Joe Scarnici/FilmMagicRemember when Britney Spears used to walk around in bare feet, eating Cheetos and shaving her head?
Yeah, those were sad times.
These days, the "Toxic" singer is back on top, but one bit of her past just won't go away—the singer's ex-manager Sam Lutfi. We already knew he filed a defamation lawsuit against Spears and her parents Lynne and Jamie, claiming they ruined him with claims he drugged and harassed the singer during her breakdown.
But now Lutfi, who is still under a restraining order to stay away from Spears, wants her to testify. But her parents are claiming she's "mentally incapable" of doing so.
So what's he planning to do?
Lutfi filed a motion last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, insisting Spears is well enough to testify when it goes to trial.
Lufti hired expert witness Joshua Pretsky, an assistant professor of psychiatry at UCLA, to break down the pop star's recent behavior, most notably take notes on her world tour, an interview with Ryan Seacrest and an MTV documentary she starred in.
And guess what? Based on those factors, Pretsky told the court that she seems more than capable of testifying in the case.
"In the Ryan Seacrest interview, which was recorded approximately two months ago, Britney Spears is interviewed at length, and she responds logically and coherently to questions, evidencing logical thinking and mental competency," the witness states.
"In my opinion, there is good cause to conduct an independent medical examination to investigate the conservators' claim that Ms. Spears is not capable of testifying, and the claim that she was not mentally competent to enter into a binding contract..."
According to his lawsuit, Lufti is asking the court to conduct the examination, but her parents will not produce her for a deposition on the grounds that she is "mentally incapable."
The ex-manager is asking that a doctor conduct a three- to five-hour interview with the singer to determine her mental state, and he is also asking for access to her medical records.
Spears' mom had detailed her daughter's time with Lutfi in the memoir, Through the Storm, claiming Lutfi drugged her daughter, cut off her phones and manipulated her before he got the ax.
For his part, Lutfi claims the singer's life was a wreck before he ever entered the picture, is still battling after an appeals court refused to toss the suit last November.
When you consider all this, maybe things still are a little sad for Britney.