Britney Spears documentary director says discourse after singer's DUI arrest 'feels painfully familiar'

Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr, who made a documentary aboutBritney Spears, 2021'sBritney Vs Spears, says discussions about the "Womanizer" singer since her arrest last week are nothing new.

"Watching the way people are talking about Britney again feels painfully familiar," Carr wrote on social media. "Not long ago, we collectively realized she had been living inside what many of us believed was an unjust conservatorship. A system where people around her were financially benefiting while she was being controlled. That was real. That mattered. And it took a massive public effort for the world to acknowledge it."

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Carr's film, which she collaborated on with journalist Jenny Eliscu, investigated Spears' quest to control her own affairs, while locked in a legal conservatorship overseen by the father, Jamie Spears, which was put in place in 2008, when she was in her 20s. It was finallylifted in 2021.

The court's decision to do away with the legal arrangement followed public outcry, via the #FreeBritney movement and reports of exactly how much she had been limited by the conservatorship, including that of Carr and Eliscu.

"Recent events do not suddenly rewrite that history," Carr wrote in her post. "They do not validate what was done to her."

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She continued, "Britney is a woman, a beautiful and insanely talented woman, who has been through more than most of us could imagine while the entire world watched. Maybe the lesson is not to swing from sympathy to judgment depending on the news cycle. Maybe the lesson is compassion."

The Grammy winner wasarrestedMarch 4 on suspicion of DUI. She was picked up by the California Highway Patrol in Ventura County, Calif., about 9:30 p.m., according to records from the sheriff's office. She was then booked and released at 6 a.m. Thursday.

"I am rooting for her. Always," Carr said. "And you should be too."

Following Spears' arrest, her rep said in a statement to PEOPLE, "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."

The rep added that Spears' loved ones hope the pop icon "can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time." There were plans for her adult sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, whom she shares with ex Kevin Federline, to spend time with her.

"Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being," the spokesperson said.

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Britney Spears documentary director says discourse after singer's DUI arrest 'feels painfully familiar'

Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr, who made a documentary aboutBritney Spears, 2021'sBritney Vs Spears, says discussions abo...

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John Lithgow hails Stephen Colbert as 'beloved national treasure'

Stephen Colbertwill be missed when hisThe Late Showleaves TV in May.

ActorJohn Lithgowreminded the late-night host of that Monday when he stopped by the CBS staple.

TheConclaveactor and poet read Colbert some words on the situation:

"The time has arrived/For us all to prepare/For the doleful departure of Stephen Colbert," Lithgow began. "How will we last in the gaping black hole/That's left in the absence of his merry soul?"

Colbert and his series are scheduled to end in just over two months. The franchise debuted with David Letterman as host in August 1993. Colbert took over in September 2015, and the final episode will be Thursday, May 21.

Colbert announced the news during a taping ofLate Night With Seth Meyersin January. It followed CBS' revelation in July that the showwould not returnfor another season.

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"The Late Show With Stephen Colbertwill end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season," the network said in a statement. "We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retireThe Late Showfranchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television."

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The statement added that the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

Questions about the endof the series and the timing of it have persisted, though.

President Donald Trump infamouslycelebratedafter the news broke.

"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired," Trump wrote on social media. "His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once greatTonight Show."

Lithgow, who's known for his anti-Trump works, pointedly addressed the end of the series.

"So why is he canceled?/Why trash all the pleasure?/Why yank off the air this beloved national treasure?" Lithgow asked. "Stephen's tale is a lesson for all who come after/Beware of a boss with thin skin and no laughter."

Lithgow suggested that Colbert would land in a better spot eventually.

"But don't mourn for Stephen/He's going to be fine/He'll only get better/Like aging fine wine," he said. "With a talent so rich and discernment so rare/There's much more to come from the mighty Colbert."

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John Lithgow hails Stephen Colbert as 'beloved national treasure'

Stephen Colbertwill be missed when hisThe Late Showleaves TV in May. ActorJohn Lithgowreminded the l...

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Travis Kelce’s Ex Debuts Tiny Crop Top Look After Sleeper Ad Backlash

Travis Kelce's ex,Kayla Nicole, recently treated herInstagramfollowers by dropping a jaw-dropping mirror selfie. The picture showed her wearing attire that drew attention to her toned physique. The media personality's selfie comes weeks after she sparked backlash for a Sleeper ad for the Super Bowl, where fans believe she shaded her ex's fiancée,Taylor Swift.

Kayla Nicole turns heads in new mirror selfie

Check out Travis Kelce's ex Kayla Nicole's stunning mirror selfie in the Instagram photo below:

As seen in the photo above, the Pre-Game Podcast host wore a black and white flannel shirt, which she left unbuttoned. Thus, she exposed the tiny grey crop top she wore underneath, which in turn showed off her toned midriff. She completed her look with black pants, which were partially visible. Nicole accessorized with a black leather Chanel bag gold watch on her right wrist, two silver cross necklaces, and twin pearl earrings.

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Meanwhile, she kept her makeup to a minimum, only sporting black eyeliner. She also let her side-parted black hair with a slight shave flow naturally.

Originally reported by Abdul Azim Naushad onMandatory

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Travis Kelce’s Ex Debuts Tiny Crop Top Look After Sleeper Ad Backlash

Travis Kelce's ex,Kayla Nicole, recently treated herInstagramfollowers by dropping a jaw-dropping mirror selfie. The picture showed her...

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An innkeeper in Fukushima measures radiation to revive her hometown, in photos

Monitors like innkeeper Tomoko Kobayashi share radiation datato revitalize towns people leftafter the Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Japan Fukushima

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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An innkeeper in Fukushima measures radiation to revive her hometown, in photos

Monitors like innkeeper Tomoko Kobayashi share radiation datato revitalize towns people leftafter the Fukushima earthq...

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Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed Watergate tapes, dies at 99

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexander Butterfield, the White House aide who inadvertentlyhastened Richard Nixon's resignationoverthe Watergate scandalwhen he revealed that the president had bugged the Oval Office and Cabinet Room and routinely recorded his conversations, has died. He was 99.

Obit Butterfield

His death was confirmed to The Associated Press by his wife, Kim, and John Dean, who served as White House counsel to Nixon during the Watergate scandal and went on to, along with Butterfield, helpexpose the wrongdoing.

"He had the heavy responsibility of revealing something he was sworn to secrecy on, which is the installation of the Nixon taping system," Dean said. "He stood up and told the truth."

As a deputy assistant to the president, Butterfield oversaw the taping system connected to voice-activated listening devices that had been secretly placed in four locations, including Nixon's office in the Executive Office Building and the presidential retreat at Camp David.

Butterfield later said that, besides himself and the president, he believed that only White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, a Haldeman assistant and a handful of Secret Service agents knew about the taping system.

"Everything was taped … as long as the president was in attendance," Butterfield told Watergate investigators when testifying under oath during a preliminary interview.

The tapes would expose Nixon's role in the cover-up that followed the burglary in 1972 at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate building. To avoid impeachment by the House, Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974, less than a month after the Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender the relevant tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.

Butterfield believed he'd had a hand in the president's fate. "I didn't like to be the cause of that, but I felt that I was, in a lot of ways," he said in a 2008 oral history for the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

Butterfield, a college friend of Haldeman's at UCLA who had contacted his friend to ask about opportunities in the new Nixon administration, served as a deputy assistant to Nixon from 1969 to 1973. In that capacity, he worked under Haldeman and, among other duties, was secretary to the Cabinet and helped oversee White House operations.

The Air Force veteran had left the White House to become administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration when Senate committee staffers privately questioned him on July 13, 1973, during their investigation of the Watergate break-in. A routine question about the possibility of a taping system had been prompted by former White House counsel John Dean's testimony that he believed a conversation he had had with Nixon may have been recorded.

When Butterfield acknowledged that a taping system indeed existed, he was brought before a public hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. The public revelation on July 16, 1973, of a taping system designed to record all the president's conversations stunned Nixon friends and foes alike. The tapes promised Watergate investigators a rich vein of evidence in their quest to determine what Nixon and others knew about the break-in — a great deal, as it turned out.

Efforts by investigators to gain access to the tapes sparked a yearlong legal battle that was resolved in July 1974 when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Nixon had to give them up.

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The thousands of hours of tapes made public over the years — they are now controlled by the National Archives — provide a unique, if often unflattering, view of Nixon. His words exposed a bad temper, vulgar language, bigoted racial and religious views, and unvarnished opinions about national and international figures.

"I just thought, 'When they hear those tapes …' I mean, I knew what was on these tapes … they're dynamite," Butterfield told the Nixon Library. "I guess I didn't foresee that the president might be put out of office or impeached, but I thought it would be a perilous few years for him. I guess I couldn't conceive of (Nixon) being forced out of office. It had never happened before."

Butterfield later said he believed that Nixon's successor, President Gerald Ford, fired him as FAA administrator in 1975 as part of an agreement worked out between the Nixon and Ford staff members. He said he had heard from White House friends that he had been targeted shortly after his testimony to the Senate committee.

After leaving the FAA, Butterfield worked as a business executive in California. He earned a master's degree from the University of California, San Diego, in 1994.

Alexander Porter Butterfield was born on April 6, 1926, in Pensacola, Florida.

He left UCLA to join the Navy and later earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 1956 and a master's degree from George Washington University in 1967.

In 1948, he joined the Air Force and served as an instructor at a base near Las Vegas during the Korean War and later served in Germany. In Washington, he was a military assistant to the special assistant of the defense secretary in 1965 and 1966 and later served as senior military representative of the U.S. and representative for the commander-in-chief, Pacific Forces, Australia. He retired at the rank of colonel after 20 years in the Air Force.

Butterfield was unsparing in his criticism of the former president in later years. While he commended Nixon's achievements in foreign affairs, he considered his former boss "not an honest man" and "a crook" and believed that Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in before it occurred and was the architect of the ensuing cover-up.

Butterfield found himself "cheering … just cheering" the day Nixon resigned, he told the Nixon Library, because "justice had prevailed."

"I didn't think that it would for a while," he said. "This guy was the ringleader."

Daniel, the primary writer of this obituary, retired from The Associated Press in 2023.

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Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed Watergate tapes, dies at 99

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Two teen brothers in Texas mariachi band are released from ICE custody amid bipartisan criticism

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — A family whose two teen boys are in a nationally recognized mariachi band in South Texas was reunited Monday afternoon after bipartisan criticism that the Trump administration'scampaign for mass deportationoverreached by detaining the family.

Immigrations Enforcement Texas Fatal Shooting

Brothers Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and Joshua, 14, were detained along with their 12-year-old brother and their parents Feb. 25. The teenage boys were prominent members of the McAllen High School Mariachi Oro band, which has visited the White House, performed at Carnegie Hall and won eight state championships.

The two younger boys and their parents were released Monday from a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat who visited them, marking histhird visitto the detention center.

Antonio was released on Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from a detention center in Raymondville, Texas.

"They were ecstatic. They were crying. They were excited to be reunited with their son and brother, Antonio, who was being held separately in Raymondville," Castro said at a news conference in San Antonio. "But their mom kept asking, 'What did we do wrong? We followed all the rules. We went to court, we haven't done anything wrong.'"

The family had been checking in regularly with immigration authorities, as instructed, when they were detained, according to a relative and a girlfriend who organized a GoFundMe account for the family.

The Department of Homeland Security said the parents, Emma Guadalupe Cuellar Lopez and Luis Antonio Gamez Martinez, were arrested by immigration authorities and "chose" to bring their three children with them. The department said they entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 near Brownsville, Texas.

Efrén C. Olivares, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center representing the eldest son, Antonio, clarified that the family entered lawfully through the CBP One app, a legal pathway, in 2023.

Olivares said Antonio was released after attorneys filed a parole request with ICE which ICE granted, and attorneys did not need to ask for a judge's order.

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Elected officials from across the political spectrum voiced support for the family, who are from Mexico and had sought asylum in the U.S. and were going through their immigration proceedings.

"I challenge my colleagues to work together for new enforcement policies that not only secure our border but make safer communities and that ultimately are common sense," U.S. Rep. Monica de la Cruz, a Republican congresswoman representing McAllen, in Raymondville after Antonio's release.

McAllen's Republican mayor, Javier Villalobos, said he supported the family and said he continues to advocate for "responsible pathways for law abiding individuals who want to contribute to our economy, support their families, and become productive neighbors in McAllen."

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the family's detention "outrageous."

The boys' mariachi directors visited the family held in Dilley earlier Monday. Alex Treviño, the mariachi director and Neri Fuentes, the assistant director, said the kids were concerned about losing their playing abilities.

"They were worried that their fingers weren't going to work, because they don't have instruments," Treviño said.

Antonio, who had been held apart from the family due to his age, recently won the first chair for trumpet in a state competition.

"This year he's going to be graduating from high school and going to college and joining some other groups in college. He wants to be a music educator," Fuentes said.

Castro attributed the release of the family to an "ensemble" effort and said he continues to push for the family detention center in Dilley to be closed. He said the population at the detention facility had gone down from about 1,100 people in January to about 450 people, with about 100 of them being children.

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Two teen brothers in Texas mariachi band are released from ICE custody amid bipartisan criticism

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — A family whose two teen boys are in a nationally recognized mariachi band in South Texas was r...

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Jack White criticizes the 'Taylor Swift way' of songwriting — and 13 other rockers who have weighed in on the pop star's artistry

Jack Whitemay have battled a "Seven Nation Army," but does he know the power of overprotective Swifties?

The Detroit rocker seemingly took a shot atTaylor Swiftwhile talking about the nuances of his songwriting in a new interview withThe Guardian. Asked if his songs are "entirely autobiographical," White replied, "not too much," and explained why.

"Now, it's become very popular in the Taylor Swift way of pop singers writing about all of their publicly aired break-ups, which I don't find interesting at all," admitted White, who has fronted several bands including the White Stripes, Raconteurs, and Dead Weather.

"I think it's a little bit boring for me to write about myself," he continued. "Even if I've had a really interesting day, I feel like I've already lived that, I don't need to go through it every time I sing this song. If it's something really painful, I'm not going to put this important, painful thing that I went through out there for some idiot on the internet to stomp all over."

Swift has yet to publicly acknowledge White's remark — but she has spoken up to defend herself in the past. Read about the memorable moment with Blur's Damon Albarn below, as well as the 12 other rockers who have discussed the Grammy winner's unique artistry.

Damon Albarn

In 2022, the British singer was asked his thoughts on modern chart-toppers by theLos Angeles Times. As for Swift, he declared, "She doesn't write her own songs."LAT's tweet with Albarn's quote quickly went viral, making its way to the pop star herself.

"I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this," Swiftreplied on X. "I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don't have to like my songs but it's really f---ed up to try and discredit my writing. WOW."

Albarn swiftlyapologized"unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting."

Liam Gallagher

Another Brit rocker also came to Swift's defense against Albarn.

"Did he not get ran out of f-- -ing town by the Swifters?" the Oasis singer joked toNME. "I think [Taylor's] f---ing cool, man. She does write her songs and I'm sure she's co-wrote with people."

Courtney Love

The Hole frontwoman has never been one to keep her thoughts to herself. In a 2024 interview with theEvening Standard, she was critiquing female pop stars, including Beyonce and Lana Del Rey, when she decided, "Taylor is not important. She might be a safe space for girls, and she's probably the Madonna of now, but she's not interesting as an artist."

Billy Corgan

Love's very ownCelebrity Skinco-writer, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, has a differing opinion. In the wake of complaints over the length of Swift's 31-songThe Tortured Poet's Department: The Anthology, Corgan questioned the criticism.

"Taylor Swift is one of the most gifted pop artists of all time," Corgan told theIrish Times. "How is it a bad thing that she's releasing more music? I can't follow that... You can go on Spotify and just skip it."

Stevie Nicks

The Fleetwood Mac singer has long admired Swift, dating back to 2010 when Nickspraisedher songwriting and compared it to icons Elton John and Neil Diamond. Thirteen years later, when her bandmate Christine McVie passed away, it was a track from Swift's discography that helped Nicks through her grief.

"Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing a favor for me, and that is, writing a song called 'You're on Your Own, Kid,'" the "Landslide" singersaidduring a concert in Atlanta in May 2023. "That is the sadness of how I feel."

Paul McCartney

The Beatles singer-songwriter has such an admiration for Swift, she inspired him to write "Who Cares," a 2018 song based on her "sisterly" relationship with Swifties.

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The lyrics, McCartney told theBBC, are meant to encourage people to ignore their bullies: "And I was imagining talking to one of these young fans and saying, 'Have you ever been bullied? Do you get bullied?' Then I say, 'Who cares about the idiots? Who cares about all this? Who cares about you? Well… I do."

McCartney's fellow Beatle echoed a similar sentiment in an interview withEsquire. Speaking on the state of music, the drummer mused, "There's a lot of good bands out there, but nobody's doing anything... Taylor Swift is the only one who's doing well. She likes to play by herself. I love her."

Neil Tennant

The Pet Shop Boys frontman paid Swift a backhanded compliment in 2024 while speaking on a music panel forThe Guardian.

"Taylor Swift sort of fascinates me as a phenomenon because she's so popular, and I sort of quite like the whole thing," began Tennant. "But then when I listen to the records… for a phenomenon as big, where are the famous songs? What's Taylor Swift's 'Billie Jean'?"

Paul Stanley

The Eras Tour was attended by an estimated 10 million people — including KISS legend Paul Stanley, who brought his whole family to see Swift at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in August 2023. "PHENOMENAL SHOW BY A PHENOMENAL ARTIST," Stanleytweeted, along with a photo of himself (sans KISS makeup) rocking an Eras Tour T-shirt.

Billie Eilish

Don't expect the "Birds of a Feather" singer to perform a three-hour concert like the Eras Tour any time soon.

"That's literally psychotic," Eilish candidly told fans during a2024 Stationheaddiscussion. "Nobody wants that. You guys don't want that. I don't want that. I don't even want that as a fan. My favorite artist in the world, I'm not trying to hear them for three hours."

Eddie Vedder

The Pearl Jam singer was introduced to Taylor's music by his Swiftie daughters Olivia, 21, and Harper, 17, and he's especially in awe of her 12-album discography.

"She's incredibly prolific," Vedder toldBill Simmonsin 2024. "So she's able to just keep putting out music and putting out music."

The rocker's favorite song, he teased, is a deep cut "that I just think is incredible." He wouldn't reveal which one, but months later, Vedder and Harper performed acoverof "Best Day" at the Ohana Fest.

Bruce Springsteen

One of Swift's early A-list supporters was "The Boss," who noticed that fans were able to connect to her music because "she's speaking to a large part of them very personally," Springsteen toldVarietyin 2017. "As far as craft, [her songs are] really, really well-built and well-made; they're very, very sturdy, and the records are too."

"Dear John," Swift's 2010 track offSpeak Nowwas a big hit with fans — but not with the ex who inspired it.

Mayer, who dated the 19-year-old pop star for three months, toldRolling Stonehe was "humiliated" by the lyrics, which hinted at "dark twisted games" he played during their brief relationship.

"It made me feel terrible," Mayer confessed. "Because I didn't deserve it. I'm pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do."

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Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

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Jack White criticizes the 'Taylor Swift way' of songwriting — and 13 other rockers who have weighed in on the pop star's artistry

Jack Whitemay have battled a "Seven Nation Army," but does he know the power of overprotective Swifties? ...

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