Dr.
Phil: "Britney Spears Mother Asked Me to Make Hospital Visit"
1/8/08
TV therapist DR. Phil McGraw has dismissed accusations he tried to
profit from Britney Spears' breakdown by visiting the troubled singer in
hospital.
McGraw went to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday
(05Jan08), where Spears was being held following a stand-off with police
at her Beverly Hills mansion when she refused to hand over her boys to
ex-husband Kevin Federline after a scheduled visit.
McGraw then announced he planned to devote the Tuesday (08Jan08)
episode of his show Dr. Phil to Spears' ongoing problems - prompting some
to claim he was profiting off the Toxic star's troubles.
But McGraw, who on Monday (07Jan08) announced his decision to cancel
the proposed Spears special "out of consideration" to her
family, insists it was Spears' mother Lynne who invited him to see her
daughter in hospital.
He says, "Thursday night, the phone rang, it was Lynne. Clearly
she was very upset, as any parent would be.
"I want to set the record straight. I went to see Britney at the
request of her family. I talked to Lynne, (dad) Jamie and (brother) Brian
because they were frustrated that she wasn't going to be held for a longer
time."
McGraw adds, "I was first contacted by her family a year ago and
had maintained a running dialogue for the last year or so."