-Caveat Lector- BRITNEY TO BRATNEY http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12634693 &method=full&siteid=50143 By Kevin O'Sullivan
SHE was never exactly the musical equivalent of the Second Coming. But even those of us who loathed her derivative R'n'B (repetitive and boring) chart ditties had to concede there was a certain something about Britney Spears. With her "I'm-still-a-virgin, butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth, pretty-girl- next-door" charm, the innocent teenager from Louisiana richly deserved her title as the Princess of Pop. Or so we thought. These days, disappointed fans are having to get used to a very different Britney Spears. Now that she's all of 21, the sour-faced singer seems hell- bent on wrecking her once- glittering career by turning her back on all that made her famous. When she arrived at a Hollywood club for yet another heavy- smoking, hard-drinking night on the town, the blonde bumshell's pathetic T-shirt told the story of her sad decline. In large letters, there it was: the word "F*CK" was emblazoned across Ms Spears's curvaceous chest. Ooh, I'm really shocked. Johnny Rotten, Liam Gallagher, eat your hearts out - Britney's turning into a true rock rebel. Or rather a grade-A bore who has spent a shameful year disrespecting the youngsters who bought her records and made her a multi-millionairess. The eight, nine and 10-year-olds' bedroom walls are covered with posters of the star who seduced them with her carefully orchestrated squeaky- clean image. Not forgetting the parents who trusted the publicity machine which so cynically sold Spears as a bright- eyed super- celebrity, a spotless fun-for- all-the-family entertainer. What must they have thought when, towards the end of last year, she strutted into London wearing another charming top bearing the address of a violent porn website devoted to the principle of "Pain for Pleasure"? Graphic scenes of sexual torture loom large in a series of seedy and disgusting pictures. If she had thought for a second - and she's never been renowned for her intellectual endeavour - Britney would have realised that children seeing her tawdry T-shirt might go straight to their laptops. At least the crude garment she wore to Los Angeles hot spot Joseph's the other night didn't include the dotcom element. But it still represents a kind of startling betrayal of which we once thought her incapable. That was before her former boyfriend Justin Timberlake exposed her legendary sexual purity as a tissue of lies. That was before she stopped hiding the cigarettes to which she has been addicted for years. Now she is rarely seen without a Marlboro Light smouldering in her nicotine-stained fingers. AND before the entire house of Spears came crashing down in one disastrous evening when her "f*** you, I'm a VIP" behaviour was nothing short of disgraceful. On a dark night in Leicester Square, London, Ms Spears showed her true colours. And, quite frankly, it's been downhill ever since. The days of the schoolgirl uniform and her breakthrough hit, the phenomenal Baby One More Time, are a distant memory. Her record sales have dived while she concentrates on a dizzying array of photo-opportunity romances with the likes of movie bad boy Colin Farrell and Limp Bizkit rocker Fred Durst. But if the girl ever cares to examine what went wrong, she need do no more than cast her mind back to March 25, 2002, when thousands of teeny fans and their long-suffering parents crammed into Leicester Square for a glimpse of their heroine. In the wind and rain, many of them had been waiting for seven hours after Britney graciously agreed to attend the British premiere of her dire debut film Crossroads. With a wooden performance in a tedious coming-of-age road movie that was critically panned, you might have thought the actress with the leastest would have gone all out to win friends and influence people. But I was there as the great Britney Spears brushed off her horrified young fans as if they were to be swatted out of her pampered life like irritating gnats. Arriving by stretch limo more than an hour late, she swept past without a glance, leaving many in tears. It was a truly unpleasant experience to witness children weeping and wailing while their mortified parents did their best to dry the tears. "What a bitch," screamed one furious mother. Spears was far too important to pause for the photographers who actually fulfil one of the crucial functions of a film launch. Only the cacophonous booing of the crowd shocked her into a hasty U-turn. In her little sequinned silver dress, Britney briefly re-emerged to wave to a baying mob who were by then acting as though they would happily tear the girl limb from limb. It was too little, too late. And when, at a ridiculous press conference, she started wittering on about whether or not she was still going out with Mr Timberlake - as if anyone cared - it all began to stink... of the pre-packaged, hermetically sealed publicity at which Ms Spears excels. When she giggled coquettishly as she was yet again grilled on the virginity issue, the journalists could have been forgiven for screaming: "Enough is enough!" Now we are learning more and more about the real Britney - a self- centred celebrity who seems reluctant to give anything back to the decreasing band of ordinary people who still admire her. We know of the preposterous record company document which called for Timberlake to stop talking about his relationship with Britney as a means of selling his music. As if Spears hadn't used him in exactly the same way! I say: "Keep it up, Justin - if only to irritate your outrageously egocentric former girlfriend." Far bigger stars could teach Britney a thing or two about how to play the fame game. Like Tom Cruise, who spent an hour delighting his London fans at the premiere of Vanilla Sky. The Top Gun star chatted with all and sundry, posed for pictures and even made a series of prank mobile phone calls to his admirers' stunned friends. Britney and her army of image sculptors must act, and act fast. They need to urgently repair the increasingly damaged Spears brand. If she and her gang carry on in this insulting, couldn't-care- less manner, millions of fans may soon tell the fallen idol to - er - f*** off. Top Forwarded for your information. 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