I feel for her... a little. She's a moron and she has to parent with the eyes of a voyeuristic, mean world on her.

On the other hand, she doesn't seem to be learning from her miscues. If anything, she seems to be accelerating them and multiplying them.

And as for babydaddy... he makes a compelling argument for forced sterilization.

this sentence is pure brilliance...
"What would otherwise be a minor blip on the radar for a normal mother with small children is now one more rusty car on blocks in the unmowed lawn of Britney's reputation."

also, k-fed looks like his aroma would be dirty balls mixed with tobacco. and if he uses cologne, it's to mask this horrid olefactory affront.

Ewww, dirty balls - and I don't think you mean tennis - and tobacco, conjures memories of back alley pool halls and truck stop johns.

Not my memories of course, I'm just projecting.

Truthfully, this week in celebrity news has humbled me, I have found a wealth of good will for two otherwise wayward knuckleheads, Britney and Lindsay.

Clearly, there are greater evils in the world than misguided young starlets.

you old softie! Very nice job!

Alternate headline:

Drop My Baby One M--... well, you see where this is going.

Dawn,
Fantastic piece. This was front page Google News. Great job!
Carmine

*blushes* thanks y'all. Glad to share in the joy of another's misery.

I am indeed going straight to hell. I'll tell Paris you guys said high!

Very good piece. I'm no Britney fan, but the leeering joy the gossip-meisters seem to get out of her parenthood mishaps is really out of bounds. If I had paparazzi watching some of the stupid stuff I've done with our kid, I'd probably be in jail by now.


Um, not that I've done anything QUITE that bad...

good point, Nik, parenting really IS hard and mishaps are common - I think Dawn is right that she really is trying, but with her every moved dogged, she has no room for error

Thanks for the laugh! How exactly is a gun going to keep her from tripping on the hem of her pants? Perhaps she would have shot the hem before she tripped? Truly puzzling...

I would have thought it was a basic instinct for a mother to support the head of her baby when carrying him/her. I guess not. I'm worried about this baby's health -- seriously. The parents seem incompetent.

Truly inspired Amazon links, Dawn. The sociocultural and genderpolitical subtexts of the brand name "Yummy Mommy" are so bewildering, they make me feel all confused and scared, like being on a roller coaster while wearing pants that suddenly seem too small for some reason.

Anyway, uh... back to the topic at hand... maybe Britney could get one of her personal assistants to squeeze some parenting classes into her busy schedule?

Good Gravy Dawn! Do ya think you could stop murmering long enough about Britany Spears and write a real article?

I've seen soooo many more children living in neglect and poverty, with crack whore mothers... this subject doesn't even rate.

This subject doesn't rate what Joey? As far as murmuring goes, I think I articulated my feelings quite succinctly, thanks.

Victor, I wish I could take credit for the Amazon links, but Eric put those in. I was so engrossed in my subject matter and mesmerized by K-Fed's hillbilly couture that I forgot my responsibility. I will direct him to your comment though.

Rebecca - good one about the hem. Would that actually work - or is that the same as shooting one's self in the foot?

Old Spice, eh? This may be the pivotal issue in Kevins appeal, as he seems to have gone to great lengths to maintain an ugly appearance. It must be the scent that Does The Trick with young celebrity females. Perhaps he has discovered that young women, almost universally, are suckers for Old Spice because their fathers used it (even if the fathers were utter rats they were at least placeholders for the more honorable men dreamed of by young girls). The fathers bought the stuff because it was cheap and readily available, and then the daughters began to supply it at christmas. Thus the Wheel Of Life turns.

I know about this stuff because I read it in a book. Or maybe some guy in a bar told me. Or maybe it was a Bush administration official. Or maybe...

Cash value of Britney brain: $5.13

Britney's estimated assets: $150 million

"What would otherwise be a minor blip on the radar for a normal mother with small children is now one more rusty car on blocks in the unmowed lawn of Britney's reputation." Priceless.

Great piece, Dawn.

i say we make joey content editor.

anything that strays from covering stuff like neglected kids with crack-whore moms should be tossed into the scrap heap. how can we worry about the dopey rich, when there's the dopey poor to worry about?

What Britney Spears should do: first, get rid of her good-for-nothing-not-even-rapping-but-except-reproducing husband, who doesn't seem to be taking an active part in their baby's care.

Second, move out of the limelight to raise up her children because it is not possible for someone, anyone, not even a person of celebrity status, to have their role as a parent under so much scrutiny. Realise how other celebrities are never reported in such baby misadventures? The worldwide media is out to get Britney, that's for sure - every mistake that she makes.

And she is apparently not getting much of an assistance from that idiot you call her husband. He does not have a worthwhile job, just depends on his wife's money, thinks he can have a successful singing career (come on, he cannot even get a record deal and I hope it stays that way, gosh), whose favourite hobby seemingly is to repopulate the planet with his offspring ...

Britney is too young for motherhood maybe. And it sure doesn't help that her husband made her pregnant for the second time and so soon after her first child (that she is already struggling to take care of under the scrutinising glare of the whole world). I hope she gets emotional support from her mother because this is going to get her a mental breakdown sooner or later.

One thing about the nearly-dropping-baby incident, wouldn't it be instinctive for a person, who is tripping, to quickly use the other arm to hold the baby back (even if the other hand is full)? The baby is definitely falling backwards and she only seems to do nothing except try to hold it tighter in the arm from which he is falling.

And why does she keep on holding the baby in one arm only and, moreover, precariously, on her side. She should use both arms, for god's sake, the baby is only eight months old ... it needs support when being held from such a height.

Since she likes to hold her baby on one arm, she shouldn't get her other hand full. She has so many bodyguards following her around. Can't she give them to carry her glass of water so she can have both hands free to hold the child?

I love your celebrity pieces, Dawn. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the kind words folks. As to the indepth discussion as to why Britney doesn't use the proper baby holding technique, may I simply reply: because she's kind a dumb y'all.

I had a similar incident, which coincidentally happended during a the last blogger party we had. I was carrying our then 18 month-old and I had a shoe malfunction and slipped down our patio steps. I can tell you with blinding clarity that I grabbed our son with all my might, and was instinctively able to shield him from the impact and took a huge and painful hit to the shin.

Then I took a bow.

I do think it's instinctive to protect your baby, but clearly Britney was not graced with many of life's most important, though less aesthetic gifts. Like common sense, good judgment, and basic intellect.

I still think she's well-meaning and probably very loving to her baby. Look at how she cradles him, she has a look of serenity. Or maybe that's vacuity?

If Sean Preston survives his childhood, and gets some of the recessive genes that might be lurking within his two parents, he will be okay. He certainly seems loved.

I like the article, when I stumbled upon the google link I thought it would be bashing her, which is not what this child needs these days.
She's a young mother and she's pregnant, that's enough to make anyone feel loopy and not so light on their feet.

I don't know one parent that could stand up to this type of scrutiny, imagine the papparazi snapping pictures as your child falls down and skins their knee or takes a face plant , ouch those are the worst. In time motherhood will mature aspects about her that make ol' Kevin seem like more of a child in her eyes than her babies and then she'll dump him:) I think we all agree that needs to happen.

The media needs to give this girl some space.

Just checking in. Dawn, you're right "doesn't rate what" Rate what? You can't figure it out? It doesn't rate inspection, argument, time, pixel use. Celebrity might be an infatuation, but the impact is tiny compared to the gross under reporting of social issues that merit public awareness. How "Briantiny" chooses to live her life and raise her children, how she grew up, how she aspired (with the help of the machine) to be where she is really doesn't reflect anything but luck. Will the kids be alright? With her cash flow, there needs will be met, their life will be abundant, overflowing, without want.

Someone with your talent, introspection, devices, network etc.... could stretch it out at report on children who are really suffering, really in need, who are dirt poor, without hope, struggling to overcome the dire circumstances that poverty, poor motherhood, bad parents... have dealt them.

That's my point. Britany doesn't rate, and the "People magazine" approach to reporting on her every misstep has already been done.

Stretch it out a bit. There's a need for reporting. Gossip is already covered elsewhere.

And that's my point.

Joey, on an individual level I couldn't agree more that there are bigger, more important issues to be highlighted and brought to the attention of the world at large.

But my responsibility here at this site is to report on celebrity matters. I don't create the stories, I merely present them the best I can.

Matters of goodwill and plights of the misfortunate are better left to those who are more adept at covering those stories than I am.

But your heart is indeed in the right place. And if you look around this site, you will find excellent posts that cover the kinds of stories you are interested - both more important and for the betterment of mankind.

I also want to point out, just for your information, that I have written about those such stories in the past esp. as they relate to the well-being of children and they leave me feeling very depleted and depressed.

I'm taking a vow right now to put Britney on my ignore list, as I did a certain talk show hostess last winter. I never was interested in her as a singer, anyway, and now she's not even jailbait anymore. I'll leave her in peace to retire to motherhood as best she can. If the paparazzi are bothering her, it's not on my account.

I respectfully suggest others do the same. We should reduce celebrity sprawl as if it were suburban sprawl.

"Stupid, stupid, and stupid" best describes the airhead press's preoccupation with B.S. and "celebrity matters" in general.

It's amazing the number of people without lives of their own. They're a lucrative demographic in their own right, apparently, though that's no real justification in pandering to them.

This kind of piffle is to journalism what prostitution is to sex.

Dawn,

I read the article, and thought, as did others, that your line, "What would otherwise be a minor blip on the radar for a normal mother with small children is now one more rusty car on blocks in the unmowed lawn of Britney's reputation..." was a classic.

And I realize that writing about serious issues like the exploitation of women or abuse of children is not for everybody. Someone has to supply the sizzle for the steak.

But that isn't why I'm writing. I sat my wife next to me to look at this article and she liked it, but she felt that it was all picked apart in the comments section. I'm forced to agree. Your article was funny and entertaining, especially considering that you are the mother of four and do have some empathy for the poor young millionairesse in question. But picking apart her life in the comment section?

What am I doing writing, right?

[Ruvy's wife nods away to sleep, utterly bored by her husband's screeds]

Picking things apart is about as second nature as urinating. Humans will always find fault - even in those things deemed perfect.

I am sure it's related to original sin.

And I disagree Peter. What sets BC apart is that we don't just regurgitate the news, but present it with our unique voices.

Having a unique voice is one thing; having something to say is another.

People in what we laughingly call the entertainment business don't forfeit their right to privacy in their personal lives and their occupation doesn't justify predatory voyeurism. Your neighbors' faces are perfectly familiar to you; you may almost feel you know them personally. But that doesn't justify behaving like a peeping tom and trying to peek into their bedroom.

People who consume the product of professional celebrity parasites are stalkers by proxy.

Whatever you say dude.

Ruvy#26. Say it aint so. Do you read the tabloid's? No way Reuven.

sr

FIRST OF ALL, THE BITCH NEVER HAD ANY CLUE ON HOW TO DRESS WELL. SO WHY IS EVERYONE SOOOO SUPRISED THAT SHE CAN'T DRESS NOW???

I DO THINK THAT PEOPLE SHOULD FEEL BADLY FOR HER THOUGH, SHE CAN'T SEEM TO GET THINGS IN ORDER. EVER SINCE HER AND TIMBERLAKE SPLIT, IT'S LIKE SHE TURNED IN TO SOME KIND OF HORRIBLE "PARTY GIRL" MEETS "EIGHT MILE". I'LL NEVER FORGET THE DAY THAT I SAW A PICTURE OF BRITNEY'S NEW MAN (K-FAG) FOR THE FIRST TIME. I WANTED TO DIE LAUGHING. YOU SEE, I'VE ALWAYS HATED THE BITCH. SO WHEN SHE WENT FROM BEING ON TOP OF THE WORLD BEING TO ON TOP OF THE UGLIEST MAN ALIVE, I WAS THANKING THE TABLOID GODS! BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THE MORE THIS ABOMBINATION CONTINUES, THE WORSE I FEEL ABOUT WISHING BADLY FOR HER.

I MEAN, THINK ABOUT IT. IF YOU WERE THE #1 SELLING FEMALE ARTIST THAT EVERYONE KNEW AND LOVED EVEN AFTER BLOSSOMING INTO A SUPER SEX SYMBOL. AND YOU WERE DATING THE HOTTEST GUY IN THE HOTTEST BOY BAND OUT AT THE TIME. YOU HAD BILLIONS AND THE CASH JUST SEEMED TO KEEP ROLLING IN WITH NO STOPPING POINT IN SIGHT....
AND THEN IT HAPPENS! YOU GET A LITTLE TOO COCKY OF YOURSELF, CHEAT ON YOUR MAN, AND HE DITCHES YOU. THEN HE MAKES IT PUBLIC THROUGH A BEST SELLING ALBUM (CRY ME A RIVER). HE HOOKS UP WITH AN OLDER AND SEXIER LEADING LADY (CAMERON) AND SEEMS TO HAVE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU. SO YOU GET A LITTLE DRUNK AND HAUL ASS TO VEGAS WITH SOME HOME TOWN FRIENDS. IN THE MIDDLE OF MASKING YOUR BREAKDOWN YOU MARRY IN THE DRIVE-THRU OUT OF DESPERATION. YOU MAKE A COMPLETE ASS OF YOURSELF INFRONT OF AMERICA AND YOUR RECORD/MERCHANDISE SALES PLUMMIT. A FEW MONTHS LATER YOU SNATCH UP THE FIRST LOSER THAT SHOWS INTEREST, IN FEAR THAT YOU WILL NEVER FIND LOVE AGAIN. YOU DON'T REALLY GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT HIS KID AND PREGNANT OLD-LADY AT HOME. HE CONVINCES YOU THAT WEARING CORN ROWS IN WHITE FOLKS HAIR IS COOL. AND IF YOU REALLY LOVE HIM, YOU'LL BUY HIM CARS, CLOTHES, AND ANYTHING ELSE HE WANTS. AND IF YOU WANT TO SHOW HIM THAT YOU MEAN "FOREVER" YOU'LL PAY HIS CHILD SUPPORT WHILE HE FUCKS AROUND IN THE STUDIO PRETENDING TO BE EMINEM. YOU'LL LET HIM RUN YOU IN THE GROUND AND MAKE A MOCKERY OF YOURSELF AND DISAPPOINT YOUR FANS. THEN THE BIG DAY COMES WHEN YOU FIND OUT NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE SUPPORTING TWO KIDS OF HIS THAT AIN'T YOURS, YOU'LL BE SUPPORTING A THIRD BECAUSE HE KNOCKED YOU UP. YOU START GAINING THE WEIGHT AND LOSING THE SEX APPEAL WHILE HE'S BEING PHOTOGRAPHED AROUND THE COUNTRY CLUBBIN IT UP AND SNUGGLIN UP WITH SOME OF THE SKANKIEST "IS THAT A CHICK OR DUDE" PEOPLE. YOU KICK HIM OUT, YOU BRING HIM HOME, YOU KICK HIM OUT, YOU BRING HIM HOME... THEN THE KID COMES, YOU SPEND NIGHTS CRYING AND WONDERING WHY YOUR BODY ISN'T LIKE ALL THE OTHER CELEBRITY MOM BODY'S THAT DO THAT RUBBERBAND EFFECT AFTER HAVING A KID. YOU CATCH HELL FROM THE MEDIA FOR THAT, TOO. YOU CONSIDER HAVING SOME NIP TUCK DONE TO MAKE YOU AND EVERYBODY ELSE FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, THAT HAD TO BE PUT ON HOLD. THAT BASTARD KNOCKED YOU UP AGAIN! BUT THERE WAS NOTHING YOU COULD DO, IF YOU WEREN'T GIVING IT UP TO HIM AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY COULD, HE'D BE GETTING IT FROM ELSE-WHERE. AND EVEN WITH ALL THE NANNIES, BODY GUARDS AND YOUR MAMA IN TOW, YOU MAKE A FEW RETARD MISTAKES (SOME FORGIVABLE - SOME NOT SO MUCH) THAT MILLIONS OF OTHER MOTHERS AROUND THE WORLD MAKE DAILY, WHILE RAISING YOUR KID. BUT YOURS ARE THE ONES THAT GET SCRUTINIZED AND JUDGED BECAUSE SINCE YOUR LIFE FELL TO PIECES, YOU'VE WENT FROM POP PRINCESS TO QUEEN OF THE DOUBLE-WIDE.

KEEP DOGGIN BRITNEY OUT IF YOU MUST BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS BETTER THAN ME THAT SHE DID IT TO HERSELF. I JUST WANTED TO GIVE EVERYONE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE SITUATION. SOMEDAY, ALL STARS FALL OUT OF THE SKY.

Poor Brit - Bless her little pea-brained heart.
Nice article, Dawn.

I loved your article Dawn! Great job, very eloquently written. Brittany is a special girl who makes mistakes like we all do. But that doesn't stop her from being a dumb#$%. Why did she she make that gun comment? Poor girl, all that money and no commmon sense whatsoever. I'm referring to "K-FED", I'm from Fresno and it pains me to see him shame us so.

"Oh parenting is so hard even with $30 million in my bank account and oh don't forget my sprawling 7.5 million estate in Malibu. Okay Well I guess maybe the only hard part was laying on my back to get this way" sob sob says Britney.

Please don't feel no sympathy for this bad act of a Mother. Britney Spears is not the nice woman she tries to potray herself as. And she's def not the victim either. She controls K-Fed like a Tool; he is her Robot. The only person to feel sorry for is Sean Preston and his sibling and half brother and sister. They deserve better Parents.

ok so yeah it is easy enough for any mother to slip and nilly drop there baby i think people should really lay off brit i'm not a big fan but i still think some people are being a bit hard on her accident's do happen and if she was'nt a pop star then would you all be behaving this way is every one jelous or really concerned for the baby i think people should think about what there writing and most mother's pack on the pounds after giving birth give her some time.

I sent this to cnn, it's no surprise that they did not read this on the air. For some reason the media wants to take Britney Spears down, I don't think we should let them with out making a big scene because if we do then soon they will be telling us how to live our lives, that sounds like it sucks.

First off I bet you don't read my comment over the air because it is not in line with your right wing political views. I will post this email I sent you to other web sites for this reason, just to show people how one sided the cnn network is. Any ways how can Britney and her friends be degrading feminism by not wearing panties? It was my thought that feminism stood for equal treatment and thats why I thought I should support it, however if feminism has shifted it's focus from equal rights and instead decided to focus on Britney's wild behavior then I would say the cause of equal treatment is lost. I think the bigger question here is what harm did Britney do? Are we as a nation to say that it's fine to send troops over seas to defend a freedom that is not real in the first place? The truth of the whole situation is that you have made a mountain out of an ant hill and the only people that rely care about this situation in the first place is bitter angry people who feel the need to attack anything related to women who decide to share their sexuality openly yet these same individuals are fine with letting violence run ramped all over the T.V, I would say their priorities are out of line. In closing how can any one be offended by what Britney did unless they go out of their way to go look at it on the internet, and if you go and look and you are offended this is not Britney's fault, It's your's. It's exactly the same as if you asked some one to let you eat a food you knew you did not like and then you blamed them for that after you ate it.

PEOPLE U REALLY NEED 2 GET A LIFE AND STOP HATING ON BRITNEY SPEARS..
SHE IS MY FRIGGIN IDOL AND SHE'S SO AWESUM,BEAUTIFUL,GREAT BODY,BUT NOW SHE JUST NEEDS 2 LOOZE A LIL MORE WEIGHT AND SHE WILL BE PERFECT.
BUT ANYWAYZ SHE ALMOSTDROPPED HER BABY SO WAT SHE DINT CANT U SEE SHE HAD SO MANY STUFF IN HER ARM AND THE BABY IS MOVING SO HIS HEAD WENT A LILTTLE LOW THATS IT.
SO YALL BETTER STOP HATING AND GO AND GET A FUCKING LIFE!!

HEY EVERYONE SEE YOU ALL! STILL DON'T HAVE A LIFE IT MUST BE SO INTERESTING FOR YOU ALL TO GANG UP ON BRITANY LIKE THIS WELL I THINK YOU ARE ALL JUST JELOUS I MEAN IF IT WAS SOME ONE ELSE WOULD YOU EVEN NOTICE THE LITTLE SLIP UP SERIOUSLY GET A LIFE______________

Who or what is a britney asparagus spear. Sounds like some kind of UK vegetable.

i fink ya wkd brittaz and crossroads is my fav film ov all time !!!!!!!!!

my name is otgoo. i am from Mongolia
my favourite singer is Britney spears
you are very nice
good luck
sorry i don't speak english

I THINK SHE IS A DIRTY COW

I AM 16 WITH A BABY BOY AND I WOULD HAVE HER BABY OFF HER SHE ANT FUCKING FIT TO BE A MOTHER