the story on britney

I should have just posted a link to this since it is so long, but I couldn't find one, so I am posting the text. This is pretty powerful, IMO.

From PinkIsTheNewBlog

Here is an excerpt from the Rolling Stone coverstory The Tragedy of Britney Spears:

A pop star at the mall is an eternal cause for happiness, especially on a Sunday afternoon in the Valley. One moment, shoppers in the Westfield Topanga mall are living in the real world, monotonously selecting a new shade of eye shadow or rubbing perfume on wrists, but upon the rapture of Britney Spears, they are giggling, laughing, orgasmic, already sharing their secret on cell phones. "Her legs are actually really skinny," an adolescent whispers into her Sidekick, as Britney beelines for the Betsey Johnson boutique, pseudo-punk designer of evening dresses and splashy heels worn to suburban high school proms. In person, Britney is shockingly beautiful — clear skin, ruby lips, a perfectly proportioned twenty-six-year-old porcelain doll with a nasty weave. She cuts through the crowd swiftly, the way she used to when 20,000 adoring fans mobbed her outside a concert, with her paparazzi boyfriend, Adnan Ghalib, trailing behind. Only a few kids are in the store, a young girl with her brother and two blondes checking out fake-gold charm bracelets. Britney rifles the racks as the Cure's "Pictures of You" blasts into the airless pink boutique, grabbing a pink lace dress, a few tight black numbers and a frilly red crop top, the kind of shirt that Britney used to wear all the time at seventeen but isn't really appropriate for anyone over that age. Then she ducks into the dressing room with Ghalib. He emerges with her black Am Ex. The card won't go through, but they keep trying it. "Please," begs Ghalib, "get this done quickly." One of the girls runs to Britney's dressing room, explaining the situation through a pink gauze curtain. A wail emerges from the cubby — guttural, vile, the kind of base animalistic shriek only heard at a family member's deathbed. "Fuck these bitches," screams Britney, each word ringing out between sobs. "These idiots can't do anything right!" Ghalib dashes over to console her, but she's already spitting, growling, throwing a big bottle of soda on the floor so that it begins to spill underneath the curtain, and then she's got a box of tissues and is throwing them on top of the wet floor along with piles of discarded merchandise. A new card finally goes through, but by then Britney is out the door, leaving her shirt on the ground and replacing it with the red top. "Fuck you, fuck people, fuck, fuck, fuck," she keeps screaming, her face splotchy and red as she crosses the interminable mall floor, the crowd behind her growing larger and larger. "Leave us alone!" yells Ghalib. The siblings run after Britney to get a video to put up on YouTube, and some of the shopgirls run after her to hand off the merchandise she left behind, and there's an entire bridal party wearing yellow T-shirts who have pulled out camera phones too. A crush of managers in black shirts and gold name tags try to keep the peace, but the crowd running after Britney gets larger, and now the shopgirls have ­started to catch up to her, one of them slipping spectacularly in her platform shoes, grazing her elbow. She pulls herself up, mustering the strength to tap Britney's shoulder. "Um, I'm from the South too," she mumbles, "and I was wondering if I could get a picture with you for my little sister." Britney turns to Ghalib and grabs his arm. "I don't want her talking to me!" she screams. She whirls around and stares the girl deep in the eyes, her lips almost vibrating with anger. "I don't know who you think I am, bitch," she snarls, "but I'm not that person."

It is absolutely heartbreaking to read this account. It has been very clear for a very long time that something wasn't even close to "right" with Britney Spears and yet, this sort of behavior has been happening for longer than I care to remember (and this is but one of these manic, public incidents). I absolutely believe with every fiber of my being that "friends" like Sam Lutfi are at the heart of Britney's troubled life. At long last, it appears that something is finally being done to first, keep Lutfi (and others like him) away from Britney ... second, expose any actions on his/their part(s) that may have been damaging to Britney's health and welfare ... and finally, stay committed to keeping our dear Britney under medical care until she can get the help that he desperately needs. Team Spears, led by Britney's parents, seem well on task to make sure that these 3 things happen. The restraining order against Sam Lutfi, filed by Jamie Spears, alleges that he has been drugging Britney in order to maintain a level of control over her:

The L.A. Superior Court has released an 11-page restraining order against Britney Spears' pal Sam Lutfi. He must stay 250 yards away from the singer and the UCLA Medical Center, as well as the homes of her parents, her siblings, her children and the singer's residences. The document reads:

"Britney met Lutfi in or about October 2007. Mr. Lutfi has essentially moved into Britney's home and has purported to take control of her life, home and finances. Mr. Lufti drugged Britney. He has cut Britney's home phone line and removed her cell phone chargers. He yells at her. He claims to control everything -- Britney's business manger, her attorneys and the security guards at the gate. Immediate relief is necessary to avoid the risk of physical harm to Britney by Mr. Lutfi and to allow her to undergo necessary medical treatment without interference by Mr. Lutfi."

According to the document, the restraining order against Lutfi was filed February 1 by James P. Spears.

THANK THE GODS ABOVE that something is finally happening ... THANK THE GODS ABOVE that Britney's parents have finally been able to step in and try to help her get out of the deep pit she's been living in for so long. Do I believe these allegations against Lutfi? Absolutely. You can just tell that that man was up to no good ... at last, he is being exposed for the person that he really is. In fact, he loves talking to the media so much that he's even confirming the fact that has, in fact, been drugging Britney:

Sam Lutfi, who is now on the receiving end of a restraining order imposed by Britney Spears' parents, was the one person by her side as she unraveled over the past six months. In the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now, Spears' de facto manager and confidant opens up about her bipolar disorder, how he medicated her, what happened the night she was hospitalized, and how her parents reacted. "In the depressive episodes, it's all crying," Lutfi tells Us. "But in the manic episode, there's very little crying or sympathy or compassion. She becomes another person. She becomes somebody that just doesn't care about anybody or anything. The British accent is part of the mania," he adds. "She'll stick to the British accent because she becomes comfortable with it... But you know, when the pink wig comes on, it's getting bad." Lutfi says that when Spears was involuntarily committed to treatment at UCLA Medical Center on January 31, her mom, Lynne Spears, arrived and tried to remove her daughter from his guidance. "Well, he is better family than you guys will ever be," Spears responded, according to Lutfi. Lutfi tells Us that he gave Britney "a handful of pills" before her parents arrived. "I said these pills are working wonders, they are miracle pills," he recalls. Spears, Lutfi says, agreed that the meds were helping her sleep ... Lutfi, 33, tells Us only he, Spears, and her psychiatrist know what brought on her bipolar disorder "roughly five years ago." When the ambulance arrived to take Spears, "she was very quiet," Lutfi tells Us. "When I told her, she wrote me a note and put a big heart on it and it said, 'I love you, Sam. Are there people coming? Circle yes or no,'" Lutfi recalls. "Oh, my God, it was funny, just the cutest little thing. I circled yes and I gave it back to her, and she looked at me and she's like, 'Oh, lord, here we go again.'"

If this is his attempt to get people to think that he is on her side, that he is the only person who cares about her then he's horribly wrong. I'm convinced that his words will come back to haunt him and will, hopefully, help ensure that he gets punished in some way, shape or form. As for Lynne Spears, she filed a 6 page declaration along with the filing of the restraining order against Sam Lutfi which I will quote in it's very long entirety:

I, Lynne Spears, declare:

I am the mother of Britney Spears ("Britney")., who is the subject of this action. I have personal knowledge of each of the facts set forth in this Declaration, and can testify completely thereto, except as this matters stated on information and belief, and as to such matters I believe them to be true.

This past Monday night (Jan. 28), Britney's father, Jamie, and I (in separate cars) went to Britney's house in Beverly Hills because we had heard news reports that Britney had just been in a big fight with Sam Lufti aka Sam Lufti ("Sam"), the man who has inserted himself into my daughter's life, home and finances, and that she was crying. We were very concerned about her safety. We arrived at the Summit Community gatehouse in BHPO at approximately 10 p.m. I was with my friend Jackie.

The guards at the gatehouse stopped us there for awhile. Jackie, Jamie and I finally proceeded to Britney's house and entered it. We were able to enter the house because it was not locked. Britney does not lock her doors and currently there are no security guards around her residence. Britney was not home. We found Sam, and Sam said as we walked in the door that Britney only wanted me to come to the house, and that she was afraid to see her dad.

Two or three paparazzi came into the house and entered the kitchen. They greeted Sam. The paparazzi then reported to Sam where Britney currently was. From the conversation between Sam and the paparazzi I determined that Sam had given Felipe (another paparazzi) one of Britney's cars to get her out of the house when he heard that Jamie and I were on our way to see Britney. I also understood from the conversation that Sam disabled all of Britney's cars. (she has several at her residence.)

Sam had told Britney that Jamie and I were coming to the house to do an intervention, and that Britney panicked and took off with Felipe. Another man named Chad Hardcastle was in the house.

I also heard the evening that Britney's and Sam's fight that evening, Sam had told Britney that she was an unfit mother, a piece of trash and a whore, that she cares more about Adnan, her current boyfriend, than she cares about her kids, and that she does not deserve her kids.

The paparazzi reported to Sam and addressed him with great respect. They treated him like a general. He instructed them to get her back to the house. They later told Sam that Britney was on her way back.

Britney then came back to the house with Adnan, who is also a paparazzi. Sam then told Jackie that we needed to do whatever he tells us. I objected. He then told me, "I'm the one who spends 24/7 with your daughter. I sleep in cars outside her house so she can't leave." Sam then said, "you people throw everyone under the bus, if you don't listen to me I'm going to make your name shit in the papers."

As I looked around the kitchen, I noticed that in the middle of the kitchen table there was a large car battery. At some point during the evening I learned that the car battery was there so Sam could charge his cell phone. Although Britney has several cell phones, he told us that he had disposed of all of the phone chargers and had made the house phones unworkable.

Sam told Jackie and me to tell Adnan to leave Britney alone and to get the Fuck out of the house. Jackie refused. Sam then said to tell Britney that Adnan is gay. Adnan stayed at the house a little longer. Sam quietly said something to Adnan and Adnan promptly left the house.

Britney came into the room looking for Adnan. Sam told her that Adnan was in the bathroom. Britney then asked me, "Is Adnan gay?" While Britney was out of earshot, Sam told Jackie and me that we should pretend that Adnan was in the bathroom so Britney wouldn't leave.

Britney then became very agitated and could not stop moving. She cleaned the house. She changed her clothes many times. She also changed her three dogs' clothes many times. Britney spoke to me in a tone and with the level of understanding of a very young girl. Britney then picked up a bottle of pills and read part of the label and asked us, "What does insomnia mean?" Sam told her that the pills will help her stay awake.

Sam told Jackie and me that he grinds up Britney's pills, which were on the counter and included Risperdol and Seroquel. He told us that he puts them in her food that that was the reason she had been quiet for the last three days (she had been sleeping.) He told us that the doctor who is treating her now is trying to get her into a sleep-induced coma so that they could then give her drugs to heal her brain.

Sam then encouraged us to sit down on a sofa and do "tequila shots." Jackie and I said we did not want to. Britney seemed to follow our lead. Sam then got some wine out and said, "Let's all do toasts with wine." Britney said that she didn't want to, she wanted a pretty glass. Sam found a glass with a stem and poured wine for Britney when we were not looking. Britney refused to drink her wine and asked to drink mine.

Shortly afterward, Sam went back into the kitchen and was standing behind a raised bar so that we could not see what his hands were doing on the counter. Sam then said to Britney, "let's go upstairs," and Britney followed him. Britney had calmed down by the time she went upstairs.

A little while later, Britney came downstairs. She seemed agitated again and told us that she wanted to go to Rite Aid for lipsticks. It was now past midnight. Jackie and I said we would take her. Sam told us that he wanted to follow us in his car. We told him that he shouldn't because the paparazzi were in front of the neighbor's house and would harass us. As we were about to drive off, Sam jumped into the bask seat of the car. The paparazzi followed. Sam and I were sitting in the back seat, with Chad as well. He told me that he gave Britney something (when they were upstairs) to make her more light-hearted, happy, and fun. We entered Rite Aid and Britney chose her lipstick. The manager said it is dangerous out there, which it was. When Britney gave the cashier her credit card, the cashier told her it was not working. I paid for the lipstick and the manager told us we could leave through the side door so no one could see us. Sam insisted we leave through the front door and he put his arms around Britney and me for the paparazzi to take photos. I disengaged as quickly as I could.

Sam told me, "You'd better learn that I control everything. I control Howard Grossman, Britney's business manger. I control her attorney's and the security guards at the gate. They don't listen to Britney, they listen to me. That's why Jamie was gone tonight."

At another point in the evening, Sam bragged to me that he is the one who receives Britney's checks and that one of them was for me. I told Sam that I hadn't gotten any checks from Britney. Sam then told me that they are in his car. He told me that if he weren't in the house to give Britney her medicine, she would kill herself. Then he said to me "If you try to get rid of me, she'll be dead and I'll piss on her grave."

He then proclaimed that he has been in the family for a year and that he had one nothing but good for Britney. At this point, it was two or three in the morning. Britney was meandering around the house. She would let me hug her, but she was out of it.

At one point during the night, Sam was screaming at me and Britney said to me, "Sam treats me like that." Then she picked up the house phone and said, "Look at the phone, it doesn't work." Sam then blamed the dead phone on Britney. Jackie spoke up and said to Sam, "You said you cut down the phone wire."

Britney then said again at some point during the night, "When do I get to see my babies?" Sam answered,"Wednesday." Britney then said, "What do I have to do to see them?" Sam responded, "Take the pills I tell you to take." Britney said, "I don't like the pills and I don't like the psychiatrist. Can't I see another psychiatrist so I can see my babies?" Sam responded, "If I told you to take 10 pills a day, you should do what I tell you to see your babies." Jackie then said, "Britney, your parents can help you find a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist needs to get to know you to give you the right medicine." Sam then raised his voice and said, "Why don't you get back with Kevin."

Britney then said, "I'll do anything to get them back."

At some point during the evening, Sam said that Britney decided that he should be her manager.

Adnan has called me and told me he's worried about Britney. He told me that Sam hides the phones and tells her he has lost them. He also hides her dog, London. She looks for him all over the house crying and then Sam brings the dog from the hiding place and acts like her savior.

While we were at Rite Aid, Britney went in and out of her British accent.

At 4 a.m., I was exhausted and wanted to leave. Sam blocked my car so I could not leave. I threatened to call Jamie on the phone.

Britney said, "I want my Daddy up here. I want to talk to my Daddy." I reached Jamie on the phone and gave the phone to Britney. I heard her tell him that she wanted to see him. He said, "right now baby?" and she said, "no." He said, "10:00 in the morning?" and she said, "no, noon."

I spent the rest of the night at Britney's house and for the first time in a very long time, when I lay down to sleep, I felt very agitated. I could not fall asleep at all. I felt like I had had coffee. Jackie, who had gone home earlier, later told me that she also could not sleep at all, and felt like she had had coffee.

Jamie came to pick me up the next morning. Jamie gave Britney a big hug and said to her, "baby, you're OK?" Britney said, "I'm fine," then burst into tears.

To my knowledge, Britney never went to sleep that night and was very agitated for most of the night.

Sam and Chad, however, slept in the "smoking room," a small room downstairs on the first floor of the house.

Later the next day, on January 29, Jackie showed me a text message she had received from Sam: "Thanks for telling Jamie all your bullshit. He just hit me. Now you guys did your deed. Much accomplished. Good job."

I did not see Britney again until I arrived at her house on Wednesday night after Sam called me and told me to come to the house. When we arrived, Britney seemed subdued. The police arrived and took her to the Neuro Psychiatric Institute at UCLA ("NPI"). While at NPI, I l earned that Britney informed her doctor, Lee Sadja, MD, that she had also taken Aderol.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on January 31, 2008 at Los Angeles, California.