BRITNEY’S COUNTDOWN TO CATASTROPHE
Pop-problem Britney Spears has plummeted perilously since her disastrous Vegas comeback trip on the MTV Video Music Awards at the Palms.
Each one of her on-going catastrophes has been followed by bigger and even more outrageous ones- and yesterday and this morning, the shocking drug-use and disturbing disclosures by her bodyguard will probably seal her fate. He even claims that she had talked about killing herself - and they prevented her from committing suicide in the swimming pool with her children. The damning allegations by “secret witness” bodyguard Tony Barretto, who just appeared this morning on NBC’s Today Show with Matt Lauer, are part of the exclusive interviews my former Fleet Street pals got for yesterday’s News of the World(www.newsoftheworld.co.uk) and this morning’s Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk) newspapers. I should point out that the highly competitive British papers historically pay giant $ fees for such interviews.
The 27-year-old gentle giant of a 6’ 7” bodyguard claims:
*Britney constantly pranced around nude exposing her body to her staff
*Britney nearly died after an overdose binge in a trashed drug-strewn hotel room
*Britney scared her children with weird outrages and talking gibberish
*Britney kept a secret stash of Jack Daniels in her kitchen which she drank with Coke almost constantly
*Britney was so depressed and on the edge of ending her life they kept a suicide watch on her and stopped her going in the pool with her youngsters.
Britney’s bizarre behavior – her screaming, her shouting, her drug abuse, her excessive alcohol binges, her neglect of her two young sons, her bouts of depression – prompted him to share his heartache and horrors of working for the pop-princess. The revelations are a damning indictment about young Hollywood and for the first time really lay bare all the demons of the troubled 25-year-old superstar. He claims he blew the whistle to save her and get her serious professional help and counseling.
“We were essentially the puppeteers managing this poor young lady, trying to save her and her children from herself. It was a dangerous combination of drink and drugs and her fling with rock Wildman Howie Day who she met in rehab sent her even further off the rails. I only want the best for her and her children. She needs help desperately and hopefully this will force that.”
Maybe it was his unchallenged evidence to LA judge Scott Gordon last week that forced the court commissioner to order Britney undergo twice a week random alcohol and drug testing and undergo parental child-raising classes if she is to keep shared custody of sons, Preston and Jayden.
Tony claims that on the night of her comeback debut concert in Anaheim his security team had to force their way into a hotel room in Hollywood where they found what appeared to be narcotics, a powder that appeared to be cocaine, a glass pipe and straws.
“Her eyes were huge. She was shaking and sweating. She was really high. My partner said she was the worst he’d ever seen. Her behavior was weird. She rolled down the car window and screamed “I’m a rock star.” She’d even bite off her fake acrylic nails.” His catalog of other frightening weird incidents is beyond scary and demands immediate action by cops, child-care authorities, friends, family or parents for an immediate intervention rescue before Hollywood has another Anna Nicole Smith on its hands.
In checking with Britney contacts at the weekend, I learned she was devastated about her downfall since appearing at the Palms. She is desperately trying to stay away from both prescription drugs and alcohol, but has friends concerned about her sudden and dramatic desire to shed weight. She believes she was completely out of shape and overweight for the ill-fated VMA opening song, but feels with serious workout sessions and some plastic surgery she could strike a hefty financial deal with Playboy boss Hugh Hefner for a nude layout when she’s back in shape. However, her closest remaining friends are again frightened for her as she is over-using over-the-counter pharmaceuticals to suppress her appetite.