Britney Hospitalized "For Her Own Welfare"
A bizarre new chapter is unfolding in the troubled life of Britney Spears, with the fallen pop star hospitalized Friday "for her own welfare." She was taken from her home on a gurney after police were summoned because she wouldn't turn over her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline.
With paparazzi swarming the ambulance doors, Spears was whisked away late Thursday, nearly three hours after police first arrived at her home in a gated community.
"For her own welfare, she was transferred to a local hospital for medical treatment," Officer April Harding said, declining to elaborate. No injuries were reported.
Police initially said it appeared the 26-year-old Spears was under the influence of an unknown substance but Harding said Friday she could not confirm that or other reports that Spears was hospitalized for mental evaluation.
"Just say prayers," Spears' mother, Lynne Spears, told the celebrity news show "Access Hollywood" by phone on Friday.
Attorneys for Spears and Federline were in court Friday to discuss child custody arrangements.
Photos: Standoff At Britney's
Tara Scott, representing Spears, and Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, spent about 30 minutes in chambers with Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon, who has been handling the couple's custody case. They made no comments to reporters.
A court hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PST Friday.
Kaplan said through his publicist, Michael Sands, that it would be "inappropriate for him to speak to the media ... because of what's happened last night, because of the serious nature of what we've all read about."
Photos: Pop Diva Britney
Sands said Kaplan had been at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after Spears was admitted Thursday, but he declined to provide any details about the troubled singer, her ex-husband, or their two sons.
Timeline: Britney's Meltdown
Spears was conscious late Thursday when paramedics took her out of her home in a gurney. Several police cars escorted the ambulance out of the neighborhood, followed by dozens of paparazzi.
Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen Friday he had "learned that there were two ambulances that left Britney's house, one of them carrying her young son, Jaden James, and we don't know the condition of the child or Britney."
Officers were called to Spears' house around 8 p.m. Thursday for an issue involving the custody of her sons, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James, Harding said.
By about 10:30 p.m., six police cars, two ambulances and a fire truck had entered the gated-community that includes Spears' house. Several police cars were seen in the area earlier in the night.
Spears turned over the children around 10:50 p.m., Lee said.
From the hospital, Frazier told Chen, "Kevin Federline's guard is standing in front of the emergency room door. He has some kind of veil blocking the door, so that people cannot see in. Inside, it is almost like an armed camp. Three police officers in the hallway, four more in the back room."
Cedars spokeswoman Simi Singer said she could neither confirm nor deny that Spears was at the hospital, citing patient confidentiality laws.
"Throughout this somewhat contentious custody battle," Frazier observed, "there's been one real constant, and that's been Britney's visitation has been pulled off without a hitch for the most part, until last (Thursday) night."
Spears has appeared increasingly out of control during the past year. She has been photographed without underwear and appeared to be drunk and out-of-control. She shaved her head, beat a car with an umbrella and spent a month in rehab and has had a handful of fender benders, including one in which she ran over a photographer's foot.