Britney and Kevin Federline had another date in court, with the result being that Britney gets even more time with her sons:

Popwreck Britney Spears was in high spirits as she left a courtroom today after winning back overnight visits with her two young sons.

Asked if she was happy with the outcome, Spears flashed a big smile to the Daily News.

The judge, Commissioner Scott Gordon, agreed Spears was once again ready to read bedtime stories after the singer appeared in person and answered several questions, TMZ.com reported.

“She was very businesslike,” said court spokesman Allan Parachini. “Any judge is happy when litigants are making progress.”

Well, what else can we say? It’s been ages since I’ve done a Britney story, and that speaks volumes in itself. There for a while, we were doing at least one a day, perhaps two, and the fact that she hasn’t been acting erratic (to say the least) has definitely worked in her favor. While obviously still too impaired to have full custody, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Baby steps, baby steps.

Having her father come on board and take control of her life was one of the best things that could have happened to her, and I sincerely hope she sees that. As long as she continues her current course of therapy and keeps on taking her medication (and not stopping, thinking that she is “well”, which is pretty common with people who deal with bipolar disorder), I see nothing but good things for Brit.

Keep it up!

Seriously.  I didn’t think that was Amy until I read the article.

On the heels of a disastrous performance in Portugal, where she showed up an hour late for her set and stumbled and slurred her way through her songs, Amy Winehouse turned up at her husband’s hearing to offer support:

The troubled star sat in the front row of the public gallery as Snaresbrook Crown Court, east London, and smiled lovingly at Blake Fielder-Civil, who smiled back at her from the dock. […]

When the judge, David Radford, was giving his ruling on a point of legal argument, she looked at her husband and inclined her head questioningly towards the judge.

She was led into court by an usher, and sat alone in the front row of the gallery, twice moving to different seats. […]

Winehouse left the court after 80 minutes, with legal arguments still continuing.

Outside the court, she was asked: “How’s Blake looking?” She replied: “As gorgeous as f ***. You seen him before?”

Uh, yeah, we’ve seen him.  Not sure that the description applies, but whatever teases your beehive.

Not only did Amy show up with skin that would make a perfect “before” example for a skin cream, but onstage in Portugal she showed off what the UK press calls a “love bite” (read: hickey) on her neck, under her chin.  I can’t tell but I assume it was still there when she went to the hearing, since they don’t go away that fast (especially one that size).  Now that, right there, spells class and sophistication.  Wonder if she’ll be able to pass it off as a curling iron burn?  She looked well turned-out earlier in the day, she must have cried or sweated some of her makeup off.

Here’s the deal…Amy is on her way down.  She’s taking her talents and smoking them away.  Her record company (read: pimp daddies) will squeeze every last bit of money they can out of her, and then they’ll drop her so fast she won’t know what happened.  It’s happened before with bigger stars than Amy, and if she thinks it won’t happen to her then she’s more deluded than we think.

Between the hickey, the scabby skin, the cut-up arms, the zoned-out performances, and the dirty fingertips…does she think we’re that stupid?  The drugs are only making her fool herself, the rest of us (who aren’t busy loving her to death) can see what is going on.

She can still pull herself away from the abyss, I think she can do it, but she’s got to want to do it for herself and nobody else and for no other reason than she wants to be clean.  Plus, the scabby skin worries me…I’m sure it has to do with the drugs she continues to pump into her body, but people with cutting problems often will pick at existing sores until they become worse than they started out.  I sincerely hope she can get it together and go away to rehab for a long time…but it’ll take a miracle at this point.  I’m not here to make fun of her, I want her to get help.  She needs it.

I read this last night, but I was so infuriated by the news that I had to wait until today to write about it.  It seems that even though having continual evidence flaunted in their faces, and even though they have her on video smoking crack, police have decided NOT to press any drug charges against Amy Winehouse, who promptly went out on the town to celebrate with fellow junkie Pete Doherty:

Singer Amy, who is supposed to be writing songs with Pete, was no doubt keen to celebrate, after being splashed across a tabloid newspaper in pictures which appeared to show her smoking crack cocaine from a makeshift pipe on January 22, she has escaped charge..

She was also shown apparently snorting Ecstasy and cocaine and admitting taking six Valium tablets.

The newspaper passed video footage of the episode to the Metropolitan Police. […]

Police said last night that Winehouse, 24, will not face charges over video footage which appeared to show her smoking crack cocaine.

She was arrested last week and questioned about the film for nine hours, but police today confirmed that no action would be taken against her.

The Crown Prosecution Service said: “The footage did not establish whether the substances were illegal drugs and, in the absence of any forensic opportunity or reliable evidence from a witness, we could not establish to the high proof required in a criminal court that they were controlled drugs.”

A statement from Miss Winehouse’s spokesman read: “She was questioned by police last week and released on unconditional bail.

“They have now concluded their inquiries and no charges will be brought.

“Amy is pleased to be able to move on and concentrate on music and particularly looks forward to seeing her fans again at eagerly awaited festival performances this summer.”

I can totally understand.  I have a bubble pipe that looks exactly like Amy’s crack pipe.  People are constantly getting them confused and they are surprised when I start blowing bubbles instead of smoke.  I love bubbles!

But wait, there’s more…

Yay!  The good news just keeps on a-comin’ for Britney.  Yesterday, she got the news that she’ll get more time with her sons:

Although an order giving Federline custody of 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James remains in place, attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan said Spears’ time with the children will gradually be extended.

He said that Federline is pleased with the agreement and that he and his attorneys feel that Spears has stabilized in the months after two hospitalizations this year.

“I think that consistency over time with respect to structure and stability is something that would be welcomed by Kevin and, I’m sure, recognized by the court at the appropriate time,” Kaplan said.

“The children are doing great. I think they’re doing really great. That’s the key question, and that’s what all this is about.”

Britney herself showed up at the courthouse and actually stayed this time, talking to the judge and generally not acting like a lunatic (of course, the fact that both Osmarmy bin Loopy and Anon Brazilianwax are completely out of the picture probably helped that tremendously).

And, as Dawn and I predicted would happen, much of the kudos goes to dad Jamie Spears, who has stepped in and put her life in order:

Jamie Spears’ role as conservator has paid off. The pop princess was granted “expanded” visitation rights of her children, Preston, 2, and Jayden, 20 months, at today’s court custody hearing in Los Angeles.

The two parties — Britney’s team and her ex-husband Kevin Federline’s team — were expected to break for lunch, but instead they amicably reached an agreement over custody.

“I’m happy with the results,” K-Fed’s lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan told Star after the decision was reached.

At a press conference held outside of the courthouse, Kaplan said, “The court recognized signs of progress… Since the conservatorship has taken place, a lot of uncertainty is out of play.”

That’s lawyerese for “The leeching sycophants that were taking over her life have been kicked to the curb.”

Like I’ve said before, kicking Brit when she’s down just isn’t cool.  So many people have given her such a hard time, but these are people who either don’t understand mental illness or they don’t care that they’re making a fast buck off someone else’s pain.  I want her to get better and stay that way, because that way I can go back to making fun of her music and her clothes. 

I do hope she stays on this course and realizes just how close she came to losing it all.  And for all of you who said dad Jamie was just in it for the money and he’d bleed her dry and be horrible for her career…oh yeah, we called it way back, so put that in your smipe and poke it.

There’s a progress report hearing today in Britney’s continued legal case:

Though Spears has spent the last several months keeping a relatively low profile – and staying out of trouble – experts say it’s unlikely the pair’s current custody arrangement will change.

“As long as Britney remains under a conservatorship, she has a long way to go before the court views her as a capable mother,” says L.A. family lawyer Scott Weston, who is not involved in the case.

Word is that she might actually show up in person today, which would go a long way in impressing the judge, I would think, especially since her previous record of showing up and staying has been spotty at best.  I know it’s stressful, but sometimes the hardest things for us to do are the best things for us to do.

Brit’s dad Jamie is still in charge of her conservatorship until July 31, unless the court decides to change that at some point beforehand.

I must say that I’ve been hugely impressed by the way things are turning out.  Six months ago, I would have never imagined that we would be here, with nary a panty flash or Osmarmy Bin Loopy in sight.  While Brit may not have been happy with this at the beginning, I certainly hope she now sees that her father coming in and taking charge has been one of the best things that could have happened.  He has shown that he isn’t about the Benjamins, but rather about helping his daughter, and that is the best thing he could have done.

And I do hope that if the court does not decide to give her more visitation today, that she doesn’t get discouraged.  One of the things we all must learn is that when we make mistakes, we must pay for those mistakes, even if we are really sorry for those mistakes.  There must always be a period of punishment.  But the good news is it doesn’t last forever, and there will come a time when Brit will get full visitation back and possibly even custody, provided she can stay on this positive track.  Don’t give up, Brit, because the best things come to those who wait.

Oh wait, that was a different serial philanderer and liar.  My bad…they all run together after a while.

Roger Clemens is steadfastly denying that not only did he not take steroids and performance-enhancing drugs:

“I know that many people want to know what I have to say about the recent articles in the media,” Clemens, who has raised his four children with his wife, Debbie, in the Katy and Memorial areas, said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “Even though these articles contain many false accusations and mistakes, I need to say that I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry. I have apologized to my family and apologize to my fans. Like everyone, I have flaws. I have sometimes made choices which have not been right.”

While not admitting to any specific mistakes, Clemens did remain adamant that he never used steroids or HGH. He has been fighting to clear his name since Dec. 13, when he was implicated in the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the report former Sen. George Mitchell prepared for Major League Baseball.

“I believe my personal life has nothing to do with the accusations of steroid and HGH use,” he said in the statement. “I have already made clear that I did not use them.”

…but that he also did not have an improper relationship with country singer Mindy McCready:

“Now, I have been accused of having an improper relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Nothing could be further from the truth. This relationship has been twisted and distorted far beyond reality. It is just one of many, many accusations that are utterly false.”

McCready, however, told the Daily News that she “cannot refute anything in the story” about her relationship with Clemens.

…along with other (admittedly legal) women:

The Daily News also reported that Clemens had extramarital relationships with two other women, including the former wife of pro golfer John Daly.

Clemens is adamant that he won’t confess just so the scrutiny will go away.

“I realize that many people want me to simply confess and apologize for the conduct that I have been accused of, but I cannot confess to, nor apologize for, things I did not do,” he said. “I have apologized to my family for my mistakes. And having offered this apology to the public, I would ask that you let me and my family deal with these matters in private.”

Like I said before, had he just kept both his big mouth shut and his Rocket in his pants, this story about Mindy McCready might not have ever hit the press.  It seems that if she would have wanted to publicize it, she would have done so by now, and outside of one statement to the press when the story broke she has remained silent on the subject.  But because he filed a defamation of character suit against his former trainer, it all came out, and Roger has only himself to blame for it.  Yes, it might have come out anyway, but he could have then apologized and at least not looked like a lying hypocrite (yeah, as if he would have the humility to apologize).

Yes, we all make mistakes, and yes, we all have things in our pasts that we are embarrassed about and ashamed of.  But if you’re in the public eye, you need to make double sure that you’re not presenting yourself to the world as one thing, when you’re really another, because you will be found out.  Millions of dollars, a possible stint in the pokey, and his family are at stake, all because Roger Clemens is too arrogant to realize just what is going on.

No, not the Caddy.  News is that Britney is going to get to spend Mother’s Day with her sons:

The troubled singer, 26, will get to spend the day with her two sons — Sean Preston and Jayden James — thanks to improving relations with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, who has agreed to let the boys spend May 11 with their mom. […]

A family friend told Life & Style magazine that the wannabe-rapper is considering granting Britney overnight visits with the kids, after she filed a formal request with the courts.

The insider said: “He hasn’t said yes yet, but he’s considering it.”

And despite their prolonged custody battle, sources claim the couple are back on good terms with one another.

Kevin apparently refers to Britney as his “lady” and Spears ends calls by telling her former husband that she loves him.

One pal said: “It’s such a huge change. It hasn’t been like this between them in forever.”

Well, well, well.  Dad Jamie swooped in, kicked butt and took names, and Britney has discovered that if you follow the rules and take your meds and play nicely and don’t run with scissors, you get to do more things.  When I first started writing for GlossLip, I didn’t think this day would come…but look, it’s here!

I want Brit to get well so I can go back to picking on her clothing choices and appalling taste in music, because kicking somebody when they are down just isn’t cool.  I’m glad she’s gotten the help she so desperately needed, and I’m glad that this is my first Brit story in quite a while…it means her life is going good and there’s nothing for me to say about it.  :)  Now, if we can convince Amy Winehouse that this is the best way to go…

On another note, what do you think about the growing closeness between Brit and former husband Kevin?  Do you think they’ll get back together?  For all his faults, he really does seem to understand her and he has, in the past, been able to get her to listen.  Maybe all the drama of the past couple of years has made them both grow up.  Who knows, maybe they can even work things out.  There’s been stranger stuff happen.

Have a happy Mother’s Day, Britney!

Yes, just when you thought the saga of Roger Clemens couldn’t get any stranger, it gets stranger.  I admit I haven’t been following this whole Roger/steroids story as much as some (I’m not a big baseball fan), but when Shaun Daily mentioned this on his BTR show yesterday, I sat up and took notice.  It seems that he and troubled country singer Mindy McCready met when she was fifteen and this developed into a long sexual relationship:

Roger Clemens carried on a decade-long affair with country star Mindy McCready, a romance that began when McCready was a 15-year-old aspiring singer performing in a karaoke bar and Clemens was a 28-year-old Red Sox ace and married father of two, several sources have told the Daily News. […]

Contacted by the Daily News Sunday through his lawyer Rusty Hardin, Clemens confirmed a long-term relationship but denied that it was of a sexual nature.

“He flatly denies having had any kind of an inappropriate relationship with her,” Hardin said. “He’s considered her a close family friend. … He has never had a sexual relationship with her.”

Apparently, Mindy began travelling with Roger after they met in a bar where she was singing at age fifteen:

Hardin said the Rocket’s wife, Debbie, knew McCready and that the singer had traveled on his plane. […]

[Brian] McNamee, who worked with and traveled with Clemens extensively over the last decade, has confirmed that he saw Clemens and McCready together on many occasions, including in Clemens’ room at his apartment in the former SkyDome, now Rogers Centre, in Toronto, and that Clemens talked of McCready often. Should McNamee decide to countersue for defamation, McCready could surface as a witness for that case as well.

According to sources, Clemens was with his Red Sox teammates in a Fort Myers, Fla., bar when then-teenager McCready caught his eye. After Clemens threw a shirt with his and several teammates’ signatures onstage, an introduction was made.

“It was love at first sight, no doubt about it,” said a source with intimate knowledge of the relationship.

According to the source, McCready did not learn that Clemens was married to Debbie Clemens until McCready attended a baseball game with her two younger brothers and read Clemens’ bio in the program. The source says that McCready was too young to be angered by the news that Clemens was taken.

Roger has sued his former personal trainer for defamation of character, a bit ironic and a huge risk since when you do so, you claim you had unsullied character to begin with:

From a public relations standpoint, Clemens’ decision to file the suit against McNamee the night the Rocket appeared with Mike Wallace on “60 Minutes” could end up being the biggest risk he has taken yet. Clemens, under investigation for perjury, has already endured the ignominy of publicly admitting his wife’s own human growth hormone use, having photos of bloody gauze and needles linked to him and embarrassing scrutiny of an alleged injection-site abscess on his buttocks. […]

“The issue in Roger’s suit against McNamee is Roger’s reputation and how it has been damaged,” said Richard Emery, one of McNamee’s lawyers who is handling the defamation suit. “If it’s proved that he’s a philanderer, his reputation is already damaged. When you sue for defamation, you put your whole reputation in the community at issue. Anything is fair game, including his claim of sanctimonious purity. We would cross-examine him and other witnesses who might impact on his alleged behavior. We would probably subpoena her and witnesses who knew [of the relationship]. He’s a ‘family man’ - he implies that. It’s about what his damages are. All is fair game.” […]

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner’s orchestrated public relations blitz began shortly after the Dec. 13 release of the Mitchell Report on drug use in baseball. It focused as much on Clemens’ family-man reputation as it did on McNamee’s checkered past and apparent lies about his involvement in an incident in Florida in 2001 for which he was investigated for sexual assault. No charges were ever filed in that case, but Clemens’ lawyer Hardin papered the media with accounts of the incident.

The relationship with McCready paints a very different picture of Clemens than the one drawn by Jose Canseco in his book “Juiced,” where he went out of his way to say that Clemens was one of very few professional ballplayers who was faithful to his wife.

And it smacks of a different Clemens than the one who spoke passionately of his family in his opening remarks to Congress Feb. 13. Debbie Clemens was seated behind her husband at the hearing.

“Anyone who has spent time around me knows that my family is and has always been my top priority,” a portion of the statement read. “My wife, Debbie, and my sons - Koby, Kory, Kacy and Kody - mean more to me than anything in the world. Having said that, baseball has definitely provided me with significant opportunities off the field.”

But wait, there’s more…

Well, I didn’t see this one coming. I thought, like so many celebs, he’d get a slap on the wrist, but actor Wesley Snipes is facing three years in the pokey for tax evasion despite many famous friends attempting to intervene on his behalf:

The Blade star, 45, was sentenced Thursday to three years behind bars as his punishment for failing to file his tax returns, U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges announced in an Ocala, Fla., courtroom.

The actor sat stone-faced – and some people in the courtroom gasped – when the sentence was read. “I’m very sorry for my mistakes and errors. I apologize to my family, the court and the community,” Snipes said as his wife looked on. “I’ve asked the court to show me mercy and the opportunity to make things right.”

In February, a federal jury convicted Snipes of three counts of failing to file a tax return (from 1999 through 2001). Thursday he received 12 months for each count. Prosecutors say the actor owes a total of $41 million in taxes, of which he paid $5 at the sentencing. […]

In February, Snipes, an Orlando native, was acquitted on the more serious charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and filing a false claim for a $7 million refund – both felonies – as well as three similar counts of failure to file returns for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The prosecution, seeking to make an example of Snipes, had requested the maximum: three years in prison and a fine of at least $5 million. […]

The defense, on the other hand, sought probation rather than prison time. “Wesley Snipes is not a dangerous man who needs to be imprisoned to protect the public,” Snipes’ attorney said in his sentencing memo.

“He is contrite, promises that he will never again break the law, and respectfully asks the court to consider not just the jury verdict but also all the good that he has done in his life.”

Oh man, don’t screw with the IRS. They will castrate you, d00d.

I have to agree, though, that they seem to be wanting to make an example of Wesley. I mean, while the charges are serious, and he should absolutely be made to pay what he owes, three years in prison seems to be a little much. In this day and age when we have drug dealers and rapists being freed early because of overcrowding in our jails, do we really want to stick a guy in there for three years because of something like this?

I mean, come on. Richie Sambora drives drunk with two underage children in his vehicle, and all he got was three years’ probation, three months of classes, and made to pay some fines.

But wait, there’s more…

But how much you wanna bet she beats the rap again, and ends up pushing a broom for eight hours for about a week or so?

Yes, everybody’s favorite poster child for anger management could be looking at some serious time in the pokey:

Foul-tempered supermodel Naomi Campbell could face six months in prison after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer on a British Airways flight.

The supermodel has now been released on bail after apparently having a furious row with BA cabin crew over a missing bag at Heathrow’s Terminal.

Police were called, and witnesses claim she was ‘virtually dragged’ out of the First Class cabin and off the plane in handcuffs.

During the ruckus she spat at an officer, one onlooker claimed.

The drama erupted just minutes before her flight to Los Angeles was due to take off.

Miss Campbell, 37, who was to appear on a television programme in the U.S., was apparently told that one of her two bags had not been loaded on to the plane.

The bag in question, thought to contain clothes for her TV appearance, was said to be “very heavy”.

Witnesses said the model began screaming and swearing at staff, waving her arms.

After a “sustained” period of alleged abuse she got off the plane before boarding it again and continuing to shout and swear - prompting BA staff to call the police.

Look at that smirk on her face…does that look like a woman who is repentant of her actions?

Dawn did a great piece on this yesterday, and now I’d like to add my two pennies.  What is a grown woman doing acting like this?  When my kids were little, behavior like this usually meant they got a spanking and a sit-down until they learned to behave.  Yes, aggravations happen in life (and apparently Heathrow has been at the center of a massive airport scandal lately), and there are times when we all lose our temper.  But come on…spitting?  That is one of the most vile and disrespectful things one person can do to another.

Look at the monsters we create when we pander to someone’s every whim because they are pretty.  She’s a supermodel, used to having her every need and urge pandered to, used to being constantly told how wonderful she is, used to having everything on a silver platter, and why?  Because she was blessed in the genetic lottery?

I hope they throw her in jail with Blake Incarcerated-Druggie.  That’ll teach her to mind her manners!