Britney Back In Hospital

Pop Princess Taken By Ambulance For Second Time This Month; Reportedly Going To "Get Help"

(CBS/AP)  Britney Spears was taken from her home by ambulance early Thursday and escorted to a hospital by a large police escort.

A Los Angeles police officer, who asked to remain anonymous because he wasn't authorized to speak on the matter, said the 26-year-old pop star was being taken to "get help," but did not give the ambulance's destination.

Spears, who was to be placed on a "mental evaluation hold," was taken to UCLA Medical Center, where her mother, Lynne, was seen leaving its psychiatric hospital at about 5:30 a.m.

When asked by a throng of paparazzi and reporters whether Britney was doing all right, Lynne Spears replied, "Yeah," before leaving in a Range Rover.

Hours earlier, shortly after 1 a.m., a motorcade nearly the length of a football field pulled away from Spears' residence. Along with the ambulance, it included police on nearly a dozen motorcycles, in two cruisers, and two helicopters following overhead.
According to Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman there were reports that her father, Jamie Spears, and her manager, Sam Lutfi were at the hospital as well.

Celebrity Web site TMZ.com reports the family and Lutfi are arguing over who is in charge of her care.

"Even in sickness, there is chaos surrounding her," Kauffman remarked.

Spears' father was visibly upset when he arrived at the hospital.

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Photos: Britney Spears: The Early Years

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"Spears' police escort "was like a medical motorcade," Bill Graham, director of operations of celebrity news agency X-17, told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "and we saw eight motorcycles and five police cars flanking the ambulance. And behind that was a white van. And behind the white van were distraught friends and relatives of Britney Spears going to UCLA Medical Center.

Two helicopters hovered overhead, it was reported.

TMZ says the plan to commit Spears was in the works for days.

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Photos: Standoff At Britney's

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Spears' psychiatrist believed her condition was worsening, Kauffman says. She reportedly had not slept since Saturday.

"One of the photographers who follows her told me they know she's been up," Kauffman reports. "They've seen her, driving around town and buying Red Bull by the case."

When Spears was told she was going to the hospital again, she is said to have asked, "Is something wrong?" and didn't resist, Kauffman adds.

But Sheeraz Hasan, founder and CEO of Hollywood.tv told Rodriguez, "This afternoon, (Spears) was driving around Beverly Hills at the most dangerous speeds ever. And so many of the paparazzi were calling us up and saying that today could be a very, very sad day. She was literally on her own, driving around, cutting up traffic, driving on the opposite side of the lane. And it was a complete buildup to today. So today, she was just driving at the most craziest-ever Britney Spears has ever driven."

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Photos: Britney Goes To Court

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E! Online reports the genesis of this latest trouble may have been an ultimatum from Spears' photographer friend Adnan Ghalib, who is said to have told Spears to choose between him and her frequent companion, her manager, Lutfi.

On Jan. 3, police were called to her home when Spears refused to return her two young sons, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, to ex-husband Kevin Federline, who has custody.

Officers had paramedics haul Spears to a hospital for undisclosed reasons. She was released after a day-and-a-half in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Police also went to the home Monday night after someone reported a swarm of paparazzi trespassing in the singer's gated community. When officers arrived, they didn't see anyone trespassing, police said, but citations were issued for several illegally parked cars.

Spears has been in a highly public downward spiral since filing for divorce from Federline in November 2006.

Her bizarre antics include shaving her head bald, attacking a car with an umbrella and bringing along a paparazzo pal on trips to a courthouse in her child custody case.

Two days ago, Barbara Walters said she had been contacted by Spears' manager and "very good friend" Lutfi, who said the pop singer has seen a psychiatrist.

Lutfi told her the 26-year-old pop singer "is suffering from what he describes as mental issues which are treatable," Walters said Monday on ABC's "The View."

"He said that she has been to a psychiatrist and that she, I assume, is starting some kind of treatment," said Walters, a co-host on the ABC daytime talk show. "She has been having mood swings. She's been having trouble sleeping, and also she is in touch with her mother - 'cause we had heard she wasn't - and her mother has been very supportive of whatever it is that Britney is going to do," Walters said.

Lutfi has been staying with Spears constantly, "and he got in touch with us," Walters continued. "I can't vouch for this, he seemed to be very knowledgeable and he certainly was very nice."

According to TV's "The Insider," it appears that there is friction between Lutfi and Spears' paparazzo pal Ghalib. Cameras caught Ghalib arriving at Spears' Hollywood Hills home Monday night, only to be turned away at the gate by Lutfi. Ghalib said he received text messages from Lutfi saying that the only way for him to help spears was to "disappear."

Later, Spears drove to a nearby supermarket, followed by Ghalib. The two ended up back at her home with her mom, her dad, Lutfi and Ghalib.

The one bit of good news in Spears' continuing story is that, according to court papers obtained by "The Insider" Monday, Spears was given the right to have telephone contact with her two children at last week's custody hearing. Her visitation rights, however, remain suspended.

Spears' attorney, Sorrell Trope, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment Monday. Spears' spokeswoman at Jive Records, Gina Orr, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Spears reportedly has had a rocky relationship with her mother, Lynne Spears, whose book about raising her family in the spotlight was put on indefinite hold last month after younger daughter, Jamie Lynn, 16, announced that she is pregnant.

[wattermelann]

I am glad Mr. Spears has taken over. I hope that his control continues and he continues the restaining order on both the manager Lufti and the gigolo Gahib and both of them get out of her life.

[drewpopo99]

Sam should be got out of her life. I hope her family can help her out before her getting crazy.I support her and hope she will pull through. She had better go to Richromances.com and continue her journey to new love.

[b-easy63]

I think Brittany, like many of our soldiers, is experiencing PTSD brought on by tremendous guilt. In the case of each, they have had to do things diametrically opposed to their true nature and in so doing, for years they bury how they perceive themselves, But deep down, they know they did things that (to themselves) is reprehensible and in fact unforgiveable--or at least they each think it is. This leads to depression, and acting out. The fallout from the acting out leads to more depression and they end up in a downward spiral. Brittany needs some down time--away from the press and all the parasites that feed on her. Perhaps she and Char can get together on an island, with all the kids and a chaperone (sans Kevin) because part of Brittany''s problem is she has been acting like a home wrecker and in the back of her mind was reaping what she sowed--that came true when she and Kevin broke up--it was like all her birds finally coming home to roost.

[thistlefarms]

Who cares? mental illness can happen to anyone. Just like any other disease. I have not red this article. Just opened the page to say this. Every day this pour woman is in the news!

[ieggossip]

And now I just heard she and her sis may be moving.. ah brit I think the mental ward will work as a home for now. more here: http://www.ieg.com/?f=forum&sf=topic&fp=11&mp=o,2454497003401799168

[ieggossip]

And now I just heard she and her sis may be moving.. ah brit I think the mental ward will work as a home for now. more here http://www.ieg.com/?f=forum&sf=topic&fp=11&mp=o,2454497003401799168

[nyckate]

Britney''s real problem is that she''s always hooking up with losers who use her -- first kfed - yuk - then this loser adnan - and that supposed managr only cares so long as the money is rolling in - when her money is all gone so will he be.

Mom hasn''t shown a whole lot of common sense with either of her daughters - so maybe now Dad needs to step in and take care of his girls.

[misssuzq]

Lohan, Spears, Richie, Hilton, Ledger.

I could go on an on, the list is too long.

What I see is a pattern where the people that surround these celebrities do NOTHING for their well-being.

I would think that in some cases, they would want their MEAL TICKET to live a long and productive life.

[hypnotoad72]

Hmmm. Every time she goes to mental hospital, she gets adoring fans.

Every time you or I goes to the bonkers bin, we have to call people and all we get are "I hope you have good insurance."

Once they pay working class jobs the same amounts of money as they pay "talking into a microphone" jobs...

I still have sympathy for her. But oh so many people are looking at change right now. And most of us helped maker and keep the system going.

[ucastiglione]

HELLO!
OH WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN ...WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH? SHE HAS BEEN CONTROLLED SINCE SHE WAS A CHILD. SHE BEEN USED BY EVERY ADULT IN HER LIFE.
WAS IT ABSOLUTELY A BIG DEAL TO BE ESCORTED WITH SO MUCH MEDICAL AND POLICE HELP? IF THERE HAD BEEN A CRIME IN THE AREA THEY ALL WOULD HAVE BEEN TO BUSY. WHY DO THE NEWS AND MEDIA CONTINUE ON WITH THIS???SHES A PRODUCT OF HER ENVIROMENT.
CANT EVERYBODY JUST LET IT BE. TRY FOCUSSING ON HER EX!! HE''S A REAL GEM WHY THE SYSTEM LET HIM HAVE THOSE BOYS IS QUITE EMBARRESSING. DO THEY THINK HE''S MORE FIT THAN HER. HE JUST COLLECTS CHECKS FROM HER LIKE EVERYBODY ELESE SHE''S WAS TAUGHT TO TRUST. GIVE IT TIME AND SHE''LL END UP DEAD AND WE WILL HERE ABOUT IT TILL WE ARE READY TO CHOKE. WHERE IS THE REAL CONCERN FOR HER 2 BOYS??? HE''S LUCKY HE CAN TELL YOU WHAT THEY HAD FOR BREAKFAST...THE NANNY KNOWS AND EVERYBODY ELESE WHO PAID TO CARE FOR THEM. THEY DON''T HAVE TRUE PARENTS....SO WHY DOES''NT ANYBODY JUST LET IT BE??? A LOGICAL ????