Britney Spears' self-styled manager set to testify

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2012 file photo, singer Britney Spears arrives at the Pre-GRAMMY Gala & Salute to Industry Icons with Clive Davis honoring Richard Branson in Beverly Hills, Calif. Testimony has opened in a defamation lawsuit against Britney Spears' parents, with a top record executive, Barry Weiss, saying on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, he was never told that plaintiff Sam Lutfi was her manager. (AP Photo/Vince Bucci, file) / Vince Bucci

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears' former self-styled manager is set to take the stand in his lawsuit against the superstar's parents as he goes after a share of her millions in earnings.

Sam Lutfi was expected to testify when court resumes Tuesday in his acrimonious defamation suit against her parents.

A top recording executive who testified as the trial's first witness Monday suggested that Lutfi was never Spears' manager and described him as a "gofer" who helped to get her to the set of a music video on time.

Lutfi says he was a caring person trying to save Spears from her own destructive tendencies during her well-documented meltdown.

Spears' mother has portrayed him in a book as a Svengali-like figure who controlled the singer and gave her drugs.