HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – One can only hope that this is the bottom for fallen pop star Britney Spears.
A court commissioner on Friday gave Spears’ ex-husband, Kevin Federline, sole physical and legal custody of the couple’s two sons — 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James — and suspended Spears’ visitation rights.
Commissioner Scott Gordon’s ruling came a day after Spears was hauled away from her home by paramedics. On Thursday evening, the police were called to Spears’ Beverly Hills home after she refused to return the children to Federline after a court-monitored visit.
Gordon has already ordered another hearing, which will be held on Jan. 14.
Federline was previously awarded temporary custody of the boys because the 26-year-old pop singer has defied court orders, resulting in limitations on her visitation.
“I’m not happy about any of these events,” Federline attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told the Associated Press. “There’s no winners here.”
Law professor Steve Cron, who isn’t involved in the Spears-Federline case, predicted that Spears will face sanctions from the court for her behavior.
“My guess is that she won’t be seeing her kids for a while,” Cron, who teaches at Pepperdine University in Malibu, told AP.
The drama began around 8 p.m. Thursday when officers were called to her home to help resolve a dispute over her refusal to turn the children over to Federline as dictated by their custody agreement.
Initial reports suggested that Spears might have been under the influence of a substance when police arrived, however that has since been denied.
Spears married Federline in October 2004. The star’s life has spiraled downward ever since their divorce in July. She has been photographed without underwear and has appeared drunk and out-of-control in public on several occasions. The severity of her downfall perhaps became most clear when she shaved her head. She later beat a car with an umbrella and spent a month in rehab.
Despite the downfall, Spears’ latest album, “Blackout,” received positive acclaim from critics when it was released in October. The album even brought Spears her first No. 1 hit in years, “Gimme More.”
