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"Crazy" Bald Britney Billboards Come Down

Tue., Jun. 19, 2007 11:23 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

Britney Spears has admitted to having some problems, but she's drawing the line at a "nut job."

Facing the threat of a lawsuit from the pop star, Clear Channel Communications has taken down billboards in Florida advertising a local radio show with a paparazzi shot of a scowling, bald Britney and the tag lines "Total Nut Jobs," "Shock Therapy" and "Certifiable."

"We can confirm the billboards are down," Clear Channel spokeswoman Michele Clarke said Tuesday, declining further comment.

In a June 14 missive obtained by The Smoking Gun Website, Spears' Los Angeles-based lawyer, Lynda Goldman, alleged Clear Channel misappropriated the singer's image without permission. Goldman also groused that the company reneged on a promise to remove the offending signs days ago.

"It was outrageous in the extreme that Clear Channel created and displayed the billboards in the first place," the attorney wrote. "That Clear Channel then had the unabashed temerity to lie about their removal shocks the conscience."

For the past several weeks, the conscience-shocking signage had been lining highways in Clearwater, Tampa and Jacksonville. There were three variations, each featuring the same image of Spears after her ill-conceived haircut (and before her trip to rehab) paired with a photo of MJ Kelli, host of 93.3 FM's The MJ Morning Show. Each billboard bore one of the taglines.

"Do I feel betrayed? Yeah, I feel betrayed," the deejay, whose real name is Todd Schnitt, was quoted as saying on the air. "I feel let down. I'm not happy with my company taking it down. I don't think there's any problem with it."

According to Schnitt, the station acquired the image of Spears from a third-party Website.

But Spears' camp was skirting the issue of whether the photo was legally obtained or whether billboards were protected by free-speech laws. Instead, Goldman claimed that the ads used Spears' face without her consent for commercial gain. Celebrities typically have control over their publicity rights and can pursue punitive damages if misappropriated.

Goldman insisted that Clear Channel provide "documentary evidence verified under penalty of perjury" that it has complied with Spears' demand to take down the outdoor advertisements. The attorney also demanded an inventory of all company billboards that feature Spears' photo.

There was no immediate comment from Goldman or Spears' publicist about Tuesday's development.

Since completing her stint in a Malibu rehab facility in March following a very public meltdown, the 25-year-old "Toxic" performer has been working on a comeback album and testing the new material at impromptu club shows.