stalk her. He took over her finances, home, and life, and even bragged to her mother about how he would routinely drug her food. She flipped out in large part because she was over medicated against her will along with having a predisposition to mental illness. It’s just a shame that she wasn’t able to say no to the guy, probably because her family taught her to tow the line and work her ass off for them all her life.

Thanks to WENN for these photos of Britney outside the court yesterday and at a recording studio later last night.

Britney on 4/22/08, thanks to WENN
Britney Spears rented a mansion in Malibu starting in September of last year for $35,000 a month, and although she didn’t live in it she still left a ton of damage, according to sources quoted in the National Enquirer. The marble floors were scratched, countertops in the kitchen were damaged, and pretty much all the furniture was ruined, but what’s worse is that she left cigarettes, wine bottles and dog poo scattered around the house:

“The house was left a wreck,” revealed the insider. “Cigarette burns and cigarette butts were everywhere - and empty bottles of wine were strewed about the place.

“Most of the furniture was ruined with stains, tears or nicks. Other items, like an expensive vase in the kitchen and patio furniture were broken. The granite kitchen countertops were damaged as well. Rotting food was left in the refrigerator,” said the insider. “Spilled wine soiled the carpets and floors.”

The outside landscaping wasn’t kept up, either, and the pool turned green from lack of attention, added the insider.

“No one picked up after Britney’s dogs, and many ‘presents’ of dog poop were left behind for the owners.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, May 12, 2008]

The Enquirer notes that Britney only used the mansion as a party house and that after she was hospitalized in January she didn’t return there. Rent is paid until March and she’s waiting to hear how much she owes for the damages.

Maybe Sam Lutfi and his friends did a lot of damage to the house too, since Britney was hanging out with him at that time. She is said to not have a maid but maybe she could have hired a service to clean up the house and try to reduce some of the damages before she handed over to the owners. Given all the issues she was having at the time, it surely wasn’t on the top of her priority list.

Britney is said to have blown through a whopping $61 million last year, and now she’ll have to lay out some more cash to restore that mansion back to its original state.

Last week, we gave you the scoop on Britney Spears’ new fitness regime, a two-fold project aimed at getting the singer back into shape and getting her an endorsement deal with healthclub juggernaut Bally’s. Apparently, that regime also calls for Spears to wander the healthclub barefoot in nothing but a towel, just to make sure that somebody is paying attention. Because she wouldn’t want people to start thinking she’s, you know, getting better or anything.

Britney Spears gives onlookers a shock as she wanders into a hotel gym in nothing but a towel.

Thankfully, the Gimme More singer wasn’t having another chaotic episode - she was just relaxing after a grueling workout at a hotel spa in in Marina del Rey in California.

Britney, 26, spent a morning on the treadmill as she gets back in shape after a tough year that saw her separated from her sons and held in a psychiatric ward.

But it appears the star’s judgment may still be somewhat askew, as after her shower in the spa at a hotel, she wandered out to the gym in just a towel, giving gym-goers an eyeful as she helped herself to some cold water.

Later, she emerged fully-clothed from the changing rooms in a strapless black dress and brown cowboy boots clutching a bottle of water and her mobile phone.

[From The Daily Mail]

Before you go defending her with excuses like, “Hey, she was at the gym and took a shower- it’s totally normal to be in a towel,” take a look at the photos accompanying this story, which show that Britney is clearly walking around in the public area of the gym in a towel where everyone around her is fully clothed and looking very surprised. And in case you were wondering, yes, they were the Brown Cowboy Boots of Mental Illness. I won’t be convinced that Brit is truly leaving CuckooTown for good until those boots are gone. She has another pair which may have been retired that were even worse, but you can bet that when the Brown Boots of Mental Illness make an appearance, hijinks will surely ensue- and pictures will surely be taken.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Britney Spears is shown on 4/25/08 outside her vocal coach’s house. MSat definitely has a point about Britney and brown boots. If she gets another pink wig then we’re really in trouble.

Thanks to WENN for these photos.

The National Enquirer has details of the diet and fitness regime Britney’s on in an effort to lose 20 pounds and kick start her comeback, and I hope they have some of the details wrong it because it sounds grueling. Supposedly Britney’s newly re-hired manager, Larry Rudolph, put her on the program, and this would make sense because he is also the person who is said to be brokering the deal to have her represent Bally Total Fitness.

Here are the details:

• “Six small meals a day of specially prepared organic food - chicken, salads, vegetables and other low-fat fare.”
• Pampering treatments for encouragement and appearance such as facials, hair and skin care treatments
• Working out “with a trainer, three times a day, five days a week.”
• “She’s been ordered to do a staggering thousand stomach crunches a day on her own.”

[Details and quoted text from The National Enquirer, print edition, May 5, 2008]

A thousand stomach crunches and working out three times a day? That sounds excessive, and like something that could backfire because it’s too difficult. If you have attainable goals and a realistic schedule it’s easier to stick with. I hope they got it wrong and she works out three to five times a week or something. You can work out nearly every day, but you should alternate cardio with strength training to give your muscles a chance to recover. Three times a day sounds like it would really wear your body down.

The Enquirer quotes a source as saying “Larry doesn’t want her to be a joke when he restarts her career - and he wants her to look sexier than ever.” Maybe they should work her at an easier pace. It’s only been a a few months since she had that whole breakdown and she has a tendency to rebel when people force her to do things. Still, you wish her well and all. It’s just doesn’t seem like trying for a singing career again at this point would be the best move for her. It’s not like she knows how to do much else though.

Britney is shown leaving Bally Total Fitness on 4/23/08. She looks really happy and you can see that she’s lost weight.

Even if you’re not a fan of the current president, it’s an incredibly big honor to be invited to the White House Correspondents Gala. Even if you’re a really, really dumb person, you generally know this. But if you’re Heidi Montag – or worse, Spencer Pratt – you don’t care about any of that because you are much, much bigger than any stupid little gala. And she calls herself a republican.

Heidi was recently invited to attend the gala by MSNBC. I have no idea why. Several media outlets do invite celebrities – though normally ones that aren’t quite as D list as Montag. However Spencer Pratt got involved and started making all sorts of ridiculous demands for both him and Heidi – even though he wasn’t invited. And that, of course, was the death of another opportunity for Heidi Montag at the hands of Spencer Pratt.

President Bush will have to make do on Saturday without the company of Heidi Montag, star of MTV’s “The Hills.” The surgically enhanced blonde backed out of the White House Correspondents gala when she couldn’t get expenses paid for her Svengali-like boyfriend, Spencer Pratt.

MSNBC had invited Montag to be a guest at its table at the Washington Hilton. “Then Spencer got involved as her manager,” a source told Page Six. “He demanded first-class tickets for both him and Heidi - even though he wasn’t invited.” When the network balked, Pratt canceled Montag’s appearance, claiming, according to our source, “It wasn’t ‘A-listy’ enough.”

A rep for MSNBC denied the reality show star had ever been invited, saying, “We are not having, nor did we invite, any celebrities to sit at our table.” However, a rep for Montag and Pratt said, “There was a scheduling conflict so they couldn’t make it - but they always travel together.”

[From Page Six]

I would really love to see Spencer Pratt’s face when all of his demands get laughed at. I know it happens pretty often – because he never seems to be able to learn from his mistakes and understand that he’s an absolute nobody – but I would really love to see his reaction. Is it anger? Shock? Confusion? And how in the world does he justify the hatred and disgust the world feels for him?

Heidi Montag is pretty much a nobody too – but she had some vague, tiny chance of shooting up to the C list. Unfortunately she’s got that delusional boyfriend tagging along, and his bizarre and unearned sense of entitlement has ruined whatever shot Heidi ever had. Probably time to take off the bikini top and pimp out those “surgical enhancements” while you still have a shot Heidi.

Here’s Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt leaving STK restaurant on Tuesday. Images thanks to WENN.

The restraining order against Sam Lutfi, the svengali-like guy who controlled and verbally abused Britney Spears, bragging to her mother that he would mash up psychiatric drugs and mix them with her food, has been extended until July 31. People Magazine notes that it’s possible that the restraining order can be extended for years, essentially keeping Lutfi out of Britney’s life for the foreseeable future.

Last month one of Britney’s former assistants told In Touch a chilling tale of being contacted by Lutfi in early 2007 before he had made contact with the pop star. He grilled Britney’s assistant for a half hour, trying to figure out how to insert himself into Britney’s life. The woman got the creeps and left. She says that a few months after she stopped working for Britney she saw a picture online of Sam with Britney she “got a chill down [her] spine” because she found him “stalkerish” and did her best to keep him away from her employer.

It’s clear that Lutfi planned to gain access to Britney and her fortune, and took extreme advantage of under the guise of helping. Thank goodness her father is looking out for her now.

Britney has rehired her old manager Larry Rudolph and was seen at the recording studio and the gym yesterday. It might be a little soon for Britney to jump back into her career, but she has to keep busy and it could help her if she has her music to focus on now.

Britney’s father’s conservatorship lasts until July 31, and People Magazine reports that it is likely to be extended beyond that. The tabloids were ran stories last week about how Britney was drinking again, but it was wine with dinner and the tales seemed a bit overblown so I kind of shrugged and didn’t cover it. She deserves a little break whether she wants one or not.

Britney is shown outside a recording studio and Bally’s gym yesterday, where she had a private personal training session. Thanks to WENN.

An undated photo of Britney, Larry and Sean Preston

Britney’s getting ready to come back ya’ll! Get the Cheeto sandwiches ready (that’s 2 pieces of white bread smothered with a ton of mayonnaise and filled with a layer of Cheetos) , because Brit’s ready to stage a (supposedly) dignified comeback. No more dancing on MTV looking bewildered with her stomach sagging. This time Brit’s gonna do it right ya’ll. I’m just gonna ya’ll as much as I can throughout this article, so be warned.

Britney Spears’ former manager Larry Rudolph has fuelled speculation he has reunited with the troubled star by announcing she is set to make a triumphant comeback. The pop star dismissed Rudolph after he joined forces with her parents and staged an intervention to get Spears to enter rehab at the beginning of last year (07). But according to New York gossip column PageSix, the music svengali has now re-entered Spears’ camp, meeting with the singer four times over the past few weeks and reporting “huge improvements in her”.

He tells MySpace Celebrity, “She’s still got a comeback in her. She’s in great shape, I mean really great shape. She’s in an amazing position for a comeback right now. She could end up being the biggest comeback in history. The public, for a while, was throwing darts at her. I think the tide turned and people started to understand what was going on with her. Everyone is rooting for her. Everybody wants to see her get through it… to see Britney back on stage. She is the world’s greatest entertainer.”

As for her recent stint on TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother, Rudolph insists Spears loved her return to the spotlight: “It was a really positive experience for her. She talked about it quite a bit the last time I saw her… She wants to do it again.”

[From Contact Music]

For all the criticisms (and to be fair, a good deal of support too) that we’ve given Britney over the last few years, we’d be as happy as anyone if she got her life back together. It’s been shocking to see not just how fast – but how deep – someone can fall, regardless of their stature or wealth. In fact in some ways it seemed like Britney was able to do even more damage to herself because she had practically unlimited resources at her disposal. Though it seems like she’s at the extreme beginning of her supposed comeback, she’s already improved in ways a lot of people didn’t think her capable of. Hopefully this is the beginning of something very good for Britney. Ya’ll.

Here’s Larry Rudolph with Brit in February in NYC.

Even though Britney Spear’s much hyped, underwhelming and overrated cameo appearance on the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” gave the show its best ratings ever, putting it into the Nielsen Top 20 that week, one of the show’s stars says he could do without another appearance from the former pop star.

Britney Spears is popwrecka non grata on the CBS sitcom she just cameo’d on – at least according to one of its stars.

Neil Patrick Harris doesn’t want Spears back on “How I Met Your Mother” – nothing personal, he just doesn’t think they need recovering celebuwackos on the show for cheap ratings’ boosts. “I’m in the minority that our show does not need stunt casting in order to succeed,” says Harris.

There were rumors that Spears might make another appearance on the show after her first one. Nothing’s been set – yet.

[From TMZ]

I gotta give it to Harris- the guy always says exactly what is on his mind. Maybe it was all those years of being a child star and having handlers telling him what to say- just like a certain former pop star. While everyone else on the show has been praising Spears and saying that she is welcome to return, Harris has been the lone dissenter. As for the stunt casting debate, it would be great if shows could survive without them, but if the cameo is written well, it can be quite a boost. Cases in point: Kathleen Turner as Chandler’s transgendered dad on “Friends,” and who could forget the hilarious “Seinfeld” episode with baseball great Keith Hernandez?

Britney is shown out shopping on 4/9/08. Her boys, Sean Preston and Jayden, are shown going to the zoo with their nanny on 4/8/08. Neither K-Fed or Britney was there. Thanks to Splash News for these photos. Neil Patrick Harris is shown at the Primetime Emmy Awards on 9/16/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

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.

Britney and Jayden in September
Kevin Federline’s uber-attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan must think he’s a celebrity or something, because he sure likes to talk to the press about his famous client’s even more famous ex-wife, Britney Spears. Most recently, Kaplan did an interview with E! News to talk about the likelihood of Britney having overnight visits with her two boys.

While the time she’s spent with her two children over the past month has seemingly proved beneficial to all parties involved, overnight visits with Sean Preston and Jayden James are still a ways off, according to Kevin Federline’s resident legal eagle, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

The attorney told E! News Friday that the monitored visits between Spears and her sons “have been nothing out of the norm,” but that “there has to be consistency over time.

“I don’t think 30 or 40 days is the magic number,” Kaplan said.

[From E!Online]

Of course this guy doesn’t think 30 or 40 days is the magic number- he is going to milk this case for as long as he possibly can, especially now that Britney is footing the bill. If he has his way, this custody battle will go on until Jayden’s 18th birthday, and then Kaplan can buy an island or something. Kaplan was quick to give Jamie Spears kudos for his positive influence on Britney, and pointed out that K-Fed is still hoping to have Britney more involved in the boys upbringing.

Kaplan continues to credit Jamie Spears’ newfound presence in his daughter’s life for this noticeably more amiable state of affairs.

“All we know is that since Jamie Spears has been involved it has been a very stabilizing force,” he said.

The elder Spears has been serving as coconservator of the pop star’s estate since Feb. 1, when she was admitted to UCLA Medical Center for psychiatric evaluation. Jamie and a court-approved psychiatrist are required to be present when Spears spends time with her sons.

Kaplan said that the next custody-related hearing is expected to take place in May, and he’s still anticipating a trial, in preparation of which he has deposed a number of Spears’ friends and associates, including off-again, on-again manager Larry Rudolph.

Regardless of what anyone says about him, it’s still Federline’s intention to do the right thing for his children, the lawyer said.

“The goal is to have a stabilizing and consistent order for the kids,” Kaplan said. “His hope is that would involve the participation in a substantial way by their mother.”

[From E! Online]

I’m sure K-Fed, Jamie Spears and Britney’s doctors could work this out without Kaplan, but then we wouldn’t get these fascinating interviews anymore. Has anyone else noticed that Kaplan gives a press conference weekly, even when there’s no court hearing? I’m trying to remember the last time anyone from Britney’s legal team did a press conference or sat down with E! Hmmmm. Really makes you wonder, doesn’t it? I wonder if Kaplan will lose interest in this case now that he’s signed on to represent Robin Williams’ wife in their divorce. I bet there’s a lot of money tied up in that case.

Britney is shown shopping on Robertson Boulevard on 9/21/07 holding a screaming Jayden, whose face is blurred. Thanks to Splash News.