With a bulging tummy, Britney looks forlorn at the recent MTV Video Music Awards.
Her name must have something to do with her luck, or her lack of it.
In my mind, Britney Spears continues to evoke the image of a brittle dollar bill (money, hence brit-ney) and the rather horrifying image of a girl pierced in spears.
In the latest spear thrown at her, a court commissioner in Britney’s child custody dispute practically called the 25-year-old pop star a drug addict and ordered her to undergo random drug and alcohol testing.
With this development, Britney faces the possibility of losing her two young sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline.
It could not have come at a worse time for Spears, who is trying to recover from a series of image-crippling events that include a bizarre head-shaving in February and a ridiculed performance at last week’s MTV Video Music Awards.
She was also dropped by her management company and broke up with her attorney. A former bodyguard is also preparing to testify in the custody dispute about Britney’s alleged drug use, nudity and safety issues which he said he had observed.
All these shocking developments come ahead of the release of Britney’s new album in November.
On Monday, Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon required both Spears and Federline to refrain from drinking or using drugs either in the presence of their children or within 12 hours before taking charge of them. He said there was evidence Spears engaged in “habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances (drugs) and alcohol.”
He also ordered Spears, but not Federline, to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week, according to court documents.
“If she were to violate the order, she would be really stupid,” said Lynne Gold-Bikin, a family law attorney in Pennsylvania.
However, the court official did not require Britney to undergo rehabilitation and substance abuse counseling, possibly indicating that her problem isn’t severe enough to affect her parenting skills.
The judge did say Spears must meet eight hours a week with a parenting coach, who will observe her with her children and report back to the court.
Both parents are prohibited from making derogatory remarks about each other in their children’s presence, and from using corporal punishment to discipline them.
Each must complete the court’s “Parenting Without Conflict” class. The educational program, set in a group format and comprised of six sessions, helps parents learn the benefits of cooperative parenting, conflict resolution and problem solving.
Spears married Federline in October 2004. She filed for divorce last November and it became official in July. The two have joint custody of their sons — Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1 — but Federline is seeking a greater share of custody.