The court battle continues to rage between Britney Spears’ former manager, Sam Lufti, and the singer’s parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears. Lufti is suing?Britney’s parents for defamation, breach of contract, and libel for many millions of dollars, plus a percentage of Britney’s income during the time he was employed by her.
Regardless of the court’s eventual decision, it’s a shame?that poor Brit Brit should have to relive that bleak time in her life. In the ensuing years, she has managed to pull herself together. She's engaged to a guy who looks more considerably more respectable than Kevin Federline. She has a regular gig as a judge on X Factor. She even?has hair. And luckily for her, despite the fact that she’s a grown-ass woman and this entire debacle rotates around her actions, she’s not required to attend the trial.
It boils down to this. Lufti claims he tried to help Britney, get her off drugs, revive her career, and?reunite her with her parents. He is practically a saint. Britney’s parents allege pretty close to the diametrical opposite: that Lufti gave Britney drugs, emotionally tortured her, and further alienated her from her family.
Once old Sam?concludes?his direct testimony, which is likely to happen?today, lawyers representing the Spears will begin?cross-examination. During the course of Lufti’s testimony, lots of salacious details have been revealed about Britney. We all remember when it happened, but Lufti has enhanced the picture by converting what the world already assumed into direct allegations. Namely Britney’s rampant drug use during that time.
Sam and Britney?met one fateful evening at a nightclub and became inseparable.?She was a mess, using drugs, terrified of losing custody of her kids, firing everyone who worked for her, blah blah blah.?Sam reluctantly agreed to be her manager under the condition that she stop her drug use and let him hire some new people. Oh yeah, and give him 15% of her earnings. There is no documentation of their arrangement, and why would there be? They were buds. Why would they need boring legal papers when a friendly handshake would suffice? (And since it was Britney, we can assume she'spit into her hand before the?handshake.)
Needless to say, a drug-addled brain combined with a painfully low IQ can lead to some questionable decisions. Lufti alleges that Britney was so terrified of losing custody of her sons that she shaved her head to avoid the potential detection of drugs in her hair, because?that would have reflected negatively on her competence as a parent. It did not occur to her, apparently,?that shaving one’s head bald with a lunatic grin on your face in front of cameras might also reflect negatively on one’s sanity, and thereby competence as a parent.?
In early 2008, following more icky custody issues and a drug relapse, the bald Britney was involuntarily hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation. Her father took over her estate as the legal conservator, and filed a restraining order against Lufti that precluded him from contacting Britney or intervening in her life in any way.
Now, Britney has exhibited some questionable judgment in the past (such as walking barefoot into a gas station bathroom), perhaps she?isn’t the brightest bulb, and she evidently has?some pretty twitchy psychological issues, but she has a cute face, a hot body, and the?unbridled spirit of an exhibitionist. And while you can argue that she’s only marginally talented …?and you’d be correct … the fact remains that'she has managed to parlay that marginal talent into big fucking success.
I doubt anyone other than the involved parties actually cares who wins this case. Sam Lufti certainly does not look trustworthy, in large part due to his creepy facial hair … but I suspect that character assessment is not admissable in court. However it rolls out, we in the court of public opinion know only this: the intervening years have not faded the'disgusting exhilaration of?watching this drama unfold.