Britney reportedly blindsided by Dr. Phil

She had been admitted on late Thursday after a custody confrontation at her home that ended in hysterics by the troubled pop star, several media outlets reported.

After the incident, a court commissioner gave sole physical and legal custody of Spears’ two young sons Friday to ex-husband Kevin Federline and suspended Spears' visitation rights.

Sources told TMZ that Spears' parents, Lynne and James, were the ones who asked Dr. Phil to help her. When he entered Spears' room, she reportedly walked out and returned later. Sources say he tried to speak to Spears for 15 minutes and later followed the star out to her car as she left the hospital.

A spokeswoman for the hospital declined comment citing patient confidentiality, and a representative for McGraw could not be reached.

Dr. Phil speaks about visit
On Saturday, Web sites for celebrity TV shows "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider" reported that McGraw walked Spears to her car. The New York Post's PageSix.com cited a "family insider" as saying Spears had "a complete nervous breakdown."

"My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention," McGraw told the programs.

"She was released moments before my arrival and was packing when I entered the room. We visited for about an hour before I walked with her to her car. I am very concerned for her," he said.

McGraw planned to talk more about Spears on his daytime talk show this week, the press release said. Spears' parents will be appearing on "The Dr. Phil" show Tuesday, according to TMZ.

Spears, 26, was hospitalized on Friday when trouble erupted between her and representatives of ex-husband, Kevin Federline, who went to Spears' home to pick up their sons from a weekend visitation.

The pop singer, who spent much of 2007 in and out of alcohol and drug rehab and battling legal problems, became hysterical, was taken from her home on a stretcher and transported to Cedars-Sinai via ambulance, television and Web sites reported.

Federline's attorneys went to a Los Angeles family court on Friday and obtained a ruling that suspended Spears' visitation rights to her two sons, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, until Jan. 14.

Federline had previously been awarded temporary custody because Spears has defied court orders, resulting in limitations on her visitation.

“I’m not happy about any of these events,” Federline attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan said when he left a closed-door emergency hearing Friday afternoon. “There’s no winners here.”

Federline was not in court for the hearing, Kaplan said.

The attorney had said he did not expect the ruling to be released until Monday, but it was issued shortly after the hearing concluded.

Conflict on Thursday
Spears' latest troubles began around 8 p.m. Thursday when officers were called to her home to help resolve a dispute over her refusal to turn the children over to Federline, as dictated by their custody agreement.

The dramatic situation at Spears’ home was sparked by a call from Federline to his lawyers, according to a new report from Britain’s News of the World. A friend of Federline’s also told NOTW that the situation escalated because two guns were believed to be on the premises, according to Access Hollywood.

“K-Fed was terrified,” the friend reportedly told the British tabloid. “He realized she had a gun where she was holding them.”

The tabloid claims to have learned that Federline gave Spears a Beretta pistol on a previous birthday.

“Kevin knew she was on the edge and might snap at any time,” the source reportedly told NOTW. “Knowing there were two firearms in the house, including the Beretta, he wasn’t taking any chances — hence the massive police response.”

It took two to three hours to resolve the conflict, said Officer Ana Aguirre.“There was a time where she was within the residence and wasn’t available to be speaking to the officers, apparently,” she said. “There was no threat to the children.”

“Police resolved the conflict,” Aguirre said. “Both children were turned over to her ex-husband Kevin Federline for custody, and she was in fact taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.”

Early police reports said officers thought Spears might have been under the influence of some substance, but Aguirre said there was no evidence of that.

“Our understanding is that was not the case,” she said.

Officers at the scene determined that paramedics “needed to be called” but it was unclear why, she said.

“We’re not aware of any type of injuries that she sustained” and she was not combative with authorities, Aguirre said.

Spears was conscious as the ambulance left her home escorted by a row of police cars. A horde of paparazzi chased the ambulance, their strobes going off as they held their cameras up to the vehicle’s rear window.

According to People.com, a court-appointed monitor called the police.

“This was a hostage situation,” People Deputy Managing Editor Peter Castro told Access Hollywood.

“When it was time for Jayden to go visit, get back in the car and go to his dad, Britney did not allow that. She locked herself in a room with Jayden, and that’s when the cops were called,” Castro told Access Hollywood. “They come in, they get through the door, and they strap Britney down on a gurney.”Spears wasn’t arrested in connection with the custody dispute, Aguirre said.

“There was no actual crime that was involved,” the police spokeswoman said.

The police had a difficult time removing Britney from the locked room, according to Castro. “It’s unclear whether they broke down the door or Britney let them in, but it took a long time for them to get through that door and when they finally got through they saw a disoriented Britney, who hadn’t slept for days, apparently hadn’t eaten for days, and that’s when they decided, ‘Let’s put her in a gurney, she’s under no condition to walk out of here on her own.‘”

“Entertainment Tonight” reported on its Web site that Spears was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Cedars spokeswoman Simi Singer said she could neither confirm nor deny the report, citing patient confidentiality laws.

According to Access Hollywood, Spears was on an involuntary psychiatric hold, also known as a section 5150 hold.

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health defines a 5150 is as, “a means by which someone who is in serious need of mental health treatment can be transported to a designated psychiatric inpatient facility for evaluation and treatment for up to 72 hours against their will. If the facility feels that further treatment is indicated, the person can be held involuntarily for additional lengths of time providing he or she meets the legal criteria and is unwilling or unable to remain voluntarily.”

Singer wouldn’t confirm or deny reports in entertainment media that Spears would be held for 72 hours for psychological evaluation. The reports didn’t identify their sources.

According to Castro, there is a law in California stating that if there is an incident at a home involving children, they are required to go to a hospital and get checked for physical and mental issues.

The children were cleared of both after a short stay in the hospital.

Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, also would not disclose any information about her daughter’s condition. “Just say prayers,” she told Access Hollywood by phone Friday.

Spears “needs an enormous amount of help to find out why the erratic behavior,” said Ruth Schreibman, a marriage and family therapist who does not treat the pop star.

“Is she bipolar? Is she depressed? Is it postpartum depression? Is it drugs and alcohol?” she said. “There’s just so much attention and it’s such an accelerated speed of life that how can there be any normalcy?”

Spears and Federline were married in October 2004. Her life has spiraled downward since their divorce in July. She has been photographed without underwear and appeared to be drunk and out of control in public. She shaved her head, beat a car with an umbrella and spent a month in rehab.

She had hoped to regain her pop crown with a much-hyped performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards in September, but it was universally panned by fans and critics.

Still, Spears’ latest album, “Blackout,” earned positive reviews when it was released in October and brought Spears her first No. 1 hit in years, “Gimme More.”

However, Spears remains a paparazzi target for her bizarre antics, which include frequent stops at gas-station bathrooms and holing up in a hotel room with a paparazzo.

Her 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn, made headlines last month when she announced that she is pregnant.

2800 hcarroll Published 1/7/08   Message Add to Friends