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Sept. 24, 2007
The next time you're complaining about how much your job sucks, just remember
one thing -- at least your working conditions are free from the noxious
emissions of Britney Spears. A bodyguard who was employed by the rock
bottom-skimming tabloid topper is telling the story of the two nerve-racking --
and apparently belch- and flatulence-filled -- months he spent inside her
unhinged household.
Tony Barretto, 28, the much-ballyhooed "secret witness" who filed a declaration in Spears' custody war with Kevin Federline accusing her of "nudity," "drug use" and
"safety issues," is speaking out in dismaying detail about her seemingly sad,
self-destructive and downright scary behavior.
"I gave evidence to the court because Britney is out of control and needs
help," contends Barretto, aka Fat Tony, to Britain's News of the World. "I have
done this for her children. She's not a good mother. She has mental problems.
With her drug and booze issues, her home is no place for kids to be raised."
Barretto, who watched over Spears from her rehab checkout on March 20 until
she canned him on May 17, ostensibly for failing to hear her when she told him
to pick up her hat, added to Matt Lauer on Monday's "Today"
show, "I'm not here to destroy Britney. I'm here for the kids. I'm here to speak
out on their behalf."
Video: Britney's ex-bodyguard speaks out
It's believed the minder's affidavit prompted a judge last week to label
Spears a "habitual, frequent and continuous" user of alcohol and controlled
substances and order her to submit to twice-weekly testing and parenting
classes.
No word on whether those demands -- or the newly filed hit-and-run charges -- contributed to her paparazzi-captured
waterworks on Friday after a meeting with her attorney.
On Saturday morning, Spears jetted off to Atlanta, with an insider explaining
to People that she took the trip "to get out of the chaos of L.A., just
gathering her thoughts, looking for peace."
Brit may need to keep searching for that peaceful feeling in light of
Barretto's allegations about her spiraling life, as he delves into everything
from her ability to care for sympathy-needing tots Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden
James, 1, to her supposedly dangerous overindulgences. Here's a rundown:
On His Worst Night on the Job: Barretto blabs to the tabloid
that he received a call from a "hysterical" Spears on May 2, just hours before
she was due to take the stage for her lip-synched "comeback" at the House of
Blues in Anaheim, Calif. She was holed up at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles
with fellow Promises rehabber Howie Day and things weren't going well.
Britney Spears and Howie Day on April 28, 2007
(X17Online.com) | "She said she wanted to
cancel the tour," he says. "She was very confused. We asked her if she was OK
and reminded her she had a show to do. Then Howie came on the phone and started
arguing with us. We knew we had to get to her fast." Barretto made a beeline for
the hotel with another bodyguard and Brit's "cousin"-cum-BFF Alli Sims in tow,
arriving to find the door to their room open and an "appalling scene" within.
"We could see Britney all red-eyed from crying. Howie was lying in his boxers
asleep on the bed. The hotel room was trashed," he charges. "There were
half-eaten plates of food everywhere. There were blankets all over the floor,
clothes strewn everywhere. The trash was emptied everywhere over the floor. The
entire place was littered with empty beer bottles and liquor bottles, small
glasses of ice and cigarette butts everywhere. On the surface of the dresser, I
could see mounds of white powder and a straw on top. I suspected it was cocaine
or powdered methamphetamines."
On Getting Her Out of the Hotel and to the Show: Barretto
says he "couldn't believe what he was seeing" and claims Spears "was completely
out of it. We thought she'd overdosed. She was distraught, crying. Her skin was
all waxy. She looked so ill. We tried to speak to her. My fellow bodyguard and
Alli were so worried they wanted to get hold of a medic to detoxify her. We were
panicking. We thought she was going to die." According to the minder, Britney's
only reaction to the scene was to say, "I don't feel good." Still, she was able
to pull herself together in time to get onstage and galumph her way through her
performance. But she apparently began acting up again on the drive home. "...
She was making up strange songs and singing them in a weird voice," he says.
"Then she wound down the window and started yelling, 'I'm a rock star. I'm a
rock star.'"
On Her Body Functions: "She has a terrible farting and
burping problem," he overshares with the tab. "She burps and farts A LOT."
Spears would also "nervously" nibble her acrylic nails down to the nub.
On His Worst Afternoon on the Job: "I arrived at Britney's
home one day to find the most horrible atmosphere," recounts Barretto. "She was
screaming and sobbing in her room." Spears, supposedly upset over her split from
Federline, told the nanny to go home and ordered Alli to make herself scarce.
"As Alli was leaving, she told us, 'She's told me to leave. It's in your hands
now. Look after the kids,'" he says. "I remember the other bodyguard told me,
'Britney's shutting down. I've seen her acting suicidal before. It was just
before she shaved all her hair off.' He also told me to keep an eye on the kids
and, whatever happened, not to let them near the swimming pool. It was about 2
p.m. All I could do was keep checking on the pool. All sorts of things were
going through my mind. One of those was to quit my job. It was all getting too
much. I was genuinely scared she would hurt herself."
On Her Exhibitionism: "Before I even started working for
her, I was warned about her stripping," he says of the lady-parts-exposing star.
Britney Spears nips out while partying on June 11, 2007
(X17Online.com) | "I must have seen her naked
dozens of times and each time I've been extremely embarrassed. She strips off
anywhere -- at home, recording studios and clubs. Even at the dance rehearsals,
she took all her clothes off in front of me and then bent over, not even to pick
anything up. I felt my ears burning and turned my head to the wall." But that
wasn't the only occasion he was forced to avert his eyes. "Another time, she
came running to the guardroom [at her estate]," he recalls. "All she had on was
a pair of skimpy shorts. One hand was covering one breast but the other was
exposed. I didn't know where to look."
On Her Parenting Skills: While Barretto doesn't question
Spears' love for her sons, he calls her a "fickle" mother with a "low boredom
threshold." "When the kids are happy, she's happy. When they're crying or
unwell, she's not sure what to do," he sighs. "When they are unwell, her answer
is, 'Give the baby a bottle of medicine.' I've never seen her deal with them
like a full, attentive [mom]."
On Her Mommy Spearest Moments: Barretto relays several
head-shaking, hair-raising incidents involving Sean and Jayden. Among his
claims: Spears, who last week was charged with driving without a license (the
New York Daily News believes her last valid license was issued in Louisiana and
expired in 2001), once erratically zoomed off with the boys in the car ("We
followed her but she was driving like a lunatic on the wrong side of the road.
It was terrifying"); she forgot to tote along food for them during an outing to
a dance studio; she would keep them up late at night so they would sleep longer
in the morning; and she would upset them with her oddball antics and emotional
outbursts ("She speaks to them in weird, creepy, baby voices, in made-up
languages, which they just don't get. All it does is unsettle, upset and scare
them. Often she would scream and cry uncontrollably. Imagine what that is like
for young children"). Concludes Barretto, "Her children need attention, and
Britney doesn't appear to be willing to give them that at the moment."
On Her Nightclub Antics: Barretto told Lauer he observed
Spears using questionable substances on two occasions, both times at the same
Los Angeles hot spot. "One was at her table. She had me hold up a curtain to
make her area private," he recollected. "At one point it was getting kind of
hard to continue to hold the curtain for such a long period of time ... The
attempt was to look over and get her approval to let go of the curtain, at which
point, I noticed what she was doing." The other incident took place in "a
private rest room upstairs that was secured for her," he added. "She was in
there for some time alone, and I was waiting for her outside the door. I thought
it would be appropriate to check on her, and I knocked and peeked in and I
observed this behavior."
On Her Expectations for Security Staffers: Barretto tells
News of the World that on his first day in her employ, he was given a list of
hygiene guidelines to follow, including, "Don't stink around Britney. Make sure
you use cologne and deodorant"; "Don't sweat in her presence"; "Use mints so she
can't be disgusted by your breath"; "Don't stare at her. Act coy when she walks
around naked. Don't look at her bottom when she is getting in and out of a
vehicle."
On Her Morning Ritual: Barretto says Britney required two
Starbucks beverages every morning -- a hot grande vanilla latte and a frosty
grande mocha Frappuccino. "She would only ever have one but I always had to
fetch her both," he kvetches. "It was such a waste."
On Her Daily Routine: "After getting up at lunchtime and
drinking her Starbucks coffee, she goes to a tanning shop in Bel Air, where she
spends 10 minutes on a UV bed every day," he maintains to the tab. "After that
she usually eats sushi for lunch or bowls of Special K. We were always having to
go out to get her Special K. And she downs can after can of Red Bull or cola.
She drinks three Red Bulls an hour. That completes her daily routine."
On Her Spending Habits: Spears supposedly received $6,000 in
cash every day, which her bodyguards would dole out on whatever caught her eye.
"She thought nothing of spending money even though she couldn't be trusted to
carry her own credit card or cash," purports Barretto. "She wasn't responsible
enough for that. The other bodyguard and I would have to carry the cash which
was
Britney Spears in Mexico on June 3, 2007
(X17Online.com) | delivered to us daily
in a white money bag to pay for whatever she wanted to buy ... Money was no
object because she didn't know the value of it." Case in point: "I remember she
decided to go to Puerto Rico on a whim. We found a private jet she could hire.
It cost $60,000. But then just before she was due to go, she changed her mind.
When we told her that there was a $40,000 cancellation fee because it was such
short notice, her attitude was 'doesn't matter, don't care.'"
On Her Insecurities: "Every day she'd ask us all what we
thought about what she was wearing. It really mattered to her," he reveals of
the frequently posterior-flashing fashion catastrophe, adding that she would
make them take pictures of every execrable ensemble. "She'd say, 'Do you think I
look nice, y'all?' We'd all tell her 'yes' -- because we didn't want to risk
putting our jobs on the line. Or being on the end of her temper." She also
allegedly kept a photo album of her ever-revolving inner circle, which no longer
includes her family or longtime associates. "She keeps an album called her My
New Friends Photo Album," says Barretto. "It has a special ornate cover and she
is constantly updating it. The funny thing is I'm told I am still on the front
page of that book even though she sacked me."
Next: Couples News: Jake & Reese, Duff's B'day
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