Britney Spears Could Lose Custody of Children; Celebrity Divorce Shockers
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: A shocking religious controversy surrounding one of the biggest reality shows on TV. And why Kate Hudson thinks, well, boys will be boys, and it`s OK for them to sleep around. I`m Brooke Anderson in New York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now. On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, a new Britney baby shocker. Tonight could Britney Spears` startling out of control behavior cost her custody of her kids? Tonight is K-Fed, the father of Britney`s children, about to make an explosive move? (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now he has a very good chance of getting those children.</s>ANDERSON: Should Britney`s kids be taken away from her? And if you think the Britney mess is bad, wait until you hear some of the other ugly child custody battles going on in Hollywood. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates Hollywood`s nastiest kid fights. Tonight a SHOWBIZ special report, stars and drugs. Nicole Richie admits doing them. Lindsay Lohan faces cocaine charges. We`ve just got to ask is Hollywood drug use really out of control, or is it just business as usual?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody does drugs in Hollywood.</s>ANDERSON: Tonight a SHOWBIZ special report finally reveals the truth about stars and drugs. Hi there everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in New York. AJ is off tonight. You know, I just have to ask, isn`t it sometimes sickening how stars involved in nasty custody battles over their kids often drag their kids down with them? We are investigating that coming up. And what better way to begin than with Britney Spears` baby battle? I probably don`t have to remind you about the outrageous way Britney has been acting ever since she got out of rehab. Now Britney`s ex-hubby, Kevin Federline, may be getting ready to go for it all, full custody of their kids. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is not only looking at whether that could happen, but also asking should it happen for the sake of their children?</s>ANDERSON (voice-over): If Britney Spears wants to create buzz for her comeback album, she has succeeded in getting people talking about her. Too bad no one is talking about her music.</s>NANCY GRACE, CNN ANCHOR: Are Britney Spears` children in danger?</s>ANDERSON: Britney Spears` recent wild antics and erratic behavior have been front and center on tabloids and talk shows.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brit has been so lit, she`ll be lucky if she can even baby sit.</s>ANDERSON: And now, just weeks after her divorce from Kevin Federline became final, those antics could cost her kids. Here`s what SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you. Spears and Federline currently share fifty-fifty custody of their children, Sean Preston and Jaden James. But now "OK! Magazine" is reporting that Federline is about to go to court seeking full custody. And with Britney`s recent shenanaghans, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking could he and should he get it?</s>BEN WIDDICOMB, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": Right now, he has a very good chance of getting those children.</s>ANDERSON: Ben Widdicomb of the "New York Daily News" tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT recent media coverage of Britney Spears has not exactly portrayed her as the world`s best mother.</s>WIDDICOMB: She`s going to clubs. "US Magazine" has on its cover this week, Britney allegedly seducing a college student and keeping her baby Jaden James out until 10:30, and Jayden is a year old. So she`s coming under a lot of pressure for her mothering skills.</s>ANDERSON: Not only that. More than one celebrity tabloid has written articles questioning Britney`s parenting skills, prompting a lively discussion on the "Nancy Grace" show.</s>GRACE: It`s going to take more than Doritos and Diet Coke in a ba-ba to lose custody. You`re kidding me. That`s the best Federline`s got? He needs to go back home and rethink this whole thing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think that what`s been made clear is that Britney is establishing a pattern of --</s>GRACE: Of what? Giving her kid Doritos?</s>RAOUL FELDER, DIVORCE ATTORNEY: She`s giving the Federline a case on a silver platter.</s>ANDERSON: Famed divorce attorney Raoul Felder tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that if Kevin puts up a fight, Britney`s custody rights could be in serious trouble.</s>FELDER: I think in a courtroom today, Federline is in a better position than she is.</s>ANDERSON: Remember back when Britney and K-Fed were married? It was the club-hopping, wannabe rapper Federline who was seen by many as the less than stellar parent. Now Federline`s reported role in getting Britney to rehab and his low-profile parenting have allowed him to emerge as the more stable half of the former couple.</s>WIDDICOMB: In comparison, he is seeming like a really good parent right now.</s>ANDERSON: Still, if he does launch a custody battle, he would have his critics too.</s>WIDDICOMB: A lot of people think that Kevin getting first full custody is not the end game. He is just use the chance to put the pressure on Britney for a more favorable divorce settlement.</s>ANDERSON: So the question remains; is Kevin really going for custody? His attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, sent a statement to "The Nancy Grace" show saying, quote, all I will say is that the people who know Kevin Federline know that there is nothing more important to Kevin than his children`s well being. They are of paramount importance to him. Kaplan goes on to say, quote, people that know me know that I take a proactive approach in representing my clients. They know I know how to find the courthouse and know that I know what to do when I get there. Not exactly peaceful words. So it looks like we could have a Spears versus Federline custody battle that might rival Charlie Sheen versus Denise Richards and Alec Baldwin versus Kim Bassinger in the anals of celebrity custody fights. Or are we just left with a troubled young mother who is providing a questionable role model for any child, to say nothing of her own. Either way, things don`t bode well for the only innocent ones in this sad celebrity saga.</s>ANDERSON: There are really two questions here. Could Britney lose custody of her kids? And more to the point, should she lose custody of her kids? Should they be taken away from her? With me tonight -- you saw him in our piece -- from Hollywood, Ken Baker, editorial director of "US Magazine.com," and in New York, Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom. Welcome to you both. Hey, you know, we`ve been watching this slow motion train wreck since the start of the year really. And we were all hoping that once Britney got out of rehab, we would see a new Britney. Not happening. Lisa, should her kids being taken away from her? What do you think?</s>LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Not based on recent activity. Maybe I`m missing something. She`s an adult woman. She kisses an adult man in a pool when her kids aren`t around. Why does that make her unstable?</s>ANDERSON: Well, do you think these could be signs of larger, more serious irresponsible parenting issues of stability?</s>BLOOM: What`s it a sign of? I mean, I`m a divorced woman. I kiss boys. I mean, I don`t -- I have children. I don`t get it. I do not get it. I think this is much ado about nothing. She pulls her car in to park. She dings another car. We`ve all done that. Look, if she`s doing something that damages the children, if she`s doing something inappropriate in front of the children, she could and should lose custody. But we`re talking about when the kids are with daddy. They`re not with her. And she kisses a boy in a pool, and she has a scotch. I don`t get what the problem is here.</s>ANDERSON: Well, Britney is on the cover of "US Weekly Magazine" seen with a college student in a swimming pool, which Lisa just referenced. This is yet another picture we`ve seen of her carrying on in the partying. I would think, though, that this is not the image we should be seeing of Britney if she wants to convince everybody that she has calmed down, that she is stable. Ken, what do you think?</s>KEN BAKER, "US WEEKLY": Well, she clearly has a public relations problem, if not a custodial problem, and I think --</s>ANDERSON: That`s an understatement.</s>BAKER: Well, the reason -- and the big reason for that is, as you mentioned before, she was in rehab earlier this year. She got out in February. Of course, she had the big head shaving incident, and clearly had a major meltdown in her life. Let`s not forget, who took care of those children primarily for those 30 days when she was locked up in her rehab up in Malibu? Kevin Federline. The kids lived with him. Britney`s mother helped with those children, so there is a precedent for this that`s just a few months old. Kevin Federline took care of those children while their mother was getting help for whatever her addiction problems were that were undisclosed, And now that she`s out -- it`s been four or five months out -- and she`s out drinking. She`s drinking alcohol. Sources see her all around town doing this. She was just out again last night to the clubs. And I think that what there is there is some sort of pattern here.</s>BLOOM: Kevin doesn`t kiss girls? Kevin doesn`t drink?</s>ANDERSON: Let`s talk about Kevin Federline for a second, because should he decide to go for it all, demand full custody of their two kids, when we see these images, these stories of Britney acting erratically, Lisa, should Britney worry that a judge could take all of that into account in making a decision?</s>BLOOM: The judge took the old stuff into account, the shaving of the head, the meltdown, the rehab. The most recent stuff I frankly do not see. I don`t think it`s going to change custody one bit. When people are divorced and the kid is with the other parent, they get to have a little fun, as long as it`s legal, and that`s what I`m seeing here.</s>ANDERSON: Kevin Federline hasn`t been a saint either. You know, we`ve also seen pictures of him in clubs partying. Is there a double standard here? Is it OK for the guy to be out partying, but not the woman?</s>BAKER: Well, I`ll just tell you the facts as we have learned them at "US Weekly." The sources that we talk to say that Kevin has been a very attentive father. And if you see -- if you really look at it, Kevin Federline, when he has custody of the children -- it`s a 50-50 split right now -- you don`t see him out with the children. He is behind closed doors. He is behind his gates. He is being a father. He is not on some sort of parade for the paparazzi that Britney has become famous for. Now, on top of that, a very important point is this: we came out at "US Weekly" with a cover story last week that detailed some of the really appalling, frankly, shocking things that Britney Spears has been doing as a parent. Number one among them, one of her children`s teeth are rotting. OK? This is a fact. The sources told us that she has been putting soda pop in their bottles, and she was appalled to see that her son`s teeth were falling out. So she asked that a dentist get the teeth whitened. To have a chemical procedure with bleach -- and everyone we talk to says, you know what, that`s border line neglect. And whether or not a child or family services person is going to say that is neglect is not for me to decide, but there is an issue there that is worth discussing.</s>ANDERSON: You know what, blessed with two beautiful, seemingly healthy children, and this is how she acts. You know, it`s just baffling to me. We will have to leave it there for now. Ken Baker, Lisa Bloom, thank you both, we appreciate it. We want to hear from you. This is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Britney Spears, should her kids be taken away from her? Vote CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Send us an email at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com. We want to know what you think. Well, Britney is not the only one who is caught up in a nasty custody battle. So many stars just can`t seem to play nice and come up with a fair way to split time with their kids. Wait until you hear some of the other ugly battles going on next. I`m investigating some of the Hollywood`s ferocious fights over kids. I`ve also got this. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Substance abuse is nothing new in Hollywood. It`s been going on forever.</s>ANDERSON: Stars and drugs. There is a long and troubled history in Hollywood of stars going overboard, over dosing, losing their careers, relationships, and even their lives. But why does fame and drug abuse so often go hand in hand? Tonight a SHOWBIZ special report, stars and drugs coming up. And an anti-semitic shocker on one of TV`s hottest reality shows. I have to say that what came out of somebody`s mouth is absolutely disgusting. So the big question is what will be done about it? That is coming up.