Awful

Okay, But For Real This Time — Leave Britney Alone

Hey, I realize that “OMG maybe Britney Spears shaved her head to cover up her meth addiction” is a verrrrry tantalizing story, which is why it’s been popping up all over the place during the last few days. But it’s also a little depressing to see any repetition of Lutfi’s claims in the media, considering that he is demonstrably one of the worst people in the world. Though many publications have been quick to highlight Lutfi’s sketchiness, his accusations gain credence simply through repetition, especially if they are not immediately undercut with reminders of his slippery character and shady relationship with Spears.

From People:

Sam Lutfi, 38, is suing the pop star, 30 – who’s not expected to appear at the trial – for the 15 percent of her earnings that she allegedly promised him in the roughly eight months he served as her manager, starting in mid-2007.

He’s also suing her mother, Lynne Spears, for alleging in her 2008 book Through the Storm that he drugged Britney and cut her off from loved ones. And he’s suing Britney’s father Jamie for allegedly punching him in the chest in January 2008.

In his opening statement, Lutfi’s attorney, Joe Schleimer, told the jury that it was the singer’s rampant amphetamine use that caused her downfall.

“Most of the things that went wrong related to that habit,” said Schleimer, alleging that Britney also suffered from paranoid delusions at the time. “My client sometimes spent 24 hours a day to prevent Britney from using drugs.”

OH COME ON. Everyone remembers how creepy Sam Lutfi was back in 2008, right? And everyone is noting the timing of these so-called “bombshells,” coinciding as they do with the beginning of his lawsuit against her? And everyone is also noting that calling oneself “Britney Spears’s manager” should not automatically confer any sort of authority on Lutfi, especially since it seemed like he spent more time assisting in the decline of Spears’s financial security than getting her career on track?

It’s one thing to be intrigued by a rumor because it’s a great story (as an incurable gossip myself, I totally get this) but it seems downright irresponsible to repeat Lutfi’s allegations without immediately following them with the caveat that he’s also on video telling TMZ that Britney’s decision to shave her head — something that, though perhaps not a result of drug use, was certainly triggered by great mental/emotional distress — was “a cool thing … somebody expressing their artistic side.”

Although there may be two sides to this story, and certainly more unsavory details will emerge as this lawsuit progresses, those two sides don’t necessarily deserve equal weight. Sam Lutfi is an almost universally maligned hanger-on who was legally determined to be a threat to Britney Spears’s recovery. Everyone who writes about the story, juicy as it is, also has a responsibility to be careful of the way his shenanigans are reported on.

[Photo via SugarSlam]

TAGS: Britney Spears | creeps | We Live In A Nightmare World

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