As we discussed on Friday, Britney Spears is now being investigated for battery of one of her longtime housekeepers. The early versions of the story had someone in Britney’s house calling 911, only to be turned away by Britney’s security. Then the story was that Britney slapped the phone out of her housekeeper’s hand and that is what is being investigated. Follow-up reporting is now focused on why Britney allegedly freaked out on her maid, and there’s a claim that the maids took away Britney’s dogs.
Britney Spears’ dogs were taken from her earlier this month — this after her dog sitter and housekeeper believed the pets were being neglected — and that’s what triggered the confrontation between Britney and her housekeeper that led to a criminal investigation.
Sources directly connected to Britney tell TMZ … around 2 weeks ago one of her dogs became sick and the dog sitter — who is also a nurse — took that dog and Britney’s other dog to the vet. The dogs never came home, and our sources say the dog sitter kept and took care of the dogs because she believed they weren’t safe at Britney’s home.
We’re told on August 10 Britney called the Ventura County Sheriff’s Dept. to report a theft, but when cops arrived at her home she backed off and sent them away — this was first reported by Page Six. Our sources say she was prepared to file a theft report over the dogs but apparently had a change of heart. Fast-forward to this past Monday morning. Britney still did not have her dogs and didn’t know where they were, but suspected her dad had something to do with their disappearance.
Britney confronted her housekeeper and demanded to know where her dogs were and why they were taken away. Our Britney sources say the housekeeper expressed concern that the dogs had been neglected and showed Britney photos she had taken on her cellphone of one of the dogs that had just thrown up.
Britney believes the housekeeper — who gets paid by Jamie — sent Jamie the photos and he then called the dog sitter and told her to take the dogs away. Sources with direct knowledge say Jamie is “totally in the dark on what goes on in her home,” adding, “He’s been shut out.”
In any event, we’re told Britney became extremely upset and told the housekeeper she was not allowed to take photos in her house. Then we’re told a struggle ensued and Britney knocked the phone out of the housekeeper’s hands. Our Britney sources say she merely hit the phone, but law enforcement sources say the housekeeper alleged Britney struck her arm, which then caused her to lose her grip over the phone. As of Thursday afternoon, Britney still did not get her dogs back, but she was hopeful that was about to happen.
God, this is a messy situation. I’m not going to sit here and claim that I have inside information, and I think it’s perfectly possible that both “sides” were right and wrong. Britney has every right to feel like her father is manipulating situations within her house, because he had been doing that for years already. And no, you don’t just take someone’s dogs away and not explain what’s happening or why. There’s a dog sitter and several maids – if the dogs were being neglected, why assume Britney was the neglectful one? What if the dogs were getting sick in the care of the dog sitter, you know? Now, if Britney slapped or pushed her housekeeper or her phone/property, then yeah, that sucks too.
TMZ had an additional story about how the housekeeper believed the dogs were near death and dehydrated and that’s why they sent the dogs to the emergency vet, and apparently the dogs were returned to Britney on Friday. Sources close to Britney say that she still employs the dog sitter, but the housekeeper has been fired. Well… this isn’t the end of any of it.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Britney needs to clean house! Especially if they were hired by daddy dearest.
Yup clean house and hire all new people with no employment history connected to her Father. She should probably move to,who knows how many hidden cameras Jamie put in her house.
And sue that housekeeper!
As far is I know Britney has never been able to take care of a pet.When she was with Kevin Federline she walked the red carpet and had a small dog with her and as far as I know you never saw the dog again.I am not a Paris Hilton fan but she seems to be a good fur baby mommy and shares pictures of her pet’s.
Petee, Paris was notorious for locking her pets in closets and forgetting about them. Literally letting them starve to death.
Lauea I have never heard that.Why didn’t anyone report it?
Make it make sense. The type of conservatorship (probate) that Britney is under (and for the love of God pls don’t concern-troll abt Britney’s mental health UNLESS you really understand the types of conservatorships that exist under CA law and the threshold for a probate conservatorship) means that it is not possible for her to be responsible for her dogs’ care. Anyone in Jaime’s camp claiming that Britney is at fault is actually demonstrating that they know perfectly well that she should not be under a probate conservatorship. This horribly messed up wink wink business going on needs to stop now. If Britney’s conservators (dad or Ms. Montgomery) believe that she is competent to care for animals, they cannot maintain that she should be under this form of conservatorship. These two things are not compatible. So much more I would say about the obvious set-up and abusive situation, but that is all a by-product of what is the underlying problem here- a person who clearly, regardless of mental health struggles, has been inappropriately placed in a probate conservatorship. This is the problem that needs to be the focus and reversed asap.
This – there’s a housekeeper and a dog sitter and she’s legally not even responsible for herself. Either she’s competent or she’s not – it can’t be both and this reads like Jamie and all of HIS employees are talking out of both sides of their mouths.
Also the housekeeper and dog sitter are admitting to theft and animal neglect based on their own stories. This is Jamie manufactured nonsense that they went along with in order to keep their jobs if and when Britney gets rid of Jamie and gets fully free.
100%! This situation makes me deeply upset. There are numerous forms of intervention that exist, including within the conservatorship system writ large. Britney’s is the most extreme, it is managed by the PROBATE court! Probate is for wills, estates, for end of life and truly unchangeable forms of incompetence (dementia, etc). Britney is not allowed to vote, enter into contracts, associate with people of her own choosing, move of her own choosing, make medical decisions, manage her own finances or property….these are not little things!! This a list of constitutional rights that she has had taken away. And these deprivations are not a given under other forms of conservatorships or less intrusive state interventions. That anyone would even suggest that whether you neglect an animal (which yes is bad, not saying that) is a factor as to whether you should be denied your constitutional rights is horribly offensive and wrong.
they’re also admitting that they themselves have been derelict in their duties towards the dogs or they know the people paid to supervise the dogs’ care have been derelict but didn’t notify Britney – they just took action without telling her and then refused to return the dogs to her because there was a situation in the home that was a threat to the dogs that they weren’t taking care of.
@pottymouth, I came to say the same thing. If Jaime is a good executor, then how did the dogs become dehydrated and near death?
All of you are forgetting, Jamie isn’t in control of Britineys life. He is only in control of the money. She has another conservator who is in control of her daily life. So it wouldn’t be Jamie who hired the maid or any of the other employees. It would be the other conservator who Britney likes. All of you keep jumping on Jamie without any proof of him ever doing anything. Oh yeah it would have been the other conservator who is in charge of all medical decisions. Including the IUD.
There are a multitude of reasons for a dog to get sick/dehydrated and its rather telling that they were all quick to jump to the neglect accusations.
If the dogs are therapy dogs then of course she is going to freak out if they are taken away from her but still, knocking the phone out of the housekeepers hand was not a good move – same goes for the housekeeper taking photo’s. It seems that Brit needs to fire her household staff and bring in people she is comfortable with and knows that they work for her – thou can she do that at the moment?
There is clearly a lot of tension within the household – between Britney and the people her father has hired.
Exactly! Dogs can vomit for a lot of different reasons and it’s very easy for that to lead to dehydration. And none of it would have any reason to suspect neglect. This whole thing just seems incredibly fishy and manipulative.
Also, there are actual processes people should follow if they believe animals are being neglected. You don’t just steal them. You call animal control or whatever local authority is responsible for animal welfare and report the situation and let them deal with it. Yes there may be emergency situations but this doesn’t sound like one … and in an emergency situation you call the authorities first anyway to try to get help or ask what you should do. (And I’ve never heard a single situation that happened where the advice was “ oh yes please, based solely on what you’re saying, please steal the animal away from the owner and its home”) And did they even raise the issue with B? Or did they sneak around and wait for her to realize the dogs were gone?
It’s like if a housekeeper or baby sitter thinks a child is suffering neglect. They cannot just spirit the kid away in the dark of night – they have to report the neglect and let the situation be investigated and then the proper authorities decide what is in the best interests of the child.
yes – my dog vomits f you look at him funny.
I find it so hard to believe that the dogs were in that bad of condition. With the amount of people in that house there is no way one person would not step up and feed or give the dogs water when needed. Neglect leading to death does not happen over night. If the dogs got into something and had to go the the vet that is different but also not neglect. Seems like someone is trying to make Britney look like she is unable to care for anyone or anything. So sad and I wish her the best and that she can get her father away from her.
That someone is her father. Jamie is continuing to abuse his daughter in any way he can.
I suspect this is why Rosengart was pushing to get the hearing moved up to have her father removed as conservator. He was worried about what would be done by Jamie‘s team before the September 29 hearing that could be harmful to Britney. This kind of gaslighting cannot be good for her mental health. I hope she stays strong.
Just for anyone who doesn’t have dogs- so, dogs vomit sometimes. It is not terribly uncommon.
I mean, if the dogs were dehydrated and needed medical care, then by all means take them for medical care- but isn’t that the fault of -probably the dog sitter, or at least it is on the dog sitter to talk to Britney or whoever is head of household staff, or both, and make sure the dogs are not being neglected.
Rich people don’t even look after their own children half the time, but Britney is faulted in her well staffed home for being in charge of the dogs?
I smell Jamie trying to hold on to his money and position himself to have enough leverage to avoid the promised audit of his managing Britney’s money.
It’s entirely possible that both her father was abusing his position and should have been removed AND she’s not fit to take care of herself.
Actually, it’s not possible.
What is possible, is that back 13 years ago they took complete advantage of her mental state (2 kids back to back, hounded mercilessly by paparazzi) to force her into an unnecessary conservatorship to get at her money.
That’s what happened.
She’s not mentally ill or incapable, quite the opposite.
She’s being abused.
But you already know this, hence the “both sides” post.
It’s clear from her behavior over the years and even now that she obviously has some mental health issues. I agree that her conservatorship seems overly restrictive and for me the question has always been does her condition necessitate that much control? People need to stop acting like she doesn’t have mental health issues. She does and that’s okay and just because someone does doesn’t necessarily mean they need a conservatorship. But people in the free Britney movement need to face the fact that she clearly DOES have mental health issues that she almost certainly still needs treatment and support.
I agree with Kristen and N. She clearly has mental health issues. Hopefully, her father realizes her needs and tries to accommodate her better. But she obviously does need help with her life and career.
I would say the conservatorship has either given her mental health issues or made them worse.
What amazes me is that housekeeper has to be all NDAed up. Was calling the cops a way to get around the NDA to punish Britney for speaking up?
Also, any household staff of anyone in Britney’s situation is a caregiver. Getting your client/employer upset enough that they lash out at you is ON YOU. If the dogs needed to be removed that needed to be explained in a calm and professional manner, preferably by a therapist or other mental health professional. Nobody should be having their phone out, much less taunting the client with photos that, as an employee, they were not supposed to have taken.
Completely unprofessional and I hope the caregiver’s behavior is thoroughly investigated. Anyone who has worked in domestic violence knows about abusers who know how to wind up victims so that they snap and do something which allows the abuser to control the narrative of the situation. Calling law enforcement for something you know is too minor for them to care about, just to get a legal record of you as a victim, is pure abuser behavior. Especially if you have done something wrong, like take photos you weren’t supposed to.
If I may put on my conspiracy cap, the housekeeper was hired by Jaime. Her job may have been to remove the dogs suddenly (the incident that kicked off the conservatorship was he kids being taken away), induce another incident, and then bring the cops into it. Her boss was Jaime, not Britney. Which is why I expect her to continue with the charges. Even if they don’t stick, it will keep a negative story about Britney in the news.
I hope the dogs are ok. I can’t shake the feeling that this was somehow orchestrated by her father to punish her.
Dehydrated and near death? That’s some neglectful dog sitter and housekeeper if they didn’t provide water for the dogs, because that’s what they get paid for. Imagine there’s a babysitter who spends 8 hours per day with a child, never gives them food or drink so they get ill and then accuses the parents of being neglectful. That’s some twisted logic, gods
Right? Then takes pictures of the sick children and takes them to the doctor/hospital for days without telling the parents where they are.
As someone who has small dogs, and Britney’s are tiny, I can vouch for the fact that they frequently have delicate digestive tracts, can vomit for little reason, and can get dehydrated as a result, and quickly. This is not a result of neglect. Getting little dogs to the vet is almost always the right thing to do, but that’s basically the only thing that was done right in this situation by the dog sitter. To take the dogs away from Britney with no explanation was totally wrong.
This seems to be an orchestrated gaslighting operation by Jamie and his minions. I feel so sorry for Britney.
But how do you know there was no explanation? It seems like her staff probably takes them to the vet all the time and this one time someone failed to tell Britney and there was a big misunderstanding? Or maybe everyone was upset about a sick animal because they’re human and they like the pet and having a sick animal feels the WORST. I just don’t understand the automatic jumping to one side or the other. Let the police figure it out.
The dogs were taken to the vet and then given to the dogsitter who brought them home with her. They were gone for two weeks apparently without any explanation to Britney.
I think both can be true: that Britney’s conservatorship is an overreach and she might also be an unstable person who can hit people. There can be good people doing bad things for good reasons and bad people doing good things and everything in between. This whole situation is grayer than gray and no one out here knows the full story.
The full story includes the fact that Britney is under conservatorship for a mental health condition. Therefore, her home is essentially a mental health facility and everyone there has a duty of care to her. The calling of the police over this incident is a clear failure of that duty.
Imagine an elementary school kid (legally equivalent to Britney) and the babysitter hides the dog and won’t tell the kid where it is. Your kid tries to grab her phone. The babysitter calls the cops.
That is what this situation is. The people caring for Britney have an obligation to do what is best for her at all times. If you are caring for someone who is bipolar, it is your responsibility not to upset them. And certainly not appropriate to call the cops. That tells me there is no care plan at that home. Which is wrong.
Also, tell me a Kardashian never snatched an assistant’s phone.
“The people caring for Britney have an obligation to do what is best for her at all times. If you are caring for someone who is bipolar, it is your responsibility not to upset them.”
Holy wow. No. Your responsibility is always to protect others as well, including those who are harmed by your charge’s behavior. Caregiving is NOT AN abuse-normalizing situation. A caregiver isn’t supposed to let animals or kids be harmed by their charge. And absolutely you have the right to call legal authorities if you are being abused by a charge. What world do you live in?
DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING TMZ SAY ABOUT BRITNEY, THEY ARE ON DADDY SPEARS PAYROLL!!!
I have heard this reported too. Jamie has a relationship with them.
I’m not buying this. If these people (the housekeeper and the dog sitter) worked for some other famous person, you better believe they wouldn’t be taking a dog and accusing her of neglect. This conservator ship has people feeling like they are dealing with a child. This is something that you do to a child, not an adult. You talk to an adult; express your concerns and then make a report to the ASPCA or the Humane Society.
I’m going with Britney on this one. If she had slapped her, she would have been wrong, but I would’ve understood.At some point, you say enough – I’m a grown f’ing woman. leave me alone.
My BF is an animal welfare officer. They field complaints about animal neglect at all hrs of the day and night and there is always someone on call to go check out the situation. They are trained to examine an animal and to recognize various forms of mistreatment including neglect. This includes how to recognize dehydration or being underweight in big and small animals. They are authorized to remove an animal on the spot, and may request police backup if they need it. This is a very serious matter. This story is so fishy– whose dogs are they? Who is responsible for their daily care? If Britney is incapable of being responsible for herself and cannot make her own choices about anything (birth control, voting, cabinet color, etc.) then how is she responsible for her animals? Also, what is she doing with herself that she could not go to the vet appt or wouldn’t want to? Or at least speak to him herself?
Why would they do this to her tmz saying they have a source in that house is already illegal on there partway is there a spy living in that house some one or hopefully her lawyer. Knows. Now I hope.i mean how can he not after this. Story and the 911 call all done by Jamie of course then to bring the dogs back is crazy to put it mildly. Fire everyone and get yr own staff
Look, this is ridiculous. It simultaneously infantalizes Britney (by assuming that she is incapable of caring for her own dogs) and then goes on to blames Britney’s dad and maid for violating Britney’s caregiving abilities. No. This is typical rich person trash, and it’s trash every time, no matter who is doing it. It’s not the case that the maids have to be blamed and full-time on-call for taking care of Britney’s pets. That is NOT what a housekeeper does. That is what a babysitter/guardian does. I’ve seen too many awful things done to animals by people who keep them as accessories and then neglect them. It sounds like Britney’s needs are through the roof, and it’s scary to hear how much of this is being justified or excused just because she’s a millionaire pop-star with money-grubbing family members. 🙁