The continuing meltdown of Britney Spears is a depressing thing to watch, but America can't seem to look away.
Since her split with hubby Kevin Federline -- a/k/a "K-Fed," but now more commonly known as "Fed-Ex" -- Britney went on a November indecent exposure spree while partying with celebutante Paris Hilton.
Last week, Britney's former assistant Felicia Culotta went public with her concerns that the 25-year-old pop star was headed for "rock bottom" and on Valentine's Day, Britney reportedly checked into rehab on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Twenty-four hours later, however -- reportedly after an argument with her mother -- she checked out and by Friday, paparazzi shot startling photos of Britney shaving her head in an L.A. hair salon, after which she went to get some new tattoos.
It has been said there is no such thing as bad publicity, but becoming a laughingstock has never helped anyone's career, and now Britney finds herself compared to "Taxi Driver" psycho Travis Bickle and to late-era Judy Garland -- the latter analogy perhaps most apt, since Garland, like Spears, began her career as a wholesome child star.
What set off last week's round of personal (and public-relations) nightmares for Britney? Well, did anyone watch the Grammy awards Feb. 11?
Justin Timberlake did a star turn singing "What Goes Around." He ended the performance singing directly into a handheld camera and ... what are those lyrics? "It's breaking my heart to watch you run around/'Cause I know that you're living a lie."
Britney and Justin's relationship goes back to their days together on "The New Mickey Mouse Club." Both their careers took off in 1998, first Justin's with N'Sync, followed by Britney's with the debut smash "Baby One More Time."
After that, however, Britney's star ascended meteorically while the popularity of N'Sync's '90s boy-band act faded. N'Sync broke up in 2002, the same year that Britney and Justin split. At that time, and continuing into 2003, she was hot -- with a major endorsement deal with Pepsi and her infamous kiss from Madonna -- while Justin was not.
Since then, however, the wheel of fortune has turned. In 2004, Justin made headlines with his "wardrobe malfunction" moment with Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl halftime show, while Britney was forced to cancel 37 tour dates after suffering a knee injury. That was also the year of Britney's bizarre (and quickly annulled) Vegas marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander, followed a few months later by her wedding to Federline, a backup dancer who already had two kids of his own.
Two children, a divorce and more than two years later, Britney's music career is nearly extinct and her brief bar-hopping association with Paris Hilton has gotten Britney nothing but a reputation as an out-of-control has-been. Meanwhile, Justin's got his "Sexy Back," so to speak.
Imagine, then, how Britney felt on Feb. 11, when she turned on the TV to see old flame Justin -- who won two Grammy awards and also sang duets with contest winner Robyn Troup -- eliciting screams from adoring fans as he sang "What Goes Around."
Was he taunting her?
Her bizarre behavior in the week that followed suggests that Miss Spears, for all her success, may be like any other young woman who still harbors feelings of regret over losing her first love.
- Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Times
