Ill Spears skips legal date
A friend of the star said she was worried by the media frenzy outside her house
Thursday, 13, Dec 2007 07:14
Britney Spears has not appeared for a scheduled interview with opposition lawyers involved in her child custody battle, after falling sick.
The Gimme More star was expected to face a grilling during the formal meeting, which was to have taken place at the office of her former husband Kevin Federline's legal team.
But on the morning of the hearing, the singer informed lawyers she was too sick to attend and testify about her past and parenting capabilities under oath.
Speaking about the cancellation, Federline's attorney Mark Kaplan said: "Approximately ten minutes after her council appeared they were notified that because of an illness or medical condition Ms Spears would not appear."
Mr Kaplan did not state whether a new date for the hearing had been agreed.
A close friend of Spears, Sam Lufti, told reporters the troubled star had panicked when she saw the media interest in the case.
He told People magazine in an e-mail: "She's sick, both physically and high anxiety. Millions of press outside. It's too much."
Spears is looking to regain equal custody arrangements of her two sons with Federline after a Los Angeles court put an end to the system over fears for her children's well-being. The move followed damaging testimony from former staff as well as media reports about the singer missing drug tests and committing driving offences.
Currently the 26-year-old is only allowed supervised visits with her children.
Federline's chief lawyer has questioned a number of Spears' friends and former employees in the past about the pop star's behaviour.
Previously the judge ruling in the case has criticised her for being a "habitual, frequent and continuous" user of alcohol and controlled substances and ordered to her to undergo regular drug tests and attend parenting sessions.