Jan 29, 2008 10:00 am US/Pacific
Manager: Britney Has "Mental Issues"
Tells Barbara Walters That Pop Star Has Seen Shrink Who Says Problems Are "Treatable"
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Britney Spears has spiraled downward since filing for divorce from Kevin Federline in November 2006. (File)
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Barbara Walters says she has been contacted by
Britney Spears' manager and "very good friend," Sam Lutfi, who says 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.
Photos: Britney Spears: the Early Years"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.
Photos: Standoff At Britney's
Lutfi has been staying with Spears constantly, "and he got in touch
with us," Walters said. "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 Lufti and Spears' paparazzo
pal Adnan Ghalib. Cameras caught Ghalib arriving at Spears' Hollywood
Hills home Monday night, only to be turned away at the gate by Lufti.
Ghalib said he received text messages from Lufti 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, Lufti and
Ghalib.
Photos: Britney Goes To CourtPolice
were called to Spears' neighborhood around 7 p.m. Monday after someone
reported a swarm of paparazzi trespassing in the singer's gated
community.
Los Angeles police Officer Mike Lopez said officers received a call
Monday about a group of photographers "stepping onto the grounds" of
the private neighborhood while following the 26-year-old pop star.
When officers arrived, they didn't see anyone trespassing, Lopez
said. He said citations were issued for several illegally parked cars.
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 has spiraled downward since filing for divorce from Kevin
Federline in November 2006. Her bizarre public antics include shaving
her head bald, attacking a car with an umbrella and bringing along a
paparazzo pal on trips to a Los Angeles courthouse in her custody case
with Federline.
The singer was taken to a Los Angeles hospital by paramedics
earlier this month after police were called to her home because of a
dispute involving her sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1. She
has lost custody and visitation rights with the boys.
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.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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