I’ve been surprised by how many stories People Magazine has run about Britney Spears and Jason Trawick’s breakup. There were four stories in People just last week. The firstcouple of reports framed the split in terms of normal couple problems, like habituation and too much time apart. Then the lasttwo seemed to place the blame squarely on Britney, claiming she was jealous, insecure and “treats him like a friend, not a romantic partner.”
People’s stories were in contrast to Radar Online’s accounts, which claimed that Britney’s father and Jason, her two co-conservators (Jason has since resigned as Britney’s conservator) conspired for Jason to break up with Britney, and that they sugar-coated the version he told her, so much so that Britney wasn’t sure their relationship was even over. I mentioned that the timing was suspect to me, particularly since Britney had just left X Factor after the season wrapped, and was on the verge of signing a big contract, reportedly worth over $100 million, for a residency at a venue in Vegas.
US Weekly had a story I wanted to mention which jibes with Radar’s version and seems to sum it all up for me. They claim that Jason was behind the big new gig for Britney, that he planned to ditch her “for months” and that he waited until he had a nice cut of her would-be earnings to end the relationship. That’s so cold. Here’s their report:
Britney was blindsided! Though the singer, 31, said in a statement January 11 that she and fiance of one year Jason Trawick had “mutually agreed” to end their engagement, sources insist Britney Spears never saw it coming. “He had been planning to break up with her for months,” says an insider. Trawick, who also comanaged Spears’ career, “was using her. He made a big deal for her to get a residence spot at Caesars in Las Vegas, then finally had enough money to end it.” He also cut ties as her coconservator, resigning just hours after split news broke. Adding to Spears’ angst? Her exit from The X Factor, announced less than 24 hours earlier. Though Spears says leaving was her decision, she was, in fact fired, as US first reported in December. Still, the embattled singer is trying to move past the drama. “She has her kids and a lot of work coming up,” says a pal. “And she’s going to be set up on dates with cute guys soon!’
[From US Weekly, print edition, January 28, 2013]
Doesn’t Britney have anyone in her life who isn’t using her? As usual, I came away from this story just feeling sorry for her. Plus she’s going to be “set up on dates with cute guys.” I expect a photo op soon.
Incidentally, as Britney’s co-manager, Jason probably made around 5-10% of her contract with Ceasars. (If it’s gone through, we haven’t heard about that yet.) That’s 5 to 10 million dollars. Not a bad payoff for a two year relationship. The creep.
Britney is shown in the header in a file photo with Jason. Other photos are of Britney out on 1-19-13. Oh no, brown boots! Credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com
We’ve been wondering what’s next for Britney Spears’ career now that she’s not returning to The X Factor next season. Britney may be richer than ever, bitch, because she’s about to sign a $100 million plus contract for a residency in Vegas, one that would earn her more than even the reigning queen of Vegas, Celine Dion. Does that seem fair? Celine Dion has some serious pipes, and Britney, well, she’s a lip syncer. According to TMZ, at least three large venues in Vegas are currently in a bidding war to try an earn the rights to Britney. They claim that Ceasar’s palace is interested, as well as “two other properties.” As part of her contract, Britney would both perform and make appearances at events for the casino.
This actually sounds like a great career move for Britney. She’s done two successful tours since her breakdown, and although she isn’t the dancer she used to be (due in part to a knee injury) she’s shown that she can still perform. This would be as lucrative as a big tour without all the stress of traveling. I can see it happening. I mean I don’t think Britney is as together as she used to be, but she’s more with it than she was, and she’s shown that she can work.
In related Britney news, People Magazine has run three separate stories in the past week on her split with Jason Trawick. You can assume this is the version of the breakup that Britney’s people want out there, and it’s all about normal couple stuff rather than the “Jason got tired of his ward and Britney has no idea what is happening” version that Radar was running. The weird thing in these People reports is that they contradict each other. There’s a story on Saturday that Britney wanted more kids and that Jason didn’t, and that’s followed up by a story yesterday that Jason did want kids. It’s like Britney’s team didn’t coordinate their stories, or they put out the first one without consulting Jason. Here are some excerpts:
January 12 article: Britney wanted more kids and she wanted Jason home more
“Britney had a lot of issues with Jason doing his own thing – in business and seeing his friends,” another source says. “In her perfect world he would have been home with her twenty-four/seven, so that was a point of contention; something they were always working on.”
Another source of tension? Kids. “Britney wants to grow her family,” says a source close to the couple. “Jason loves her boys but he is not in a place to have his own.”
January 15 article: they fell out of love and had normal couple problems
“Britney spent Christmas in L.A. with [sons] Preston and Jayden. Jason was around for parts of the holiday, but it was very obvious that they were not really together anymore,” the source says.
“They were not affectionate and instead just seemed to keep things going for the boys’ sake. Britney looked a bit gloomy and tense over the holidays.”
“They love each other, but like any relationship, and especially this one, there were some major challenges and hurdles and constant work that needed to be done. At the end of the day, it just wasn’t working, and things were’t going to change, so it was time to let go.”
January 16: Jason loves Britney’s boys and he is open to having his own
“Jason adores [Britney's] kids; he loves them,” a source tells PEOPLE. “He was like their ‘other dad,’ so he’s not just going to walk away from their lives. He’ll be involved as much as makes sense.”
As for Spears’s two boys, Preston, 7, and Jayden, 6, the source says they “are doing great and [their father] Kevin [Federline] is actually a huge help and is a wonderful person in their lives.”
Despite reports that the former X Factor judge’s desire to have more kids was a reason for the split, the insider says, “Jason is genuinely open to kids of his own.”
But the source adds, “There were so many issues in their relationship that Jason really wanted those worked out before they could ever move forward with a wedding or more kids together.”
I believe that they were a real couple and that they had normal couple problems like anyone else, but these articles are leaving out the fact that Jason had legal control over nearly everything about Britney, and that she still struggles with mental health issues. I do think she’s improved now, but I don’t know if she’ll be able to have a full committed relationship until she’s in control of her daily life and business decisions. It doesn’t seem like that’s ever going to happen for her and she’s already 31 years old. Still, she’s making a ton of money for a lot of different people.
Here are some file photos of Britney and Jason. They were a cute couple!
“Love” sweatshirt photos of Britney are from 1-14-13. Other photos are file photos. Credit: FameFlynet
These are photos of Britney Spears out wearing a “Love” sweatshirt and some Uggs yesterday in the wake of her split from fiance Jason Trawick. Britney and Jason were together for years, and it’s got to be hard on her to go through a split now, particularly when she’s just stepped away from the X Factor and doesn’t have firm plans for her next career move. Maybe Britney likes it that way, though. She looks like she’s very well put together here and doing fine, and communicating that to the public was probably the purpose of this little outing.
Radar has several insider-y stories that make it sound like Britney is not as together as she’s seemed lately, and that she’s still very much in need of both a conservatorship and being handled with kid gloves. The thing is, I lost faith in Radar’s sources when they ran that hoax story about Britney’s ex brother-in-law claiming he’s the father of Britney’s oldest son. It was all based on a fake lawsuit (US Weekly was also fooled by it) and it made me wonder how much information they have on Britney, and how much is conjecture. So with that caveat, here is some of Radar’s latest news. They claim that Britney is still holding out hope that Jason will be coming back, that she’s not entirely convinced that it’s over, and that the split was orchestrated by Britney’s dad and Jason. If this is true it makes me sad for her. Here’s more, and these are excerpts from a couple of different stories on Radar:
“It really wasn’t Britney’s decision to announce the split last week, it was Jamie who made the call,” a source tells RadarOnline.com exclusively.
“Jason wanted out, and in the fragile state that Britney is in, it’s not like he could have a rational conversation with her about it, so it was really between him and Jamie. They decided how the relationship needed to end and how to go about the technicalities, such as removing Jason from the conservatorship, when he would move out and how to announce the split. Britney was left out of everything and really didn’t even know what was going on.”
When it was finally time to break the news to Britney, the source says the two men did it in a controlled and safe environment and were very careful explaining the situation to her, because they were afraid she wouldn’t take it well.
“Jason and Jamie wanted to make sure that Britney didn’t lose it, so they had to water things down for her a bit,” the source says. “She knows that the engagement is off and that Jason has been removed from the conservatorship, but she still hasn’t exactly grasped yet that the relationship is totally over.”
“Jamie will be keeping a very close eye on Britney now she no longer has Jason in her life. He loved Jason like a son and trusted him to look after his daughter. Now that Jason is gone, Jamie is concerned that Britney doesn’t have any true friends to look out for her outside of her immediate family members, and he believes it is more important than ever right now to keep the conservatorship in place to protect her. As part of his conservatorship duties, Jamie controls who Britney interacts with, she isn’t free to go out and meet people on her own. It’s actually a really sad situation for Britney because she is extremely lonely, but Jamie wants to ensure there’s no repeat of the Sam Lutfi situation and that his daughter is not taken advantage of.”
“[The split] has really been in motion awhile. Jason has been very stressed and concerned for Britney and what she might do if he left,” an insider told FOX411′s Pop Tarts column. “He is worried about her and really loved her, but it started to take a real toll on him. The burden of taking care instead of a partnership where she also takes care.”
“Jason took on the role of ‘parent’ and Britney the role of ‘child’ when he agreed to conservatorship. This makes an uneven balance of power, typically kills intimacy and creates a dynamic of conflict in the relationship,” explained licensed psychotherapist, Stacy Kaiser.
These reports are similar to what Kaiser has been saying about this relationship – that it’s not fair to Britney to have her romantic partner be her co-conservator, and that it speaks to Britney’s fragile mental state. The thing that is starting to bring me over to that side of the story is that Jason broke up with Britney (if it went down that way) right when The X Factor was ending. It’s like he was acting more like a business manager than a boyfriend, and when that aspect was over he stepped aside. (Both as her fiance and as her co-conservator.) Or maybe it was all a coincidence. I don’t believe that he only had a business relationship with Britney, though. Do you remember that creepy video he made for her, in bed, in which he was encouraging her? He was her boyfriend, but he was also in control of her, and it was all quite strange. I’m just wondering what’s next for Britney, and if she’ll have to do another album and tour. She seems like she’s in a better place now, but like she’ll never be the one making decisions about her daily life.
Update: We may know what’s next for Britney. TMZ reports that she’s very close to signing an “astronomical” deal with an unnamed venue in Vegas that would earn her more than Celine Dion’s $100 million a year. It’s up in the air whether she will be performing or making appearances, or a combination of both. Maybe that’s why she looks so damn happy here.
Wow, buried after 6 pm (EST) on a Friday night – the Friday before the Golden Globes! Yeah. Why didn’t they want us to pay attention to this mess? TMZ reports that Britney Spears and Jason Trawick are finally, totally over, thus confirming widespread rumors and tabloid reports and my personal suspicions about the state of their relationship and engagement. Here’s TMZ’s report:
Britney Spears and Jason Trawick have broken up … TMZ has learned.
The couple got engaged back in 2011. Trawick started out as Britney’s agent, the duo started dating and he eventually became her co-conservator along with her dad, Jamie Spears.
Multiple sources connected to the couple tell TMZ … Jason didn’t want to make the announcement until he was taken off the conservatorship. Interestingly, lawyers for the conservatorship are in court right now, along with Britney’s dad, Jamie Spears, so it’s possible Jason will be removed today.
Sources say it was a “friendly breakup” and Britney and Jason will remain friends. As for why they split, we’re told they just “grew apart.”
The timing’s pretty interesting considering Brit recently changed agencies, heading to CAA … an indication Trawick was no longer involved in managing her career.
That’s interesting about the conservatorship, because that was the first question I had – “I wonder if Jason is still going to have financial and legal control over Britney?” As for the breakup… it’s not shocking, but it’s still sad. I always thought Jason was more Britney “handler” and “wrangler” as opposed to her life partner and lover, and it sketched me out when Jason was made her co-conservator.
This also comes on the heels of Britney formally “quitting” The X-Factor, although I don’t know why EVERY site and outlet ran the story like it was some huge news – Britney’s contract was for one year. She didn’t want a second year, and neither did Simon. It wasn’t a situation where someone “quit” or “got fired”.
So, Brit-Brit is single again, and she’s doesn’t have a job. Jamie Spears better get the cheese grits ready.
UPDATE:People Mag has everyone’s official announcements. Her rep says: “Britney Spears and Jason Trawick have mutually agreed to end their one-year engagement… As two mature adults, they came to the difficult decision to go their separate ways while continuing to remain friends.” Um, she’s not legally a “mature adult,” thus the conservatorship. Brit-Brit gave her statement too: “Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement. I’ll always adore him and we will remain great friends.” Jason’s official statement: “As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever.” Yeah. We’ll see.
OK! Magazine points us to some new photos of Britney Spears out getting a Frappuccino (natch) while wearing sweatpants, her engagement ring from Jason Trawick conspicuously absent from her left hand. (We don’t have those photos, you can see them here.) Now, an argument could be made for Britney going casual and leaving her jewelry at home. However, I also found photos of her in sweats less than a month ago, wearing her engagement ring. I’m thinking that Hollyscoop’s report before the holidays, that Jason and Britney were on the rocks, was accurate. Radar had a follow-up before Christmas claiming that it was make or break time for Britney and Jason. They’ve been together for three years, engaged for over a year, and they haven’t set a wedding date yet. So I believe that they’re having trouble. According to Radar, the only thing keeping them from breaking up was the fact that Jason is still Britney’s co-conservator, and it’s complicated legally. Here’s that older report:
“It’s a make or break holiday for Britney and Jason,” a source close to the Toxic singer told RadarOnline.com.
“Things have been getting worse and worse with their relationship for several months now, and they know they have to figure things out once and for all because they can’t keep going on like this.”
However, as Jason is a co-conservator over Britney’s estate and contractually has to be on set with her at all times during taping of The X Factor, the decision to stay together or not isn’t an easy one to make for either of them.
“If they do decide to call off the engagement for good, things are going to be tricky, legally and financially, so it isn’t just the state of their relationship they have to think about,” the source said.
“If there wasn’t those considerations involved they would of split a while ago.
“They hope to come to a decision before the new year,” the source divulged.
Meanwhile, it seems Spears may already be laying the groundwork to appear as the dumper, not the dumped!
A close source tells Radar that Britney has said she and Jason have been fighting because he wants to have kids and she doesn’t!
“Britney said Jason wants to be a father, and while he’s happily taken on the role of adopted dad to both Jayden and Sean, he still wants Britney to have his kids,” the insider says.
“Britney says she’s happy with just her two children at the moment and wants to concentrate on her career, which doesn’t sit well with Jason.
“Which is kind of bizarre as just a few months ago she would of JUMPED at the chance to expand her family with Jason. There seems to have been a marked turnaround in Britney’s thought process and emotions recently, and quite frankly, it doesn’t ring true!”
If that’s true, and Britney did take a stand at not wanting to have more children now, good for her. She really struggled with motherhood, to say the least, and that’s probably for the best that she not plan for more kids.
Meanwhile, Radar has a related story about Britney’s career. Her schedule is open now that The X-Factor has wrapped and she’s not expected to return for another season. Radar claims her people are hoping to get her a recurring television guest spot. Their source spills that “Britney’s manager, Larry Rudolph, is reading television scripts that the singer could accept. Britney’s dad, Jamie feels that having his daughter on a sitcom would be a good fit for her. Britney needs to be kept busy, and a structured environment such as a television sitcom would be a natural fit for her.” Britney has guested on How I Met Your Mother and Will and Grace, and an ongoing guest spot wouldn’t be a bad idea for her. It’s not like she can act, but she’s passable.
I hate that Britney’s handlers are saying she “needs to be kept busy,” though. It’s like she can only be busy on their terms and has no say in how she spends her time. Maybe that’s why it ultimately didn’t work out with Jason, he was just another person telling her what to do. Are Britney and Jason going to announce a split, or are they waiting to see if they can work things out? I get the sense they have broken up and gotten back together a few times.
Britney out on 12-15-12 with her engagement ring. Credit: FameFlynet. Other photos credit: WENN.com
I don’t think there’s any doubt that all of us, collectively, want the best for Britney Spears. She is a very sympathetic figure, and when we debate her career and life options, I feel like we’re all trying to assess what’s best for her and her state of mind. Many of you have had mixed feelings about Jason Trawick and whether or not he was good for Britney. My take: yes, Jason has been good for Britney overall, if you’re just taking him as her caretaker and manager, as someone who cares about her wellbeing and tries to help her out. But I’m so wary of Jason because he “proposed” to her (possibly as a reward for getting through her tour) while she is still very much under her personal and professional conservatorship. Not only that, but Jason is now Britney’s legal co-conservator, jointly with Brit’s dad Jamie Spears. Some said it was love. Some said it was a money grab. Some said it was just sketchy.
Anyway, Hollyscoop has an interesting exclusive about Jason and Britney and whether or not this engagement is going to last.
Hollyscoop has learned exclusively that Britney and Jason are about to split and get this, Britney doesn’t know about it! A source close to the couple has told Hollyscoop exclusively that Jason has had enough and wants out of the relationship.
“Jason has told Britney’s entire family that he’s planning to leave her, so that Britney will have a support system when he breaks the bad news,” the source tells us.
Jason is reportedly waiting for “The X Factor” to be over, because he and her whole family think Britney will take the news real hard, and would rather not have her deal with it while she’s trying to film the show. But here’s the weirdest part, Jason reportedly wants to remain her manager after the break-up. So basically their relationship will become strictly business. Pretty sure Britney won’t want him on payroll after he dumps her, but he has been great for her career, so who knows.
Jason used to be Britney’s agent, but when they became a couple, he left his agency in 2011, dropped her as a client, and solely became her manager.
A second Britney source added to Hollyscoop, “I haven’t heard anything about [the split], but I do know they are going on vacation together for the holidays.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean they are staying together. Jason could just be taking advantage of their last vacation as a couple or he thinks a post-vacation break-up will soften the blow. If memory serves us correct Brad Pitt and Jen Aniston dropped the big bomb on us a week after the holidays as well.
So, is Jason looking for a way out? Did he simply take on more than he could handle with this engagement? Does he miss the “business” side of managing Britney, and he’s tired of the day-to-day struggles of managing her? Or is this just a random split story, signifying nothing? Well… my gut says that Britney and Jason probably won’t end up getting married. I could totally be wrong, but I feel like Jason and Jamie kept organizing these “rewards” for Britney to get her to do all of this stuff (record an album, go on tour, sign on to the X-Factor), and it’s gotten beyond their control.
Like with many stories about Britney Spears, CB and I have different thoughts on the current round of gossip about Britney’s relationship/engagement to Jason Trawick. CB’s take is that Jason is a sketchball who probably fools around on Britney. While I agree that could be happening, I think there’s a “reason” why Jason might be getting some on the side – perhaps because that’s the arrangement that he and Britney have always had? I tend to believe that Jason is now and has always been more of Britney’s caretaker than her boyfriend/fiancé. But tabloids still try to convince us that Britney and Jason have a for-real relationship, and that the relationship is rocky/weird/sketchy. Which might be true. Who knows? Us Weekly claims this week that Britney wants Jason to “check in” more:
He won’t be a slave for her! Britney Spears’ constant demands that fiance Jason Trawick “check in with her” have him fuming, a source tells Us Weekly.
“The romance is gone,” says the insider. Trawick, 40, “puts her on speakerphone so friends can hear her nagging.”
(A rep for the X Factor star, 30, denies this, and an insider insists, “That’s not Jason’s style. They’re happy.”)
But the source contends there’s turbulence ahead: “I’d be shocked if they got married.”
Spears, who is a mom to Sean Preston, 7, and Jayden James, 6, (with ex-husband Kevin Federline) got engaged to Trawick in December 2011, but have yet to set a date.
I don’t know… it sounds kind of reasonable in this particular situation that they BOTH would want to check in with each other, right? And isn’t’ Jason WITH Britney on the set of The X Factor anyway? As for the wedding… it’s my understanding that Britney, Jason and her team were waiting until all of the legal issues with Sam Lufti were over before they got married – and Lufti’s case was just thrown out of court earlier this month. So what’s the hold up?
Britney Spears and Jason Trawick had planned a romantic and intimate winter wedding, but after incessant fighting between the two, the impending nuptials have been called off, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.
“Britney and Jason had planned to get married at the end of December, but they have been fighting non-stop so the wedding has now been called off,” a source close to the situation tells Radar.
“They are telling their friends it’s being postponed, but they will probably never make it down the aisle. Britney doesn’t think Jason is any fun and resents him because he acts more like a second father than a romantic partner, or equal.
“Britney and Jason have been sleeping in separate bedrooms for a very long time. She has been staying in a hotel during the week because of the live X Factor shows, and although Jason stays at the same hotel, he is in a room adjacent to hers. Jason feels like he is Britney’s babysitter and it’s pretty much just a business arrangement at this point. Jason does love Britney and the boys, but he just can’t see himself spending the rest of his life with her,” the source says.
“Britney’s parents are absolutely devastated that the wedding has been called off,” the source continues. “Lynne is very close to Jason and views him as one of her children. Meanwhile, Jamie feels that Jason shouldn’t have proposed to Britney if his heart wasn’t in it, and feels a little betrayed. It doesn’t help matters that both Jamie and Jason are co-conservators of Britney. The whole situation is just sad for everyone.”
Yeah. I believe this. Maybe not the details about “calling off the wedding” but I believe Radar’s assessment of this relationship. It’s more of a business relationship, and he’s more like her caretaker, emotionally, romantically and legally. Remember, Jamie Spears allowed Jason to join as joint conservator for Britney, and the judge cosigned it. So even if Britney says “the wedding’s off!” it’s much, much more complicated than that.
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 hope this story isn’t true, or that the “friends” that Jason Trawick had with him are the ones who were into the stripper escorts, not him. The story is pretty damning otherwise. According to Star Magazine, so take it for what it is, Britney Spears’ fiance Jason was partying at a bar with his buddies when they spotted some ladies who happened to be professional escorts. Jason is the one who approached them. Then they moved it to a private club where he was feeling up on them. (The strippers, not his friends.) Then they moved it back to the hotel. Oh no. This story soundswaytoofamiliar, like it could be the start of another scandal. I hope not. Here it is:
Jason, 40, was enjoynig a night out with five buddies in the lobby bar of the W Hollywood hotel, when he spotted two provocatively dressed girls and approached them. “He told them they were hot and asked if they wanted a drink,” an insider reports. It turns out those girls, Alina Ratuska and Marina Zog, work as “erotic dancers” for the lifestyle agency Rocka Chick in LA. “They’re paid to party,” the source explains. “They dance, drink and hook up with a lot of celebrities.”
Alina and Marina invited Jason and his friends to the VIP party Kinky Room, an event at the Hollywood hotspot Tru, where they perform. According to the source, Jason was apprehensive about the party, but his friends wanted to go, so they did.
Once at the club, “Jason was really paranoid about being recognized,” the source says. “He kept saying his fiancee expected him to be home. He knew he was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be.” But that didn’t stop him from getting cozy with Marina. “He had his hands all over her, caressing her legs and back,” the source reveals. “Meanwhile, Alina was dancing in a cage with whips and chains, looking at Jason the entire time. When he wasn’t canoodling with Marina, he was gawking at Alina.
According to a witness, Jason had been drinking rum and cokes all night and seemed pretty inebriated by 1am, when the group left. “His friends had to carry him out,” the insider reveals. “He literally couldn’t walk at this point.”
But the party didn’t end there. Alina and Marina went with them back to the W Hollywood Hotel, where Jason’s friends were staying. “I don’t know what Jason did with Alina and Marina at the after party,” the insider says, “but from how drunk he was and how he was acting toward them, it definitely wasn’t appropriate.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 1, 2012]
Maybe this is just a fake story meant to promote these services. They name drop enough. If this is true, this isn’t a case of Jason hanging out at a bar or club with some attractive women who may be industry contacts or his friends’ girlfriends (if you give him the benefit of the doubt). These are strippers and paid escorts. When men take it outside the club back to the hotel, that’s when you have to beware. At least there were five other guys there, so maybe he picked up the chicks and brought them back to the hotel for his “friends.” Or maybe he was too wasted to do anything about it.
The big premiere of X Factor starring Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid and of course Simon Cowell as judges, is tonight. As part of the build up, Simon has strategically been releasing stories about Britney, because he knows that people are just waiting for her to stir up controversy and/or mess up somehow. Last week, Simon admitted to TMZ that the stories about Britney walking off the X Factor set on her first day were true. This is in contrast to denials made at the time. Simon told TMZ that they tried to smooth the story over with the press, but that it did happen and that Britney had a panic attack. Britney also told Elle Magazine, which she covers this October, that she suffered panic attacks on her first day on set. She said she was “extremely nervous. Like, I was having panic attack after panic attack.”
As part of the big build up to the X-Factor, The Daily Beast has a new profile of Britney’s fiance, Jason Trawick. It’s a well written piece that paints Trawick as a very decent, hardworking guy on one hand but also the architect of Britney’s comeback, and her guardian, on the other. Author Ramin Setoodeh dances around the subject of whether Britney is being manipulated by Trawick. Here are some relevant parts:
Trawick, 40, is often credited with performing a kind of Houdini act on Britney, 30. After her meltdown, which included losing custody of her kids, rehab, hitting paparazzi with her car, being institutionalized, and countless other crazy moments (like the disastrous performance of “Gimme More” at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards), he—in tandem with her father, Jamie Spears—seemingly helped Britney reappear on planet Earth, at least looking normal. He accomplished this turnaround first as the agent who signed her to William Morris Endeavor Entertainment in 2008. In 2009, their relationship turned romantic. In 2011, Trawick quit his job to focus solely on Britney—and last December, they got engaged.
It’s hard to tell who benefits from this relationship more. Spears is one of the most successful acts in the history of pop music. She’s worth an estimated $200 million and her seven albums have sold more than 100 million copies. But in 2007, after the sad series of bizarre personal episodes, Britney’s career hit a wall. (Through her publicist, Spears declined to comment. Trawick offered to look at questions over email, but never responded.) She returned in her 2009 Circus comeback tour, during which Britney stood glassy-eyed in sold-out arenas, lip-syncing her old hits. Some people noticed the new Spears looked vacant, but it didn’t matter. The tour, an exercise in voyeurism, grossed more than $131 million.
Since 2008, Spears’s dad Jamie has been the sole conservator of her estate. In April a court appointed Trawick as the co-conservator, a situation that arises when a court decides a person “can’t adequately provide food, clothing, and shelter” for herself, says Meg Lodise, a partner at a Los Angeles law firm specializing in conservatorships. In other words, Britney has all the rights of a child.
Nevertheless, she’s poised to debut as a judge on The X Factor this week, and sources say that Trawick was key in convincing her to accept a $15 million, one-year contract to join the Simon Cowell singing Olympics. During audition rounds, gossip sites were salivating at reports that Spears frequently had to abandon her judge’s perch for a break—it became part of the hype of the show—and, according to one TV source, Trawick was always waiting in the wings. To prove that she’s normal, he’s booked her first magazine covers and talk-show appearances in a while.
The Britney press tour kicked off with a story in Elle magazine—Elle released images and interview snippets last week. Trawick appears in one of the photos; they cuddle as he holds a guitar. He also let it slip to the writer that Spears pursued him, not the other way around. “OK, that’s enough information, sweetie,” Spears said, interrupting the story. A few days later, a source told Radar Online that Trawick was lying and that he “had feelings for Britney for a very, very long time.”…
Shy or not, Spears gravitated to Trawick’s outgoing personality, and she started to rely on him more and more. He’s not the typical Ari Gold agent, with the greasy handshake and temper tantrums. According to one close former colleague, Trawick is so easy going, he never even raises his voice. Trawick grew up on Long Island, with dreams of becoming a professional hockey player. When those didn’t pan out, he moved to Hollywood and worked his way up from the agency mailroom. He had a reputation for inserting himself into meetings, but because of his nonthreatening demeanor, nobody objected. Once he became a full-fledged agent, he started handling crossover talent, such as singers who were big enough to big actors and vice versa. His roster included Taylor Swift, Hilary Duff, Paris Hilton, and country star Dwight Yoakam…
Trawick’s former work colleagues liked him, too. But looking back, they noticed a drastic physical transformation once he started dating Spears. The Daily Mail reported he lost 50 pounds by cutting carbs from his diet. He traded his bulky plaid shirts for fitted suits. He always brought a heavy-duty hockey duffel with him to work, but he hit the gym more often and toned down. “If he was working out, he wanted her to join him,” says a source. In an effort to be healthier, he and Spears both vowed to quit smoking together. (He failed.). And nearly everyone I interviewed stressed how good a parental figure he’s been to her sons—Sean Preston, who turns 7 this week, and Jayden James, whose sixth birthday is Wednesday. On Halloween, he’d order their costumes online and he was constantly buying them toys, like Spider-Man and GI Joe action figures.
Let’s remember that Trawick is romantically involved with a woman who has the same legal rights as a child. It sounds like a potentially difficult situation.
We fans and viewers won’t get a glimpse of the real Spears until October. That’s when The X Factor transitions from taped auditions to a live competition, and we see what Spears looks and acts like without the powers of editing. If she self-destructs in front of the world again, X Factor ratings will go through the roof, but at the cost of her own well-being.
So I guess we’ll have to see how Britney does on X-Factor, but at least part of that will be down to editing. Since producers acted like Britney was fine, they may just cut her walk-offs out of the show. It’s hard to tell now that Simon has owned up to it though. That was clever, and I know it will get me to tune in.
As for whether Jason is pulling the strings, maybe he is. Maybe that’s what Britney needs at this time. I don’t know. I just hope that if she feels like he’s controlling her she also feels like she doesn’t have to marry him.
Update: Here’s Britney doing the “Gangnam Style” dance on Ellen:
And here’s another video of Britney and Simon’s interview. She does seem nervous to me.
Here’s Britney at a hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman’s for The X-Factor. She looks happier and much more relaxed than we’ve seen her in some time.
