As new information emerges regarding Britney Spears’s arrest last night, The Mirror takes a look at the pop icon’s devastating spiral back in the mid-’00s, with her breakdown captured in heartbreaking footage
Concerns have grown for Britney Spears, who was arrested last night for Driving Under the Influence, TMZ claims, in what’s been described as an emotional incident.
It’s also believed the pop icon was booked early this morning (March 5) at approximately 3 am, after being handcuffed by California Highway Patrol at around 9:30 pm the previous evening. It’s understood Britney, 44, was released at around 6 am this morning, as per Ventura County Sheriff’s records, and is now scheduled to appear in court on May 4.
While Britney has yet to publicly comment on these reports, a representative for the legendary singer has released a statement asserting that “she needs help”. They previously told The Mirror: “This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time. Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being.”
While Britney has in many ways lived a charmed life, filled with success and accomplishments many could only dream of, she’s also faced a number of personal difficulties. This became particularly apparant in 2007, when the much loved star suffered a well documented meltdown at the height of her fame.
READ MORE: Britney Spears rep releases statement after arrest saying ‘she needs help’
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With her trademark pigtails and innocent charm, Britney shot to stardom with her debut single …Baby One More Time in 1998. For four years, she dominated the charts, racking up hit after hit, earning millions from global tours and securing the title of world’s most powerful celebrity by Forbes magazine. But cracks began to appear in December 2002, when her three-year relationship with Justin Timberlake ended.
Public opinion seemed to shift, and the following August, she faced hostile jeers from fans during a world tour and faced backlash for kissing Madonna on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards. Her parents split, and she impulsively eloped to Las Vegas to wed childhood friend Jason Alexander, only for the marriage to be annulled a mere 55 hours later.
Back in 2019, a Channel 5 documentary, Britney Spears-Breaking Point, examined how the Louisiana-born star’s pursuit of normality led her to marry backing dancer Kevin Federline just eight months later – a relationship that would trigger her downfall. “Britney was desperate for love. From the earliest age, Britney wanted everybody to love her, including Kevin,” Rob Shuter, former executive editor of US OK Magazine, explains. “And I think that when it didn’t work out, it was heartbreaking for her. And I don’t think she ever really dealt with it.”
And as their marriage collapsed in November 2006, Britney’s 14 months of torment began. Just two months following the arrival of their second son, Jayden James, Britney initiated divorce proceedings, citing irreconcilable differences. Her increasingly unpredictable conduct saw her partying with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan without underwear.
The passing of her cherished aunt, Sandra Covington, is believed to have triggered her downward spiral in January 2007. She was admitted to Eric Clapton’s rehabilitation facility, Crossroads, in Antigua, but immediately returned to America and went to Kevin’s residence, where he denied her access to their children.
Steve Dennis, author of Britney – Inside The Dream, suggests that by this stage she was no longer “thinking straight”. “Britney is in chaos. She’s in turmoil, and she’s in massive anxiety. And what you see, what we all see, sadly, is Britney acting out, lashing out, rebelling, losing control,” he says. What followed shocked the entire world.
Furious, exasperated and encircled by 70 or more paparazzi, Britney drove to a local hair salon and requested hairdresser Esther Tognozz to shave her head. Tognozz declined and attempted to dissuade her, but the moment her back was turned, Britney grabbed the clippers and cut off half her hair herself.
“She had two bodyguards supposedly keeping an eye out to make sure the paparazzi were not getting any pictures,” Tognozz remembers as footage reveals her minders laughing with photographers. “They were allowing the paparazzi to take her picture,” says Rob Shuter, suggesting they may even have been paid for it. The most heartbreaking moment, however, was witnessing Britney’s expression transform from a smile to one of panic and distress as she grasped what she had done.
Visibly dejected, she worried that her “mum was going to be p***ed,” before composing herself and making her way to the Body and Soul Tattoo studio. Breaking her silence for the first time, tattooist Emily Wynne Hughes remembered hearing “an insane roaring sound outside” as Britney arrived with the paparazzi in tow.
“I wasn’t sure what was happening, if there was a riot outside, and then the flashes came. The door opened slowly, and a hooded figure walked in,” she recalled. Britney initially requested a tattoo of another woman’s lips, followed by a small cross. When Wynne Hughes enquired about what had happened to the star’s hair, she was startled by her unusual response.
“It was, you know, ‘I just don’t want anybody, anybody touching my head. I don’t want anyone touching my hair. I’m sick of people touching my hair,” she recalled. Rather than supporting their high-profile client, the tattoo artist noted that the troubled star’s entourage appeared entirely “disengaged”.
“It just didn’t seem like they cared very much. I’ve felt this insane sense of anxiety and energy that felt so negative,” she explained. “It just seemed like everybody was waiting for the crash to happen.” The next day, Britney persisted in dismantling her carefully crafted image, adopting peculiar accents and donning various wigs. Still dressed in the previous evening’s attire, she attempted to book into the luxury Mondrian hotel in Los Angeles without any money or credit cards – merely some figures jotted down on paper.
After staff turned her away, she requested access to the swimming pool and wandered about in her undergarments before proceeding to shave her legs at the basin in the changing facilities. Other hotel patrons remembered her approaching strangers, asking for friendship whilst consuming multiple alcoholic beverages.
Rolling Stone reported she remained awake for 48 consecutive hours, convinced she was being pursued by demons or that a mobile phone charger was recording her innermost thoughts. Four days on, she returned to rehabilitation. Once more, she departed prematurely and headed directly to Kevin’s residence, and, once more, he denied her access to the children.
And when her cousin, Alli Sims, transported her to a local petrol station, it was at that location where she finally lost control and assaulted a photographer and his vehicle with an umbrella. Photographer Dano Ramos recounts in the documentary: “She went after us and attacked my truck,” adding, “She was grinding her teeth and just beaten my truck up and she started going after [fellow photographer] Roberto, he turns his back, and she swipes him in the back with the umbrella.”
Author Steve Dennis suggests her explosive reaction was characteristic of most people when “something just becomes crowded and claustrophobic. “You lash out. And what was in her hand at that time was an umbrella. And she was lashing out not just at the paparazzi, but at the press and at fame and who she had become and the life that she could never get back,” he explains.
On this occasion, she attended Promises rehab in Malibu and successfully completed her month-long programme. However, her greatest fear became reality when the courts awarded Kevin full custody in October 2007, after he alleged Britney had a habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol.
Devastated and with nobody she could rely on, she purchased two baby blue parakeets and named them Sean and Jayden after her sons. “That’s how sad she was. She just needed companionship,” Hollywood gossip journalist Janet Charlton observes. Despite Britney’s deteriorating state, the media frenzy surrounding her only intensified, and following one court-supervised visit with her children, she barricaded herself in the bathroom with Jayden for three hours.
Police vehicles, fire engines and ambulances descended upon her mansion, and when the star was eventually persuaded to emerge, she was laughing hysterically as paramedics restrained her and secured her to a gurney. Upon arrival at the hospital, she was placed on a 5250 psychiatric hold, which permitted doctors to detain her for 14 days for her own protection.
Her parents intervened to assume control of her affairs, placing her under a conservatorship that remains in effect to this day. For her agent, Nancy Carson, who’d first encountered her as an angelic and pure eight-year-old, the incident proved both devastating and reassuring simultaneously.
“I cried. I just was so glad when her parents stepped in and did what they did, and they did exactly what they should do as parents,” she revealed. “Yes, I cried. I loved this little girl, and I knew she was in pain, and it broke my heart.”
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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READ MORE: Britney Spears arrested: everything we know so far
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