Spears’ family feud

What happened

Britney Spears’ father retained control of her finances after a court-appointed attorney said in a Monday hearing that Spears "lacks the capacity” to make decisions for herself. Police took Spears to a Los Angeles hospital for psychiatric observation, and her initial three-day stay has been extended to two weeks. (E! News)

What the commentators said

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Spears made it clear “from her padded room" that she isn’t happy about this arrangement, said Stephanie Gaskell and Dan Cox in the New York Daily News. She’s been estranged from her parents for some time, and she sent a lawyer to say she didn’t want him to get his hands on her $40 million business empire.

“The singer’s stay at the UCLA medical center does not appear to have been calm and soothing so far,” said Jane Ivory in eFluxMedia. Spears’ manager Sam Lutfi insists she’s perfectly capable of making her own decisions, which may explain why her parents are trying to use a restraining order to keep him away from their daughter, who has been diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder. They say Lutfi is a bad influence—on Spears and her finances.

It was only a matter of time before the focus “shifted away from Britney Spears' well-being to all of Britney Spears' stuff,” said Stuart Heritage in Heckler Spray. Now the question is whether, as guardian of all things Spears, the dad is “legally obliged to shave his hair off, drink 20 Red Bulls a day,” and flash the paparazzi on a daily basis.