KEY POINTS:
While the world watches in dismay and horror as popwreck Britney Spears spirals out of control, yet more scandalous news is emerging about her shocking meltdown.
As I reported to you last night, sources are now saying that Spears' ex-husband K-Fed was frantic with worry last Friday as the fallen pop princess lost the plot.
The News Of The World has revealed damning and sensational information about that fateful night last week when Spears barricaded herself in the bathroom of her Beverly Hills mansion, and refused to hand over her kids to K-Fed's bodyguards.
Click here for all the gory details and a timeline of events leading up to today.
The News Of The World now claims that K-Fed called the cops on Friday because he was afraid she'd SHOOT their two sons.
The newspaper reveals that K-Fed bought Spears a Beretta pistol as a birthday gift, and feared she'd use it to do harm during the dramatic three-hour siege at her Hollywood home.
WTF? This is sounding more like the O.K. Coral by the minute.
A source says: "K-Fed was terrified. He realised she had a gun where she was holding them."
Panic set in when K-Fed realised that Spears kept the handgun in her bedroom where she was holding her two sons Jayden James, one, and Sean Preston, two.
The newspaper reveals that he was convinced she'd use the gun on the kids and later turn it on herself.
That's when the rapper rang his lawyers who later called the emergency services for help.
The source adds: "Kevin knew she was on the edge and might snap at any time."
"Knowing there were TWO firearms in the house, including the Beretta, he wasn't taking any chances - hence the massive police response."
And there's more...
Although initial reports claimed Spears had not taken any illegal substances on Friday, the newspaper claims that she had taken nearly 100 pills in 36 hours leading up to her meltdown.
She allegedly took 2 bottles of Nyquil, 20 Clenbuterols, 18 herbal uppers, 18 Piriton antihistamines, 12 Vicodins, 10 sleeping pills, 8 antacid pills, 1 bottle of Pepto Bismol, 10 Zantacs, 6 Ritalins and 2 full bottles of Oxycontin.
Britney also allegedly:
* PLEADED with Kevin to SELL her the kids for a multi-million payoff in a tearful phone call.
* FOUGHT with bodyguards to hang on to her children, and
* BASHED her own head against the wall in a fit of blind rage.
Amazingly, Spears supposedly made a call to K-Fed and told him that she was about to "make headlines around the world".
She then called her sister, Jamie Lynn, who is herself embroiled in a teenage mother saga.
A source says: "Jamie's new-found publicity enraged jealous Britney. And after calling Kevin that night she rang Jamie and told her: 'You're not going to be the only f***ing Spears on the front cover of a magazine next week!' and then hung up."
Another source reveals: "Britney was wailing and sobbing uncontrollably then she just flipped. Her hysteria went up a notch and she ran with the children into a walk-in wardrobe and slammed the door behind her.
"She sat in there sobbing and yelping out loudly. She was in there for about an hour refusing to come out. The children were also sobbing because they were so scared.
"A court-appointed monitor, who supervises the kids' visits, was also there but Britney refused to budge and could barely utter a word, just mumbling responses.
"When the cops, paramedics and K-Fed's bodyguards turned up with loads of commotion it sent Britney over the edge again.
"She was squealing out wildly, urging them not to come into her room. After a while the cops just about calmed her down and reasoned with her to let them in.
"When she opened the cupboard door she was sat cross-legged on the floor weeping uncontrollably. She was wiping her eyes and smearing make-up over her face. Her hair was all over the place and she looked pale and despondent.
"Her nose was running and she was dribbling like mad, shaking her head and shivering. She looked very flustered.
"She had one boy in each arm, partly rested on her lap, and they were crying their eyes out hysterically. They were beetroot red in the face, and their eyes seemed swollen with all the tears."
Moments later, Spears was carted off to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre for a mental lock-down.
So where's Brit Brit now? Nobody knows.
The last known sighting of her was captured on film as she drove up to her gated property in her Mercedes, and performed a U-turn when she spotted the swarm of paparazzi ready to flicker their flashes at her.
Click here to watch a clip of her U-turn.
Are you bored of this yet? Me too. It's been Brit...Brit...Brit... for days, and I'm starting to experience whiplash from all the head shaking I've been doing.
She'll get bored eventually and realise that some days it's just not worth gnawing through the leather straps.
Spears: Therapy is expensive, poppin' bubble wrap is cheap... You choose.
Keep the dream alive: Hit the pause button and get your ass over to rehab.
And here come the Spears updates:
Monday, 11:00am: X17 is reporting exclusively that Spear's alleged paparazzo lover Adnan Ghalib, is actively pitching the story of his relationship with Spears through a photo agency to the tabloids.
The website claims that the photo agency has in its possession a pack of photos of the pop princes posing with Adnan.
The agency is reportedly asking an eye-popping US$5 million ($NZ6.4 million) for the photos.
So far there have been no takers.
Spears is said to be unaware of the plot.
1:00pm: Eight psychiatrists have slammed the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre for allowing Dr Phil to enter the psych ward Spears was admitted to without prior warning or consent.
TMZ reports that one psychiatrist called it "intrusive and inappropriate".
Another says the hospital "is supposed to be a safe place. If the patient doesn't want to see someone, that person doesn't get in - period".
The website quotes another shrink as saying Dr Phil's visit was a
"total violation of her [Britney's] rights".
And despite rumours to the contrary, Spears won't be making an appearance on Dr Phil's TV show anytime soon.
TMZ reports that Spears wants nothing to do with the show, despite claims that her mother had initially verbally agreed to be on the programme.
1:10pm: Britney's come out of hiding. The troubled pop princess has been spotted in Palm Desert, California, with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.
The star was spotted a couple of hours ago.
Website Vegas Confidential quotes a retired newspaper exec as saying Spears was celebrating her release from hospital by knocking back champagne during breakfast at the Daily Grill on El Paseo.
Spears is said to have dashed to the bathroom on several occasions, with champagne flute in hand.
Classy.
2:00pm: Runaway Britney is said to be aiming for Adnan's hideaway home, which is apparently located in Palm Springs, about 120 miles east of Los Angeles.
Spears' early release from the psych unit has also reportedly left ex K-Fed feeling "freaked out", forcing him to beef up security around him and his two sons.
A source tells OK! Magazine: "Kevin is so worried that Britney will rush his house and try to grab the boys, just like she tried to do last February."
"The boys are safe for now," add the source. "But Kevin feels Britney is clearly deranged, and there's no telling what she'll do. After all, this is a woman who two days ago barricaded herself in her bedroom with her youngest child for three hours!"
"You can't get mentally well in a hospital after 36 hours."
2:45pm: The LAPD is denying there was a gun in Spears' Beverly Hills mansion when they stormed the house on Friday.
A spokesperson for the LAPD said: "There was no gun involved - that's the first we've heard of this.
"The police were called out to Britney Spears' residence to investigate custody issues over her children - not because there was a gun in the house," says a police rep.
5:00pm: ETOnline has just finished recording an exclusive interview with Dr. Phil regarding his encounter with Spears at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.
Snippets of the interview will be published here shortly.
A note to the finger-wagging, heckling naysayers back there in the cheap seats, I agree - Spears' burn-out is getting way out of hand. And for the record, I sympathise with her, but there is no fate but what we make - she needs to drag herself up by the bra straps and ask for help, not negate it.
5:30pm: Eonline.com claims that Dr. Phil's visit to see Spears in hospital was more of an ambush, as opposed to an air-kissing, hand-holding pleaser.
The good Doc is said to given Spears a 15 minute sermon on how to pull herself together, and Spears was definitely not happy to see her.
This is exactly what Spears needs: a few home truths and some straight talking. Tough love may be agonising for the recipient, but it's the only way of salvaging what modicum of sanity the poor girl has left.
Stay tuned to this blog for further updates...
Sources: Thesun.co.uk, Newsoftheworld.co.uk, theinsideronline.com
Meanwhile, back on Earth...
Nic Nic's looking swell
Is Nicole Kidman pregnant? That's the $64,000 question.
Well, Nic Nic was spotted out and about in Sydney on Thursday wearing what looks suspiciously like a maternity dress.
Entertainmentwise.com reports her as wearing a "baggy floral dress with an elasticated waistband". I'd call it a frumpy flannel myself.
Also present in the pictures is hubby Keith Urban who can clearly be seen covering her belly with his arm.
Nic Nic's people have dismissed the pregnancy talk as "rumours", but my media moles are saying otherwise.
Only time will tell. I mean, sooner or later she'll have to pop.
Click here to see the pics.
Lohan's sobriety slip
They said her sobriety would never last... and it very nearly didn't.
Rehab queen Lindsay Lohan has been caught on film sipping champagne during New Year celebrations in Italy.
The footage clearly shows Li-Lo grabbing a champagne bottle and necking a drop or two of the fizzy stuff.
Meanwhile, Lindsay's lawyer, told TMZ: "The good news was that Lindsay stopped herself that night, called her sponsor, and got herself immediately back on track. There is no magic cure here. The most unfortunate part of this is that Lindsay has to share her 'one day at a time' with the entire world."
Watch the video here.
Spice Girls head for Oz?
The Spice Girls could be heading down under, reports claim.
The Girls are said to be in negotiations to bring their lucrative tour to Australia this year, and have reportedly been offered a whopping 10 million pounds (NZ$25.5 million) to drag their ageing butts to this neck of the woods.
Word has it that the girl group are mulling over the possibility of a 12-date tour in the southern hemisphere.
Sydney, Brisbane and Perth are likely to be the cities set for a stop-over in March, according to the Sun.
Tom Cruise Scientology shocker
It's finally landed: the book Tiny Tom Cruise doesn't want you to read.
A sensational new book by Princess Diana's biographer, Andrew Morton, is a Pandora's box of shocking claims about Cruise's lifestyle and the alleged hold that Scientology has over his everyday life.
Andrew Morton's Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography is said to be nothing short of dynamite and has been quoted as an "extraordinary attack on the Top Gun star - and on those closest to him, including his little daughter, Suri".
The Daily Mail has revealed some exclusive snippets from the book, and some of the allegations are out of this world:
* Tom's daughter with Katie Holmes, Suri, was conceived a la Rosemary's Baby, a film "in which an unsuspecting young woman is impregnated with the Devil's child". Morton sensationally claims that Tom's fellow Scientologists are certain that Suri is the child progeny of the bizarre cult's dead founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
* Scientology allegedly contributed to the breakdown on Tom and Nicole's marriage.
* Nicole Kidman "feared blackmail" over sex tapes made with Scientologists.
* Cruise's next mission is to recruit David Beckham.
Morton's subversive biography also claims that Scientology has consumed the 45-year-old actor's life.
Bizarrely, the book claims that Tiny Tom is consulted by Scientology leader David Miscavige on "every aspect of planning and policy" and is shaping his whole career so that it fits in with the core principles and teachings of Scientology.
Cruise's lawyers have vehemently denied the outrageous claims made in the book, and the Daily Mail reports that Scientology lawyers are also drawing up a lawsuit seeking compo from Morton's publishers, Martin's Press.
Tiny Tom's lawyer, Bert Fields, spoke exclusively to The Mail on Sunday about the book, and said: "It's [the book] not being published in England. The American publishers criticised the libel laws in Britain because they require an author to tell the truth. Well, thank God for the British libel laws."
Cruise, however, is said to have no plans to read the damning book.
"He has no intention of reading it," says Fields. "He's very, very busy with a lot of things right now."
"He has been told about it and naturally he knows there are a bunch of lies about him. You can imagine what it must be like to have someone compare your baby girl to Rosemary's Baby. Morton should be ashamed of himself.
"It's a boring, poorly researched book by a man who never talked to anyone involved in Tom Cruise's life or anyone close to him.
"There's no real independent research. He hasn't spoken to his mother, his sister, me, Paula Wagner [Cruise's film producing partner], his agent, his wives, David Beckham, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez or any of the famous directors he's worked with. Instead you've got this long, boring reference to people he knew 30 years ago."
So there you have it, more shocking claims that Tiny Tom is away with the aliens and has turned to the dark side.
Will he convert David Beckham and his synthetic missus to the esoteric ways of Scientology?
Or will his mission to rule the world with his quirky sci-fi religion be lasered to oblivion by us mere mortals?
Who cares? Tell him the Earth is full - go home!
Wayward Wino
What with her hubby in the nick and her career on the slide, poor Amy Winehouse is in dire need of some distraction.
So what does the jazz pixie do? She falls into the arms of an ex-boyfriend for comfort.
Here be pictures of Wino and former flame, George Roberts, caught in a compromising pose during a holiday in the Caribbean.
I'm sure hubby Blake Fielder-Civil will be delighted to see his missus is keeping her nose clean.
Fast gossip
Give me five minutes, and I'll tell you everything...
Paris Hilton gave Kelly Osbourne her first alcohol poisoning? Dlisted
Halle Berry's swollen belly: Bossip
George Clooney wants to make his girlfriend a star: In Case You Didn't Know
Paris Hilton is the ultimate party machine: Hollywood Rag
Hollywood gets high: CityRag
Mariah Carey feeds her new puppy a hamburger: Dlisted
Fergie looks like a hippy chick: Egotastic
Should Tyra Banks be worried? Socialitelife
