Britney Spears` Faces Misdemeanor Hit And Run Charges
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Tonight, the unthinkable. Did one of the biggest teen stars out there with a super squeaky clean reputation get knocked up? And undercover lovers. Why do stars keep their relationships so hush- hush? I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now. On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Britney`s bad day. Tonight, the bad news for Britney Spears doesn`t stop, including new shocking criminal charges filed against her. Plus, for the very first time, a former bodyguard goes on TV to make startling claims about her behavior. I mean can it get any worse for her? Yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just doesn`t give a damn about anything but herself.</s>HAMMER (voice-over): Did you va rough month of September? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is telling you to cheer up. At least it`s not as bad as Britney Spears` month. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, her September just got a whole lot worse. Britney is now facing possible jail time. Yes, I said jail time. In an embarrassing hit-and-run accident that was caught on tape for the whole world to see. And her ticked off victim is publicly blasting her on CelebTV.com.</s>KIM ROBARD RIFKIN, BRITNEY HIT HER CAR: She`s a very, very selfish person.</s>HAMMER: To add insult to injury, Britney`s ex-bodyguard has just gone on nationwide TV for the first time telling the world and NBC`s "Today Show" that he actually saw Britney doing drugs.</s>MATT LAUER, "THE TODAY SHOW": Why are you speaking out now?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wanted to make sure that the public and the court and her fans know the truth.</s>HAMMER: This all comes just day after a judge slammed Britney for her, quote, habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol, and two weeks after her disastrous performance on the MTV Music Video Awards. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you this is a phenomenally bad run, even for Britney.</s>JO PIAZZA, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": It`s official, Britney Spears is having the worse month ever.</s>HAMMER: Britney`s driving trouble started here, in this Studio City California parking lot, seen in this video captured by CelebTV.com. In full view of the paparazzi, Britney steered her Mercedes into a parked Mercedes. And get this, while getting out of her car, Britney hit the parked Benz again with her car door. What did the poor car ever do to her? After inspecting the damage, a clueless Britney bailed without even leaving so much as a note while the paparazzi snapped away.</s>RIFKIN: She didn`t total my car, she disrespected me.</s>HAMMER: The annoyed owner of the banged up Benz, registered nurse Kim Robard Rifkin, was not around when all this was happening. In fact, she didn`t find out it was Spears who hit her car until she saw the whole thing online.</s>RIFKIN: As first it was amusing and then it was just sort of annoying.</s>HAMMER: Robard Rifkin tells CelebTV.com she`s annoyed Britney has yet to own up to what she`s done.</s>RIFKIN: She`s disappointing me because I was hoping as human being she would do the right thing.</s>HAMMER: Robard Rifkin went and filed a police report. Now prosecutors have charge Britney with misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run and driving without a valid license. If convicted of the misdemeanors, she faces up six months in jail and a 1,000 dollar fine. Her alleged victim says the whole thing is such a waste of time.</s>RIFKIN: It could have been handled so simply, and she`s going to end up in court, and maybe in jail.</s>HAMMER: But Britney`s latest hit is more than just a case of Hollywood Benz on Benz violence. It`s the latest round of bad car karma for Hollywood`s bad girls. Lindsay Lohan had two DUIs, one resulting in a car accident. Paris Hilton also had a DUI. There`s Nicole Richie`s DUI wrong way on the freeway incident. And now Britney Spears is caught up in a hit-and-run beat. Further truth that trouble prone stars and cars just don`t mix.</s>PIAZZA: I don`t think any of them should be allowed behind the wheel of a car. If Turtle from "Entourage" could just be driven them all around that would be fantastic.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know this area, Turtle.</s>HAMMER: While Turtle from "Entourage" knows how to keep the secrets of his movie star employer, we`re seeing that Britney`s not having that kind of luck with her help.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not here to destroy Britney.</s>HAMMER: On NBC`s "Today Show" Britney`s ex-bodyguard, Tony Barretto, spilled the beans on what he claims is Britney`s recent drug use. This is the same bodyguard who filed a declaration in Britney`s custody battle over their two kids. Listen to what he tells Today`s Matt Lauer about the two occasions he says he saw Britney doing drugs at a nightclub.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had me hold a curtain to make her area private. At which point I noticed what she was doing. The other occasion is when we escorted her to a private restroom upstairs, which we secured for her. I thought it would be appropriate to check on her and I knocked and peeked in and I observed this behavior.</s>HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, Britney`s not bending over backwards to dispute what her ex-bodyguard was saying.</s>PIAZZA: I think, at this point, everyone is acknowledging she has a drug problem.</s>HAMMER: The fact that Britney`s having trouble is something that everyone seems to be acknowledging, including her alleged hit and run victim.</s>RIFKIN: As a nurse, I can feel compassion. She`s sick. She needs help.</s>HAMMER: I want to let you know that SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tried to get a comment from Britney, but her record company sent us to her publicist. However, Britney doesn`t have a publicist, because basically everyone has gone and quit on her. Joining me tonight from New York, Ashleigh Banfield, host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat." Also in New York, the attorney for Britney`s former bodyguard, Gloria Allred. Ashleigh, Gloria, I always appreciate you guys joining us. Gloria, let me start with you, because you`re the body guard`s attorney, the guy named Tony Barretto. His claims here, seems to me that they could really blow open the whole child custody battle between Brit and Kevin Federline, Kevin now asking for 70/30 custody of the kids instead of the 50/50 setup they now have. What do you think, Gloria? Based on his claims, should Britney lose custody of the kids altogether?</s>GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Well, A.J., I do believe that already his declaration, which is in evidence, has had its impact and, of course, Britney Spears`s attorneys had the right to cross-examine him under oath and declined to do so. That leads me to believe they must not have thought they could challenge or discredit what he had in his declaration. The court did say and did find that, in fact, she is a habitual, a frequent and a continuous user of controlled substances and alcohol, and ordered drug testing. None the less, and I think this is inconsistent, frankly, with the courts finding, the court kept the custody as-is, 50/50. I think, A.J., that the court should have and could have changed custody to Kevin until such time as she could demonstrate that she is no longer a user of controlled substances and alcohol. And then she could get custody back. I think that would have given her incentive to get the help that she needs, and I think, frankly, that a that would have been the better choice.</s>HAMMER: Yes, you make perfect sense. It sounds like something that could actually provide her with some much needed motivation at this point. On "The Today Show," Matt Lauer did ask the bodyguard Tony Barretto whether he actually saw Britney using drugs in front of the children. Here`s what he said. Watch this. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never seen her use drugs in the presence of her children.</s>LAUER: What about alcohol?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alcohol, that`s one personal opinion. I don`t know if abuse is the correct language. I have seen her drink alcohol. That would be up to the courts to decide whether that was abuse or just a drink.</s>HAMMER: Obviously, somebody doing drugs in front of their kids, that would be a terrible thing. But Ashleigh, here`s what I`m wondering; does it even matter whether she was doing drugs in front of the kids? I mean, the mere fact that she might have been doing drugs at all, and, as Gloria mentioned, the judge in the case has ordered her to undergo this random drug testing, isn`t it just bad news all around?</s>ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV ANCHOR: It`s bad news all around. Sure, if you`re using illegal substances, it doesn`t bode well for being a parent, no matter what. It`s always the best interests of the child that judges like to look at. That said, she did sort of skip into Promises Rehab for a couple of hours and out again. Whether she goes into another rehab, which is rumored, to try to fix these problems, will also bode well for her. But if she doesn`t do the drug testing, she could be in contempt of court and could lose those kids altogether. A judge has a lot of discretion when it comes to that.</s>ALLRED: And, A.J., the results of the tests; the court has ordered that it receive the results of the drug test. And also that she not be under the influence of drugs or controlled substances within 12 hours of having the children in her custody, or while they are there. By the way, even though my client said he did not see her use drugs in front of the children, he did see her be under the influence in the presence of the children.</s>HAMMER: Ah, OK, that`s an interesting point. I do want to listen again to what he said on "The Today Show" about one of the two times he said he saw Britney do drugs, although not in front of the children.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The other occasion was when we escorted her to a private restroom upstairs, which we secured for her. And she was in there for some time alone. And I was there waiting for her outside the door, again, for some time. I thought it would be appropriate to check on her. And I knocked and peeked in and I observed this behavior.</s>HAMMER: I do need to point out, this bodyguard was fired by Britney Spears. He said it was because he didn`t hear her ask him to pick up her hat. But Gloria, real quickly, do we have any kind of proof from the bodyguard? Are we talking his word versus her word?</s>ALLRED: It`s his word under penalty of perjury. Again, her attorneys had a chance to try to attack or challenge what he had to say, present evidence to the contrary. They did not do so. That leads me to believe that they thought that either they didn`t have any evidence that would discredit what he had to say.</s>HAMMER: Right.</s>ALLRED: Or that it would open more doors, and would hurt their client more than help their client.</s>HAMMER: Got to wrap it there. Gloria Allred, Ashleigh Banfield, I appreciate you both being here. Now we want to hear from you for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of day. Here`s what we want to know to from you; Britney Spears`s bodyguard drug claims, do you believe him? You can vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. The email address, SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com. You know, with Britney Spears it`s never just one thing. Right? She`s also facing criminal charges for allegedly smacking her car into someone else`s and running way. Do you know that Daniel Pouter (ph) song "Had A Bad Day?" That should be Britney`s theme song. Maybe Britney`s Bad Day or Britney`s Bad Year. A SHOWBIZ special report on the way at 30 past the hour. Also, former "ER" star George Clooney, such a good guy, rushed to the real E.R. after a frightening and serious accident. Tonight, I`ve got the latest on Clooney`s condition. I got to tell you, I almost fell off my chair when I heard about this. Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana, one of most innocent, squeaky clean teens out there; talk that she got knocked up. I can`t believe this. She is truly the anti-Britney, the anti-Paris. So, I`m investigating on that coming up.