BRITNEY’S CUSTODY BATTLE
The singer is battling for her sons with ex Kevin Federline after an alleged altercation with her dad
Pop star Britney Spears has had a rough year. While she took time out from her career in January to care for her father Jamie as he recovered from a colon rupture, her relationship with him is now on rocky ground after he allegedly had an altercation with her son Sean, who turns 14 this week, a source close to the singer tells WHO.
“Both of Britney’s boys are very wellbehaved and well-mannered. What happened with Jamie and Sean was very unfortunate and definitely not right,” says the source, who reveals that their alleged fight on August 24 began when Sean “locked himself in a room” after his grandfather asked him to do something “he wasn’t interested in doing”.
Jamie, 67, is said to have “got very angry”,
and, according to The Blast, then broke down the door. “There was physical contact that made Sean scared and upset,” says the source. “Britney got upset as well and ended their visit with Jamie.”
Shortly after the incident, the star’s father filed papers to temporarily step down as her conservator. “Jamie has to focus on his health. He was also told it’s best to step down temporarily because of the police report,” a source close to Spears tells WHO. “Jamie seems stressed about it, and it’s not a situation he wants to be in.”
It’s believed the 37-year-old singer “can’t believe that her dad would jeopardise her relationship with her boys … Britney is always terrified that she will lose custody, ” a source tells WHO.
Keeping custody of Sean and his 13-yearold brother Jayden has been an ongoing battle for Spears, who filed for divorce from their dancer father Kevin Federline in November 2006 – the split was later settled in March 2007. Around that same time, Federline, 41, maintained custody of the children until Spears stabilised after her widely publicised breakdown.
Fast-forward 12 years and the day after the alleged altercation, Federline filed a police report at the Ventura County Sheriff ’s station with his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan. “Kevin got extremely angry when he heard what happened,” says the source. “His reaction does seem appropriate.”
This incident came days after TMZ reported that court documents had been filed confirming that Spears and her ex-husband had reached a new custody agreement.
The documents revealed Federline will have 70 per cent custody of Sean and Jayden, while Spears will be granted 30 per cent. Sources told the site the exes have had that arrangement since around last August, but it was only formalised in court recently. Spears’ custody of Sean and Jayden will not require supervision. But according to Kaplan’s testimony as recorded in the police report, Jayden was also present during Jamie and Sean’s fight – giving the singer another reason to fret about the situation.
And while the star at the centre of the drama is yet to comment further on the matter of custody, on September 6 she took to social media to tell fans she’s taking a break and focusing on positives. Alongside a working-out video, Spears wrote: “On a muchneeded vacay by myself !!!!! I was so excited I found a great gym … There were private mini rooms in the gym so you could box and lift … It was great day !!!!! ”
“Kevin got extremely angry” —a source