Dr. Phil "Betrayed" Spears Family's Trust
Britney Spears' family says "Dr. Phil" McGraw crossed the line by not keeping his mouth shut after making a house call on the singer last week.
Lou Taylor, a business manager for Spears' mother, Lynne, and younger sister, Jamie Lynn, appeared on NBC's "Today" show Wednesday and said McGraw had betrayed the family's trust by talking to the media about Spears' mental health after showing up at the 26-year-old pop star's hospital room on Saturday for a visit.
"The family basically extended an invitation of trust for him to come in as a resource to support them, not to go out and make public statements," Taylor said. "Any statement publicly that he made, because he was brought in under this cloak of trust, (is) just inappropriate."
Photos: Standoff At Britney's
Taylor said McGraw was invited to the hospital by Spears' family, but "he was not invited to make this part of a public display or part of the media."
McGraw said earlier this week that he was shelving plans for a show on Spears' latest breakdown. He said Spears' predicament was "too intense" for him to go on with the show.
Taylor said the syndicated TV psychologist broached the idea of the show to Spears' handlers, who eventually decided that such a show would be "detrimental" to the family.
Photos: Pop Diva Britney
McGraw representative Theresa Corigliano did not immediately respond to phone and e-mail messages by The Associated Press seeking comment.
Mental health professionals also criticized McGraw this week, saying he went too far by showing up at Spears' room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles as she was about to be discharged.
McGraw fired back at his critics in an interview with "Entertainment Tonight" on Monday.
"Somebody needs to step up and get this young woman into some quality care and I do not apologize one whit, not one second, for trying to make that happen," he said.
Spears was hospitalized Thursday night after a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline resulted in an hours-long standoff with police. On Friday, a court commissioner gave sole physical and legal custody of 1-year-old Jayden James and 2-year-old Sean Preston to Federline.