Posted on 08/09/2002 11:11:13 AM PDT by Tancred
'Happy' Britney Spears Takes Six Month Break Thu Aug 8, 3:56 PM ET
By Jill Serjeant
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop princess Britney Spears is taking a six month break, but her publicist on Thursday denied rumors that the 20 year-old singing sensation was so exhausted and broken-hearted that she was "running home to mom."
"She is taking six months off. She has been working for four years straight and she is taking a break. The girl works harder than anyone in the business and she is taking a break," publicist Lisa Kasteler told Reuters.
Spears' decision came just days after a controversial end to her world tour. She was booed by fans after cutting short her final show in Mexico City because of a torrential rain storm, and made an obscene gesture to paparazzi photographers besieging her car.
The star, who has made three hit albums and a movie since rocketing to fame in 1998, is also said to be devastated over her breakup in March with childhood sweetheart and 'NSYNC ( news - web sites) singer Justin Timberlake. The breakup of the two-year romance was blamed on conflicting schedules.
Recent tabloid newspaper reports have said that an exhausted Spears was planning to pack in the music business for two years and move back to her home state of Louisiana to live with her mother.
Kasteler however said Spears "is fine, she's happy. It has nothing to do with the things that have been reported.
"She is going to read scripts during the six months. She is going to travel, write music and hang out with her family and friends who she hasn't been able to spend any real time with for a long time. It is that simple. There is no drama here," she said.
"I have no idea where she is going to be. She's going to go to Louisiana. That is her home. It's not her running home to mom. She plans to travel and I'm sure she'll be spending time in L.A and in New York. She has friends everywhere," Kasteler said.
Spears has been working virtually nonstop since she burst onto the scene as a cute teen with the 1998 hit "Baby one more time" and rose to become a worldwide pop idol known for her bare navel and her famous claim that she was still a virgin.
Her first film, the teen road movie "Crossroads" was released in February, and in June Spears signed a deal with stock car racing organization NASCAR ( news - web sites) to star in a feature film next year about the sport.
Spears apologized to fans in Mexico City over the cancellation of the show after less than five songs and said the audience would get a full refund.
But the cancellation came only a few days after she was caught by cameras extending her middle finger at photographers, in an insulting gesture seen as having sullied her image as a wholesome southern girl.
BWAAAA-HAAAA-HAAAA!
'Course, I don't know how that all squares with the virgin business. Does anybody have the telephone number for the Pope?
I guess my definition of "wholesome" must be warped.
Besides which, the bird was the least of my reasons for laughing.
BRITNEYS MESSAGE TO MEXICAN FANS
OINK - OINK - OINK
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.