Sighting of pop star at tattoo parlor comes amid reports of brief rehab stint
LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears appeared in a tattoo parlor in California with her head shaved completely bald.
Video on KABC-TV showed the newly shorn Spears with tiny tattoos on the back of her neck as she sat Friday night for a new tattoo - a pair of red and pink lips.
"She just wanted something real small on her wrist, something dainty," Max Gott, the tattoo artist at Body and Soul in Sherman Oaks, told the TV station. "She got some cute little lips on her wrist."
Derrik Snell, who works at the tattoo parlor, said Spears showed up without notice and stayed for about 90 minutes as about 60 fans, photographers and gawkers gathered outside.
"She seemed fine," Snell said. "I didn't really notice (the hairdo) at first, she had a hood on when she showed up."
The appearance came the same day as reports on TV and Web sites that Spears, who has drawn criticism for her recent partying and sloppy behavior, had briefly checked into rehab.
Larry Rudolph, Spears' manager, could not be reached for comment.
Syndicated entertainment TV show "Extra" first reported that Spears had entered a treatment facility. Celebrity Web site TMZ.com then said the singer had entered a treatment center but had checked out one day later. Neither revealed their sources.
People magazine's Web site, citing "a source," said Spears had gone in and out of rehab, and identified the facility as Eric Clapton's Crossroads center on the Caribbean island of Antigua.
"Access Hollywood" then said the reports were not true, but did not cite a source.
A woman who answered the phone at Crossroads told The Associated Press that she could not confirm or deny anyone's presence at the facility.
Angelique Uram, a Spears fan who stood on the tattoo parlor's sidewalk for Friday night's spectacle, was aghast at the singer's new look.
"We could see her in the mirror, and her head is completely shaved," she told KABC. "It looks terrible."
Police arrived to control the crowd and helped Spears' bodyguards guide her into a waiting SUV, her head covered by a hooded sweat shirt.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
-------------------------------------------
I didnt think rehab could cure egomania? Maybe that was why it was temporary
I guess Brit-kneed is jealous with the ANS coverage and wanted to draw attention back to herself.
Next, Paris Hilton to top Brit-kneed, will have a sex change operation and start a love affair with Grover of Sesame Street.