Britney Spears custody fight continues, dumped by The Firm

The custody fight between singer Britney Spears and ex K-Fed over their two kids continues, meanwhile her management firm drops Britney before album release.

Britney Spears custody fight continues, dumped by The Firm And yet another blow to Britney Spears as Kevin Federline continues with the battle for full custody of their two kids 2-year-old Sean Preston and one-year-old Jayden James. Tony Barretto, 28, a former bodyguard for Spears appeared in court on Monday, but he was not called by the lawyers to testify.

Barretto worked for Spears from the time Britney left rehab in March until May 17th and he was prepared to testify about alleged nudity and drug use after Britney left the rehab clinic, as well as concerns he has over the safety of the couple's two sons. His comments were filled as evidence with the court, but the lack of cross-examination of Barretto left his lawyer Gloria Allred shocked, calling him a "key and secret witness." According to Federline's lawyer, it was not unusual not to question a surprise witness, because "they [the lawyers] don't know what the extent of the answers will be."

Neither Britney Spears nor Kevin Federline were present in court on Monday. Britney was represented by her divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, whom she parted with on Monday in yet another surprising twist of the custody battle. From now on, Britney Spears will be represented in the custody case by Mel Goldman of Los Angeles law firm Freid and Goldman. No reason was given to explain the change of the lawyers, Wasser commenting: "I don't want anyone to perceive that we're dumping Britney."

But "dumping Britney" is exactly what her management company, The Firm, did just a month after Spears hired them for the run-up to the release of her new album which is scheduled to come out on November 13th. A statement released by the agency read "We have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears. We believe she is enormously talented, but current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best." The company did not elaborate on the specifics of the "circumstances", but many believe it has to do with Britney's failed comeback show during the MTV's Video Music Awards. The name of Britney Spears' fifth studio album is yet to be made official, media speculations point to the title "Piece of Me".

Published on 09/18/2007