Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BRITNEY SPEARS ARRESTED

Episode Date: March 7, 2026

Pop icon Britney Spears arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The 44-year-old pop star was the only person in the car. The incident happened near her Southern California home around 3am. Spears was booked and released.    Around 9 pm, a 911 call alerted the California Highway Patrol that someone in a black BMW 430i was driving erratically. After being followed by police for over an hour, the driver exited the freeway and pulled over.  Officers say Spears appeared to be impaired. A series of field sobriety tests were administered. Chemical test results are pending. Also found in the case, an unidentified substance, thought to be drugs.   A statement from a Spears' camp: “This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.” Joining Nancy Grace today: Danny Rubin - Criminal Defense Lawyer and Founder of Rubin Law, PC. website: rubinlawpc.com  Dr. Bethany Marshall  -  Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker,”  featured in hit show: "Paris in Love" on Peacock, www.drbethanymarshall.com , Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, Twitter: @DrBethanyLive  Rob Shuter  - Host: Naughty But Nice Podcast, Author: “It Started With A Whisper,” robshuter.substack.com, former publicist to the stars including Sean “Diddy” Combs, IG: @naughtygossip Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Brittany arrested. That's right. Brittany Spears arrested. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace.

This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Before I even get to the news about Britney Spears, just being arrested, being booked around 3am. the morning. Straight out to Rob Sheeter joining us, host of naughty but nice podcast, author of a newly released novel. It started with a whisper. He's at robesheeter.substack.com, but for my purposes, he is a guru to the stars, the PR guru. Did I not tell you, and I take no joy in this? You were taking up for Brittany, and I feel it. I feel badly for Brittany on so many levels.

because so many people take advantage of Britney Spears. They use her. She's the mule and their scenario. And they use her and use her and use her for money, for fame, for advantage. Well, I told you, let me see that video, Please, Control Room, of her veering all over the side of the road. Remember that shooter? And you were like, no, no, no, everything's fine. That was just a simple U-turn.

We do that in Great Britain all the time. even though we're on the wrong side of the street. Did you think, can I see the video of her leaving the restaurant, please? Did you think she's toasting everybody with apple juice shooter? I told you, unless there was an intervention, there you go, down the hatch, girl,

that someone is going to end up killed. And now this shooter, and you acted like the whole thing was a PR stunt that it only helped her fame. Total BS. I blame you, shooter, you and the rest of the media that let this happen, no intervention, no nothing, and now she's booked into the LA jail at 3 o'clock in the morning. Are you happy?

It's heartbreaking, Nancy. I'm absolutely heartbroken about this. I used to work for Britney. I know her, not terribly well, but I know her. This is just the worst case scenario. It's the moment nobody wanted to see happening, although I guess maybe now she's hit rock bottom or got close through it, maybe she'll get some help. I would think that some of these videos she's putting out with nothing but a little flower on her front end, that might be rock bottom, but hold on. Shooter, let me see, Shooter. You think this is rock bottom?

Do you? Listen to this. Rubin, Danny Rubin, Danny Rubin, criminal defense lawyer, founder of Ruben law at Rubenlau, Okay, can I see Rubin for one minute before Brittany strips down again? Rock bottom would be if this was a vehicular homicide. That would be rock bottom. Have you ever prosecuted or defended a DUI or a vehicular homicide? Ever?

Have you seen the victim mangled up, strapped in, in the front seat of a car? A child even dead because somebody is a DUI. actually I'm defending one right now where a passenger in the back seat was ejected you know due to my allegedly due to my client's driving under the influence but I mean I agree this this really this can be rock bottom but there's so much farther as someone can go and hopefully she doesn't fall that far so in your case Rubin the case that you are defending right now the victim, as you so clinically put it, was ejected, thrown out of the car. And I'm sure they didn't just sail through an open window and land on a trampoline.

They went through the windshield and landed on an object, a hard object, and died, thanks to your client, allegedly. Well, contributed to it was the fact that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, that he was also intoxicated and that he was about 320 pounds sitting in the middle of, seed, but certainly my alcohol, my client's alcohol intake is alleged to... Cut his mic. Cut it. I don't want to hear how it's the dead victim's fault that Ruben's client rammed

into him and he flew through the air and died. His fault because he didn't have on a seatbelt. You know, that might work in a civil trial where there's contributory or comparable negligence, but I'm talking about the pokey, the can, the big house, where you go when you kill

somebody because you're drunk. Let Rubin think about what he just said for a few moments. Straight out to Dave Mack, joining us, Crime Stories, investigative reporter. Dave Mac, what happened? Why is Brittany booked in to the jail at 3 a.m.? Nancy, police started getting calls about an erratic driver. Highway Patrol follows this BMW being driven by Britney Spears. They're tracking her along Ventura County for five to seven miles,

somewhere in that range, trying to catch up with her. to get her. Hold on, Dave, Mac. Hold on just a moment. Put Mac up. Tracking her? You mean pursuing her with the siren on and her not stopping. Is that a little more accurate, Dave Mac? I'm not sure that that's the case, Nancy. I know that they were, they being law enforcement from the dispatch. They were following a car being said, it's going to be at this exit. It's headed this direction. And then highway patrol got behind her as she exited off the 101 freeway in Westlake in Ventura County. And that's where she was stopped. So I don't know how long they followed her. I know that there was tracking going on. The vehicle was seen. The vehicle was reported to be driving

erratically without tail lights on, erratic braking. These calls were coming in from other drivers. People didn't know it was pretty clear. You know what, let's just go straight to the source. You've got other drivers calling. Let's take a listen to the 911 call. Just for a moment, just in case there's something I'm behind me. 248-3. That was for the BOL. I heard it exit at Pleasant Valley.

475 on UTL. 98. Brittany's vehicle followed almost an hour. A 911 call exposing a wild highway chase before a DUI arrest, according to reports. An hour chase following Britney Spears as she weaved across various lanes, in and out. If you keep watching that video, which I would like to do on a prior occasion, she misses an oncoming vehicle by about four seconds, as right as she goes over a little incline. then coming around a curve about four seconds later oncoming, she weaves over to the left,

and then a vehicle comes oncoming. Two or three, four or five seconds after she goes into oncoming lane, a car comes. Their lives were saved that time by about four seconds. There you go. I think this is the moment we're going to see a car coming around. corner, their lives were saved in the space of five seconds or so. Who knows what's going to happen next time. As we're watching this video, Dave Mack, let's rethink your reporting. Tell me what happened. I wanted to get to something here. You're watching this video.

You said that she might have escaped it this time, talking about the video we're seeing right now, but you pointed out that it will get worse. She will get stocked or it, God forbid, a wreck. Now, she was stock. 8.48 p.m. is when that first call came in. It took them 45 minutes to get her pulled over. Brittany Spears was pulled over as she exited the 101 freeway. Highway Patrol was on the scene,

and it was the highway patrol that administered a roadside sobriety test, Nancy. Brittany failed the roadside sobriety test. She was then taken to the hospital immediately from the stop to have a blood draw done for alcohol and drugs. She was then taken to the police headquarters where she was booked around 3 a.m. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Danny Rubin joining us, veteran criminal defense attorney, founder of Rubin Law there in L.A. Danny, the issue with DUIs, it's a very regimented process. I never had DUIs because they're considered a misdemeanor.

I only got them by the time they're a felony when it's a habitual violator or a vehicular homicide. But there is a very regimented order that must be followed to make a DUI stick. We just heard Dave Mack state that Britney Spears had a breathalyzer and was then transported for a blood draw. Explain what must happen for that breathalyzer result to stick in court. So before the breathalyzer is even used,

it has to be calibrated. And those machines have to be calibrated on a regular basis, and they have to keep a log of when those machines are calibrated. If the machines aren't calibrated properly, you can challenge whatever finding in court. So before they even stop

they have to make sure the machine is calibrated. At the stop, they have to advise the person. Do you want to give breath or blood? You want to blow into the PAS test machine or do you want to give blood? Generally, the person has to choose one or the other. Sometimes they choose both. But if they don't have the opportunity to choose, then again, the DUI can get thrown out. If they choose to do the breath test, they blow at the scene. They have to make sure that there's no burping, no spitting, no eating, anything like that that could jeopardize the quality of the test. And then the person performs two different tests once a few minutes apart, roughly 15 minutes apart.

And what they'll also do is they'll also provide another breath test once they take them down to the station if they blew over a 0.08. For the blood test, you get arrested. Your car gets impounded generally and you're taken to a hospital or other sort of medical setting where they can draw your blood. if you refuse, the police officers can still get a warrant. They can draw your blood and that will be admissible in court if they get a warrant for that. But if you do refuse and they don't get a warrant, then the blood they do drop can be thrown out of court. I do know this, Dave Matt. Brittany Spears was texting friends about two hours after the incident.

So make of that what you wish. I want to follow up with exactly what happened. We've got a one-hour chase as it is being put. We have a breathalyzer and a blood draw. Okay, control room. Can you control yourselves? We're talking about a DUI of potential felony if there had been a vehicular homicide and you're showing me, Brittany, dancing around in her living room. Okay. Dave Mack, what more can you tell us about her, arrest and the conditions surrounding her arrest. Where has she been before the arrest? Was she back at the same bar? What was she doing before the arrest? Had she been drinking at home? Had she been in a party? How, what led to what happened to Brittany? Hold on. I'm hearing that Rob Scheter wants in.

Hold the thought day, Mac. Rob Scheter joining us, author of a brand new book. It started with a whisper. Let me see Rob Scheter. I don't want to see his book. It started with a whisper. Thank you. Shooter. Back to where we started. We said this was going, well, I said it was going to happen. And you said, no, it won't. She's going to have an intervention. It's going to be taken care of.

But it wasn't. What's going to make you happy when there's finally a wreck and Brittany ends up dead or somebody else? I hear what you're saying, Nancy. I have great sympathy for Britney Spears, and she really pulls up my heartstrings. I've been a fan for a long time. I know her a little bit.

However, I'm not dumb. I've had friends who have been in car accidents. I've had friends, a childhood friend who was killed by a drunk driver. And so I think now it's time for us to stop worrying quite as much about Brittany and the think instead about the damage that she can do to others while also doing an enormous amount of damage to herself. But I take your point, Nancy, you made it very well and very clear. This isn't just the Britney Spears story.

This is a story about innocent people who could be out having a fun night and it's not going to end very well because of some selfish, selfish person's actions. Rob Sheeter, I know it won't make you happy if there is a crash. I was being facetious and I shouldn't have been. After seeing so many crime victims that suffer because of DUIs and habitual violators and vehicular homicides, it's nothing to take lightly. You know, Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us, renowned psychoanalyst, joining us from the L.A. jurisdiction. She is the author of Deal Breakers.

You can see her now on Peacock, and you can find her at Dr. Bethany Marshall.com. Both things can be true. And Rob Schuter, author of it started with a whisper, just highlighted the dichotomy. That is feeling empathizing with Brittany. I mean, she's been the working, the workhorse, she was a little girl supporting her whole family and a lot of other hangers on. They all took advantage of her. Her whole life, she's had one man after the next taking advantage of her. And it seems like she's a little girl trapped in a grown-up's body. And she's got drugs and

alcohol and all sorts of temptations and addictions before her like a plate of cookies. And she just can't resist. And every time I look at one of those videos of her, She has no idea how talented she is, and yet she's wasting herself on these twirling around videos in her living room with dog poop on the floor behind her. It just, she's just getting used. That said, now she could inflict great harm on someone else. I don't know why after the last incident where we were showing her weaving all over the road, why nothing was done then. Nobody is there for her. They just want her money.

I mean, it's heartbreaking, but when will it stop, Bethany? Literally, when somebody's dead and then everybody goes, oh, we should have done something. Well, that would be the bottom, right? That's what they call hitting bottom is when the consequences are so disastrous that the substance abuser has to admit they have a problem. Nancy, in terms of empathy, in order to help a patient, you have to empathically immersexual. yourself in their experience, see it from their perspective first so they can get the treatment they need. So what I see in these videos, first of all, none of her team is around to stop her, which either tells me that she has alienated herself from them, either they're taking

advantage of her, they're not able to contain her, or that something, there has been a breakdown in her attachment system somewhere there. You know, Nancy, she could hire a limo. I see a friend walking with her there. She could have a friend drive her, but that is not happening right now. So I'm thinking about what happened before she got in that car? Somehow she's detached from the people around her. Now these videos, Nancy, this is more than just alcohol. I haven't treated Brittany. This is just my professional opinion. But this seems more like a very activating type substance she's on. And the fact, Nancy, I'm sure she reviews her social media accounts. And she sees herself like this, but she does not take the images down.

Tells me that she might be in an inebriated or altered state all of the time. And she certainly seems to be, Nancy, what we call decompensated. Decompensated is a clinical term that means none of her coping mechanisms are working at this point. She doesn't see how she comes across to others. She can't contain herself. She's in some kind of a psychological freefall. So Nancy, with addicts, you have to. really balance it between seeing it from their perspective, and then also setting very strict

rules and boundaries in order to protect the public. Speaking of protecting the public and Britney Spears allegedly arrested for DUI driving drunk, waiting for that blood draw to be made public, Rob Scheter now reports that Brittany has been associating with known drug dealers, and that came out. on your substack, what did you learn, if anything? Yeah, Brittany's life has been upside down ever since she recently sold her catalog for $200 million. So after that was made public, a lot of hangars on, a lot of really bad people in L.A. sort her out.

And she started hanging out with some really, really bad folks. Many of them are known drug dealers. Many of them are hangers on. many of them are really the bottom feeders of Hollywood and she has fell in to this group. It's a pattern that she's had before when her father took over the conservatorship. He had to ban so many people from her life, had to remove phones, had to change email addresses. But Brittany has had a long history over the last 20 years of having really bad judgment with friends. And unfortunately, she's fell back into it.

And I think the tipping point, Nancy, the reason this happened. So recently was that $200 million windfall that she got when she sold her catalog. What does having all that money have to do with her DUI? It has people come into her life that are now after her money. They are targeting her. They are trying to get into her in a circle. She's a very vulnerable person. She has so few people around her to protect her.

And so these people now can be involved in her life. And if Brittany, as I report, is hanging out with no one drug dealers, people in L.A. who are just, just the bottom of the barrel, that is going to have an impact on her behavior. And that's why I believe now we're seeing Brittany literally go off the rails. Rob Sheeter, PR Guru to the Stars, author of a brand new book. It started with a whisper. I was analyzing the Hollywood Reporter. statement, and I guess it's now everywhere, quote, this was an unfortunate incident, completely

inexcusable. Brittany is going to take the right steps, comply with the law. Hopefully this can be the first step in a long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney's life. Actually, that went to the National Enquirer. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time. her boys are going to be spending time with her. Okay, her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue, needed plan to set her up for success for well-being.

Okay, seems to me that they totally, Rob Sheeter, sidestep the fact that she's allegedly driving drunk as a skunk. Yeah, yeah, this is a non-statement, although in all the years I've been covering, Brittany, her people have been very slow to response. The last time we saw her swerving in and out of traffic, really putting people's lives a danger. There was no statement. So they know, they know now that they've got a problem. The word inexcusable is taking some responsibility. However, if they think that her teenage sons are going to suddenly turn up after not being in her life for decades and save the day, they're completely wrong. My reporting is these young boys love their mom, but they don't want to be her parent. They don't want to take over her life. Their young

kids, one is still a teenager. And so rely on two young men instead of professionals isn't going to get us the result. They want, we want, the whole world wants. So I think here the PR response was weak, but finally they're saying something. They've finally had to admit that there is a problem. Rob, you mentioned a lot of people in her life after she got the $200 million for the song catalog. But there's a long and very rich history of guys using her. Remember when she first started with Justin Timberlake? She was the big star at that time. She was the hit.

So many people state he was riding her coattails. Now, she dated Colin Farrell for a while, but I don't see that he used her. Then Jason Alexander, remember the 24-hour marriage? Then, of course, the MacDady, Kevin Federline, he's still living off her money. Remember, Fetterline, who is so quick to criticize her. Then you've got Isaac Cohen who dated her. Then you've got that Adnan Ghalib. Remember him?

Oh, my goodness. They claimed, he claimed they were dating. Long story short, nothing but trouble. Then there's a guy, J.R. Rotem. Jason Traywick, remember that relationship, made him famous for about a minute. Goes on to Charlie Ebersol. Then there's the most recent Sam Escari. Now, was it the Adnan guy that was with her when she had the meltdown?

and somebody in this group was allegedly, let's just say, encouraging or enabling drug use? The people around Britney Spears have been heartbreaking, right, since she popped up on the scene, since she was a really young performer. You mentioned Justin Timberlake, but it really did start with him. And then after Justin, it was just a series of bad guy after bad guy after bad guy. I was working as Britney's publicist when she got married in Vegas for 24 hours, and we had to rush out and try and clear up that mess. But Brittany, Brittany has done this before.

Brittany's going to do it again. She seems to attract people around her that are very, very questionable. And I think this is why the confusion is, Nancy, is that the Britney Spears, we all think we know. The Britney Spears have oops, I did it again. The Britney Spears, there was a major pop star, was not always the truthful version of her. What you're seeing now is who Brittany always was,

and her record label, her managers, her publicists, really polished her up into being America's pop princess, where in reality, Brittany always had very clouded judgment, and now we're getting to see the authentic Britney Spears, as sad as that is, and I get the fans don't want to hear me, they don't want to see this. But I think that all the people out there that really fought hard, I'm talking about the fans here,

to get rid of the conservatorship with her dad, never wondered what happens next. Yes, we get rid of her dad who was complicated, But what happens next? Now we're seeing it. You know, Dr. Bethany Marshall, it would be so easy to blame all of these guys that had been using her. But she's a grown woman in her 40s now. We can't blame other people for her driving drunk. Yes, Nancy, it's true.

However, on the other hand, all of these people are taking advantage of her. She has attachments with them. And it could be that they are re-addicting her. Nancy, we saw this with P. Diddy. He kept re-addicting his victims. He used substances to control them sexually. So it would not be surprising for me to discover that, you know, people, that Brittany's team managers, the people around her have some added benefit or interest in her staying in an

addicted state, especially if she has just come into $200 million. So it's very tricky in terms of how much we hold her responsible for all of this. Dave Mack, I understand that Britney Spears allegedly told police, I only had one mimosa at the time. You asked me a minute ago what she had been doing earlier in the day, Nancy. Britney Spears was by herself when she was pulled over and arrested. At 44 years old, she spent the day posting videos of her dancing, as you've seen on the show. Just ridiculous dancing alone. And then she goes out for a drive. And apparently she had been drinking or doing something else at home while she was posting these videos. But she went for the drive alone. She wasn't like going to a club or anything else. She was actually out impaired driving

allegedly as a choice, not a destination. So she tells police she had one mimosa. And by the way, we have heard tales of her saying that she blew a 0.06 on her breathalyzer. That does not come from any legitimate source. That is something that has been repeated that Britney Spears allegedly texted to a point. Okay, let's go with that for a moment. Danny Rubin joining us, veteran criminal defense attorney who has handled DUI defense as well. as vehicular homicide cases. Danny, typically across the country,

0.08 is required as the threshold for a DUI. But you can be charged with driving while impaired and more if you are a 0.06. While you may be a 0.06 at the time you do the breathalyzer, your blood draw may show something very different.

That's true. And additionally, the blood draw may show some other substances that may have contributed to the driving. But I think if we do find that there are other substances, I know that they were analyzing a substance in the car, I would look into whether or not Ms. Spears has some sort of addiction issue, some sort of mental health issue, which prompted some self-medication, which is super common among people with serious mental health issues. I think at this point, I mean, we're seeing a woman who needs help. She's obviously done something at this point very publicly, which is both embarrassing and upsetting

to many people. It's potentially dangerous, as we've covered several times on the show, which you're right about, Nancy. It's extremely dangerous the way she was driving. But she does need help. And this is really the reason why I got into being a defense attorney, because you see people sometimes at their lowest in these cases. And your job as an attorney is not just to defend them in the case, but to try to get them the help that they need that they weren't getting before. And hopefully that can contribute to how the prosecution views this case and how she proceeds going forward.

Back to Rob Scheter joining us, PR Guru to the Stars, including Britney Spears and author of a brand new book. It started with a whisper. Isn't it true that this DUI is on the hills of her getting a restraining order against a Louisiana man that showed up at her house? She says has been stalking her since about 2013. I mean, and then now suddenly this, that's got to be some sort of trigger for a guy that you've been trying to get rid of since 2013 for 13 years. And she finally gets a permanent injunction. TRO?

What happened? Yeah, she finally made this happen. He turned up at her house. He's been threatening her, disturbing her for years. This is what makes me really concerned about this guy turning up, is he got on her property. The people around Brittany that used to arrange her security, that used to make sure she was protective, they have all gone. She has fired so many of her staff. She doesn't have cleaners. And I know that sounds like boo-hoo. She's a rich person and clean your own house, but it's just an example of how far she's fell. And the people around her now just don't exist. There's nobody protecting Britney Spears. There's somebody a stalker,

a known stalker who can get onto her property. I'm glad action has been taken. But my question is, how did this even happen and who is around Britney Spears? Whether we like it or not, she's going to be famous. She's going to be Britney Spears. You know this guy, the stalker, actually posted something about Britney's bullet hole heart? I do. It's devastating, Nancy. What she's had to tolerate, I don't want to be too boo-hoo on Britney Spears because she's had a lot of amazing opportunities, too, that we probably will never see. But Britney Spears has been through so much.

from the earliest age. She has been the cash cow for so many people, record executives, fashion insiders, fragrance houses. And now she's that poor little rich girl who has once again hit the jackpot and doesn't quite know what to do with it. I fear for her, Nancy. I really, I have great, great empathy for the world of Britney Spears. I think if you asked her, if she knew it was going to end up like this, would have she worked so hard? Would have she, where does she dance and sing so much to become famous? I think the answer's got to be no. Nobody expected this outcome.

It's a complete tragedy. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. You know, another interesting thing to Dr. Bethany Marshall. You have the ex-Federline who has been living off her, sucking her dry like a tick, a total parasite who whenever given the opportunity takes to the airwaves and trashes her, the mother of his two boys. He just wrote a tell-all book. You know, immediately after her child support to him ended, which was thousands and thousands of dollars a month, the minute that ended, the minute he has to make his own living, he puts out a tell-all book about Brittany. And he totally

trashes her. I mean, everywhere she turns, somebody is using her. You know, Nancy, think about what that does to her mental health. She loves this man. She marries him. This has happened with multiple men. She takes care of them financially and trusts them with her children, Kevin Federline specifically. And then he trashes her. I mean, Nancy, that's domestic abuse. That's emotional abuse. And so then she turns to people within her camp who have dual roles, meaning that they are there to protect her and care for her, but they're also benefiting for her financially. And wealthy people notoriously get poor mental health treatment or addiction treatment because of their money. I mean, think about it, Nancy. If she went to Cedars, she went to an addiction specialist, and that person only got paid their hourly wage to help her,

that person is not going to readdict her or feed into the bowl, you know what, or all of that. They're going to apply appropriate standards and protocol for treatment, whereas people in her camp, they don't want her to get well, Nancy, because then the gravy train stops. I mean, this is the inherent problem in all of this is that people are both exploiting her, not standing up to her, trashing her, stalking her, throwing her under the bus. it's surprising that something worse has not happened before now. Rob Sheeter, PR guru to the stars. You can find him at his own substack, has represented one star after the next, after the next,

including Britney Spears and author of a brand new book. It started with a whisper climbing the chart on Amazon. Rob Sheeter, what, if anything, can she do? And I'm going to go to Danny Rubin about legally right now. but PR wise. And what was your experience with her and her family? Really, really erratic. A lost little girl who appeared to be this little sparrow in a storm. She was very, very, very worried about what people thought about her. She wanted to please people. She saw being famous of a way of making her family happy.

She was supporting her family. And so there was a lot of pressure on her to make money, to be successful and when she was she never had a minute off to enjoy it. She was worked ragged. Her schedule, the amount of concerts, the amount of promotions, the amount of interviews that she did was extraordinary. I don't think I've ever seen a celebrity work that hard and a lot of people said she's young, she can do it, she's got the energy, but it must have taken a toll on her now she's 44 years old and I fear that Britney still is that lost little girl and she's never found love or happiness. along the way. So it's an American tragedy. This is a Shakespearean-level story of betrayal, of money,

of power lost. Did you just drag William Shakespeare into this? That's amazing. I don't really know how you did it. But that lost little girl is going to end up plowing in to some family of five in their minivan and somebody's going to end up dead. That's what I'm screaming. Look, I was at the front of free Brittany. Let her be. And this is the aftermath. Someone is going to end up dead, whether it's her or somebody else. But I guess we'll burn that bridge when we get there. Sheeter, is that your philosophy? That said, how can she dig out of this fiasco right now, PR-wise? She's got to face her battles now. There's no press release. There's no publicity stunt that's going to fix this. The only why to fix it is to fix it. She needs professional help. There's the statement from her team.

Her boy is her family. My stars, man, you have been a PR guru to Sean Combs, to Brittany, to so many multi-millionaires. And your advice is, if you want to fix it, fix it, okay, you know what? I know that much. But what can she do? What does she have to do? Go work at a, charity, go hand out food to the underprivileged. What does she have to do to rehab herself? None of that will work for her, Nancy. She's past that point of no return. She's been to rehab, and that worked initially several years ago. She's done charity work, and that has not worked. No publicist has a silver bullet, a magic wand here. She's got to now forget about publicity and forget about her public image and forget about her fans and focus on herself. She has to go and see professional

help. Her family are not capable of doing this. She's in a really dangerous place to herself and to others. And I would tell her, stop worrying about the tabloids, stop worrying about Rolling Stone magazine, stop worrying about your TikTok and these videos that you're obsessed with posting and go and finally deal with these demons. It's easier said than done, but that's the only thing now that can help Britney Spears. Okay. That made sense, Shooter. That made sense. To Danny Rubin, I don't know that anyone's going to step in and help her in her family or her circle, such as it is. This is where, if I were prosecuting this case, I would make sure that it was done. I would offer her either jail time, jail time with everybody else or one year of rehab lockdown. That's what I would offer her.

Let her take her pick because when no one else is helping, this can be turned around, Rubin, you know it, I know it. I've had a million cases where people were given a second chance, where I gave them through a plea deal a second chance to get clean, for young men and women that had no alternative to enter the military, get their life straight. I would have the Army in the plea room at my arraignment calendars for suitable cases as an alternative to going to jail, make something out of your life for Pete's sake. A good prosecutor can work a deal where Britney Spears has to go to lockdown rehab. It could be a fancy rehab. It could be Betty Ford. But that can be part of a deal. So if nobody else will help her, the prosecutor needs to do the right thing and get her clean.

You know, I agree with that. And also her defense attorney should also do the same thing. The issue that the public or the prosecutor who represents the public is going to have is exactly what you said before. How do we keep this from happening again? And as we've covered on the show before, Britty Spears has. has gone through rehab, she's gone through other charities. She needs to find something that's going to help her now because it is essential. This could be rock bottom for her and that's where it should be. It shouldn't go any farther than this. So any good defense attorney is going to work with the prosecution and work with her team and work with her to find a rehab or a mental health professional or some combination of the two where the results will stick where it's likely that this will never happen again and where she can start to get the things in her life in order. And that's really a function of what the defense attorney should do in this case.

And I agree with Shooter. It shouldn't be about mugging for the cameras. It shouldn't be about Instagram. It should be about how does my client get the help that she needs so that this never happens again? And of course, a defense attorney's number one goal, keep my client out of jail no matter what. number one, this cannot be handed off to a weak prosecutor that will have a, let's say, my former co-anchor, Johnny Cochran, God rest his soul, or Garagos, or Benjamin Brothman, come in, showboat his way into a cheap plea, straight probation, pay a fine, next.

No, you've got to have a strong prosecutor that really wants to do the right thing. Even if it is multimillionaire Britney Spears, even if it is Garagos or another famous celebrity lawyer, it's got to be a prosecutor that is dedicated to making the road safe for other people and helping Spears. For me, that means a lockdown, Rubin, a lockdown rehab. I don't mean a rehab that you go back and forth to that's basically a spa. I mean a rehab. It can be great. It can be luxurious.

But a place where she has to do the hard work for a good year, a year. I don't mean a 30-day program where it's bam, bam, thank you, man. Bye. See you next year. Not that. Something like Betty Ford or the alternative of jail. Those would be the only two choices that I would give spears in order to, to force her to rehab.

I don't really believe that jail is the best place for her. I understand that that's the perhribial stick in this issue. And I think that most programs really wouldn't go a year. I think we're talking about 90 days in inpatient care. You could make it a year. Are you telling me that in L.A. You can't pay Britney Spears to be in a lockdown rehab or at Betty Ford for a year. Yeah, you can.

She shows them her wallet. They'll do it. I just don't think that those programs are geared to provide the same amount of care for a year. The way they're structured is 90 days intensive care and then outpatient after that. You do go there pretty much every day and you do have to keep track of when you're going and you get therapy and group therapy. But there aren't too many places besides, you know, mental health, like true mental health hospitals when they lock you down for year. Let me take you to school, Danny. Dave Mack, isn't it true that there are 12-month programs?

Nancy, there are multiple programs. I'm personally involved with three in particular that are at least 12-month programs. People do not acquire a lifetime disease and get rid of it in 30 days or even 90 days. Where Britney Spears is right now at age 44 with a lot of very public issues, a long-term inpatient program would really benefit her. She could really take time to get her life on track, to learn a new way of living, a new subway of making decisions, and get her life back on track. Yes, a long-term program is probably the only solution at this point in time. Good gravy. I took that opportunity to look it up online.

Hey, Danny Rubin, you got one of these? Look at me. Look at me. His cell phone. Go to Google. You know about Google, right? put in 12-month rehab in-house program. I can't even count all the ones. So it can happen. I agree with you. I know it's not the norm. You're right. But it can happen.

And I would absolutely give her the choice. Okay, you want a 30-day? Fine. You can spend the other 11 months in jail drying out. Is that what you want? I don't think that's what she wants, but I'll tell you what I want. I want Britney Spears clean.

and I want her off the road. That said, we wait as justice unfolds. Thank you to all of our guests joining us tonight, but especially to you for being with us. Nancy Grace, signing off. I'll see you tomorrow night, and until then, good night, friend.