Gossip

Britney Spears has been committed to at least two weeks in a psychiatric ward, and her father, James, has been granted legal control over her care and finances, People magazine reported this week. Spears was taken to the psychiatric unit of UCLA Medical Center last week on the recommendation of her psychiatrist, and is being held under a California law that allows involuntary hospitalization if a patient poses a danger to herself or others. Spears’ hospitalization comes after months of increasingly erratic behavior and reports of drug and alcohol abuse, which led a court to bar her from seeing her two young sons. “It is a terrible situation,” the magazine quoted a source close to the singer’s family. “Britney is in a padded room. Her family is so worried about her.”

Entertainment Tonight canceled plans to broadcast a 2006 video of the late Heath Ledger apparently rolling a joint at a party after his powerful public relations firm called it “shameful exploitation of the lowest kind.” The video shows Ledger saying, “I used to smoke five joints a day for 20 years.” He later comments, “I’m going to get so much s--t from my girlfriend.” It was shot at Château Marmont in Los Angeles three months after the birth of Ledger and Michelle Williams’ daughter.

The Spice Girls dropped four countries from their world tour this week after experiencing disappointing turnouts at some shows. The group, which reunited in December, will not be playing Australia, China, South Africa, or Argentina. “Sadly, the tour needs to come to an end by the end of February due to family and personal commitments,” said the singers in a statement.

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Wesley Snipes was acquitted of felony tax fraud and conspiracy charges last week, but found guilty of three misdemeanors for failing to file tax returns. Before his arrest and trial, the actor had asserted that the federal income tax was illegal and that he would not pay. But his lawyers persuaded a Florida jury that Snipes was merely the victim of bad advice from hard-core tax protestors. The actor faces up to three years in prison and is liable for millions of dollars in back taxes.