This means that Spears’ ex-husband, Kevin Federline, now has sole physical custody of the kids “until further order of the court.”
Forget global warming. Something is definitely askew in the world when K-Fed is considered a suitable parent.
This news wasn’t really shocking, but it was distressing. I want to believe that Spears had to know that her failure to show up at the parenting classes and drug counseling sessions Gordon ordered her to attend and her apparent refusal to sign a judge’s order would result in the loss of her two kids.
But, I could be wrong. Maybe she had no one to remind her that she had to do it since her lawyer, manager, parents and a handful of friends and employees had either turned on her or abandoned her completely.
Some folks just don’t like riding on trains in which the next stop is a brick wall.
Of course, Spears could be suffering from the same kind of delusional malady that afflicts others of her ilk. Perhaps she was arrogant enough to believe that she was above the law. The worshipped often think they can beat the system because they usually do. I suppose she thought that people would be willing to overlook her less-than-stellar parenting skills and forget about her dubious public image because she’s Britney Spears.
Hopefully, now she realizes that money and fame can sometimes buy you out of a jam, but it really can’t buy you love and respect — the things that help you sleep well at night.
No one to tell her to stop
You could fault her parents, who apparently let her have her way because she moved them into a new tax bracket. You could take exception with her handlers, who obviously mishandled an immature child. Or you can simply take issue with her friends, who should have had the courage of their convictions and told Spears to slow her roll when they saw her spiraling out of control.
But at the end of the day, anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that infants should be at home in bed at 10 p.m. and not eating dinner at a Sunset Boulevard hot spot with their scantily clad mother. Sean and Jayden were her snotty-nosed, diaper-wearing accessories. It was almost as if Spears used her kids to show us that there was indeed something awry in her world.
Maybe this was the cry for help that no one around her heard.
Now Sean and Jayden will be accessorizing their father — a man with no real job or discernable talents. And as distressing as that might be, right now it’s the best thing for those kids. At least K-Fed has enough sense to leave the kids with the nanny before he hits the club.
I think losing her kids is exactly what she wanted. Sean and Jayden were getting in the way of her fun. What she might not realize now is that she lost the two people in the world who probably loved her unconditionally.
And that’s going to hurt when she wakes up.
She should also try and repair the relationships with those she kicked to the curb, starting with her mother, Lynne. Mama Spears might not be the best mother in the world — considering the disturbing evolution of her eldest daughter — but I think that most mothers instinctively know how to fix that which has gone awry. I just hope it’s not too late.
More than anything, however, Spears needs to commit herself to a real rehab facility so she can start putting her life back together again. It won’t work if someone else signs the papers because its obvious that Spears rejects authority — even from those who love her.
If she doesn’t get the help she needs right now, she might find herself partying with Janis Joplin in the very near future.
Miki Turner is an entertainment columnist for MSNBC.com. She welcomes your comments at mikiturner.msnbc@gmail.com.