From the sublime to the ridiculous. But which is which? Whitney (left) and Britney (right). Photograph: Getty
It's never a good sign when police helicopters and squad cars circle a mansion on 24 hour news. Was it another Jackson scandal? The final stand of some Colombian drug lord? "Nope," the anchors told us. "It's Britney, bitch-strapped to a stretcher and high on horse drugs." Britney Spears' slide down the sanity pole last year via head shaving, hit-and-run and umbrella rage was alarming to anyone who witnessed it. Ironic that 2007 saw her best album in years but somehow she couldn't slam the brakes on her steep decline.
Britney's descent brings to mind another fallen star of recent times. Whitney Houston was every bit as apple pie as Britney at the beginning of her career and even more successful. But as stories of drugs, domestic abuse and eating disorders circulated it became clear she was fighting a few demons of her own - not least her wife-beating, dope fiend husband. Her disastrous "crack is wack" interview with Diane Sawyer failed to convince anyone. Dicey live performances and plummeting sales inevitably followed.
But while Whitney's story is a cautionary tale it also offers some hope for Britney. Whitney has since cleaned up her act, got through rehab, divorced Bobby Brown and successfully retained custody of their children. The greatest hits package sold well last year and December's live performances in Malaysia were reportedly the best in years.
So maybe it's not all despair for Britney. Whitney was as discombobulated as they come but is now resembling a responsible adult again. Maybe this is where Spears starts turning things around. Perhaps the special Britney edition of the Dr Phil Show airing on Wednesday will get her along the way (and of course her turning point must be documented on TV - it wouldn't be real to her otherwise). Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you start climbing. And if losing custody of your children to K-Fed isn't rock bottom, I'd hate to see what is. You can't help wondering if LA rehab centres are pencilling in Jayden and Sean Preston for stints in a decade's time like they did with the younger members of the Barrymore clan. And that's where the real concern has to lie. Because while their parents chose to ride this particular tiger, they assuredly did not.
