Kevin Federline Says His Custody Battle With Britney Spears 'Makes Other People Feel Normal'

Dancer-turned-rapper-turned actor opens up to Interview magazine on eve of his 'One Tree Hill' debut.

Isn't it funny how Kevin Federline went from being perceived as a deadbeat dad to being seen as father of the year?
Sure, ex-wife Britney Spears' antics help, but it's a bit strategic on his part as well, as the dancer-turned-rapper-turned-actor explained to Interview for the magazine's new issue. "You have to have an overall vision of how you want people to see you," he told the mag.
Since Federline has been keeping a low profile, part of how people see him is via the characters he plays on TV — a string of punk types who don't respond well to authority. Is it typecasting or is it playing with the image he knew people had of him at the time? "We did this spot [for Nationwide Insurance that aired during last year's Super Bowl] of me making fun of myself," he told Interview. "And the way that it turned out is that I started changing people's perceptions of who I was and it opened up my mind to do more stuff."

After a one-off guest stint more than a year ago on "CSI," K-Fed is back on the small screen via a recurring guest spot on "One Tree Hill," starting Tuesday (January 15) and continuing through February 12. "I loved that they kept bringing [my character] Jason back," he told MTV News. "I got to find out who he is and how to portray him. It was great!"
A fan since the first season, Federline said that he was hooked once a friend of his, Antwon Tanner, got cast on the show as Skills. Federline calls his own character, a wannabe rocker who resists anyone else's input, "an arrogant ass." "Hopefully none of that is me," Federline told MTV News, "but I'd say the part that is me is the performer. I love being onstage, whether it's dancing or acting — there's just something about being onstage."
Like his ex, Federline shaved his head — but when he took the shears to his hair, it was to help him get in character. "It was mostly my idea," said K-Fed, who sported a Mohawk when he showed up to court on Monday.
But unlike his ex, Federline doesn't want to make a public display of his private life — one of the things that appealed to him about shooting "One Tree Hill" is that it's filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. He attributes the out-of-L.A. experience to the reason the cast feels more "like a family." "I know every cast says that, but I think it's different because they all live in the same small town and really do get along," he told MTV News.
And whether he's on the set or at home, "Family comes first," he told Interview. By that, he means he's not going to offer up information about either his two sons with Spears (Sean Preston and Jayden James) or his daughter and son with Shar Jackson (Kori and Kaleb), or their respective mothers, even though he's in a very public custody battle. "You won't ever really hear me talk about them, other than I love them," Federline told the magazine. "I wish I could get into all the personal stuff, but like I said, I can't. I can't do it. I won't do it."
Not that he doesn't understand the public interest. "I think the infatuation with the whole thing is that watching us go through things makes other people feel normal," he told Interview. But even though "everything is so publicized and everybody is looking at it, it's normal for us," he said.
"People put it up on this pedestal when it's really the same way that everybody goes through their stuff, you know?" he told Interview. "It's not really any different. Not to say that I like having the paparazzi around or that I like having my life in the media. But as much as I try to be mad at it, I can't be. I just can't. I'll never be. I've been upset at it before, but ... I had to learn that there are good things that can come from it."
Such as fledgling acting and rapping careers. "The paparazzi and the press have given me a voice," he admitted to Interview. "No matter how I got the voice, it's there." And he confessed to MTV News, "I have officially caught the acting bug. ... I am just getting started." He just wants to find "the right opportunity" that he can balance with his other new role, handed down by the court — "full-time dad."

Spears must go to court for custody of kids

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhuanet)-- U.S. pop singer Britney Spears would have to appear in court in person on Monday if she wants to restore the right to see her children, media reported.
"I don't know if she will be there," Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan was quoted as saying.
If she comes to court, she "will have the opportunity to persuade the court that she can have some visitation under monitored conditions," said Kaplan, adding that it will be "the most significant hearing in the case so far."
Police were preparing for possible media frenzy in the downtown civic center if Spears appears. They issued warnings on Sunday that vehicle and pedestrian violations would lead to summons.
On Jan. 3, Spears refused to return the boys to her ex-husband Kevin Federline at her home. Later there was a standoff, and Spears was sent to hospital in an ambulance.
On Jan. 4, her former husband Federline was awarded sole legal and physical custody of their two boys and Spears' visitation rights were suspended.

Police Brace For Spears Media Blitz At Civic Center

LOS ANGELES -- Police will be on hand to deal with the crowds likely to swarm the Civic Center Monday when troubled pop star Britney Spears has a divorce court date, the LAPD announced Sunday.
The gossip web site and TV show TMZ.com, quoting sources within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, said that negotiations have broken down on arranging secure parking and crowd control around Spears as she arrives and departs the County Courthouse.
Recent court and public appearances by Spears have resulted in chaotic jostling. Dozens of freelance photographers, passersby with cellphone cameras, and tourists interfered with police and fire crews at the star's hillside home a week ago, when she was taken in a city ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, reportedly for a mental health check.
The 26-year-old singer is expected to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court at 9:30 a.m. Monday for a custody hearing concerning her two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline, 29.
Uniformed Los Angeles Police Department and Department of Transportation personnel will be on hand to "facilitate the flow of vehicle and pedestrian traffic" outside the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse at Hill and Temple streets, the LAPD said Sunday.
"We want to let the media know that we will do all we can to facilitate their coverage. But in the event that the coverage of Ms. Spears causes traffic issues, pedestrian issues, etc. and violations are occurring, the Department is prepared to cite those committing infractions," a written statement issued by the LAPD said.
Officers will be cracking down on illegal parking, pedestrian violations, blocking of crosswalks and/or entrances, obstructing vehicle traffic and other rules of the California Vehicle Code and the Los Angeles Municipal Code, authorities said.
TMZ.com also said that Spears' lawyers are telling her she must appear, at jeopardy of losing all rights to see her two sons.
Just last week, police were called when paparazzi trailing Spears allegedly assaulted a security guard at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Spears apparently went to the Four Seasons Hotel on Doheny Drive and Burton Way, where she was escorted out by hotel security, the Daily News reported.
Paparazzi were in tow, and one of them kicked a security guard, who called police, the newspaper reported.
"LAPD took a battery report from the security guard but the paparazzi wasn't there," said LAPD spokesman Mike Lopez. "We're looking for a male, with a camera."

Spears Family 'Not Nervous' Over Britney's Latest Hearing

Though a custody issue is before the court tomorrow, Access Hollywood has learned that Lynne Spears is not nervous. Lynne Spears’ “fears are the same now as they were [before],” said a source close to the family. She doesn’t believe that it “going one way or the other being ideal for the children,” added the source. The issues are “deeper than a court decision for the kids.”
Lynne Spears and her family have been discussing options to help Britney, but going to court to have her committed doesn’t seem likely. The family feels they are “up against a brick wall because [Britney] is an adult and unless [she poses] danger against herself or others,” there is little they can do. And they “don’t think there’s a loophole,” relates the source.
Lynne and Britney have been in contact a couple of times during the past two turbulent weeks. “It’s always Britney who initiates the contact,” said the family source, who explained that it’s never verbal. Instead, Britney text messages Lynne, and often does not respond to her mother’s replies. “Britney’s in more control that way. She’s more comfortable texting because she doesn’t have to listen to her mother. She doesn’t have to listen to anything she doesn’t want to.”
On the subject of control, the family feels Sam Lufti has “an awful lot of control” over Britney. The Spears don't understand what control Lufti has over Britney or why, but they realize he “can get Britney to listen.” Very few people who know the Spears clan feel they “have any confidence in what [Lufti] says to her” and whether he has her best interests at heart. Nor do the Spears know “anything” about her new love interest, paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.
Right now, Lynne Spears is staying out of the public spotlight in Kentwood, Louisiana, with her 16-year-old daughter Jamie Lynn. Lynne "can’t be focusing just on Britney. Jamie Lynn needs some attention,” says the inside source, who noted that for a bit, the young pregnant “Zoe 101” star was “resentful” that all the attention was on her big sister. Lynne Spears is “trying to find some balance,” said the source.
Friends in Kentwood are now proud of Jamie Lynn, who said no when others questioned whether she should keep her baby or not. “She’s trying to be a good momma” and plans to “raise [the baby] in Kentwood, in a community,” said the Spears confidante. And though Jamie Lynn and Casey Aldridge, the father of her child, are on good terms, they are “not allowed to see each other [all the time]. There are strict rules about how often they can see each other,” explained the source, who added that the restrictions were placed on them by both the children’s parents. Still, Jamie Lynne and Casey speak regularly on their cell phones.
Jamie Lynne also speaks to her older sister. "Britney’s more accepting of Jamie Lynn than of parental advice and authority,” said the source, adding, “[Jamie Lynn’s] no threat to her.”
For the time being, the family remains hopeful, but feel their "hands are tied."

Spears Due in Court for Major Hearing

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears' effort to regain visitation rights with her two small children is back on the court docket for what an attorney described Sunday as "the most significant hearing in the case so far."
Police and emergency medical technicians who were summoned to her home Jan. 3 in a standoff involving her refusal to return the boys to her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, will testify Monday, probably behind closed doors, his lawyer said.
"I don't know if she will be there," Mark Vincent Kaplan told The Associated Press, but he suggested she would have to appear in person if she wants to press her request to see her children. "You can't phone this one in."
If Spears comes to court, Kaplan said she would be expected to testify. "She will have the opportunity to persuade the court that she can have some visitation under monitored conditions," he said.
Phone and e-mail messages requesting comment from Spears' attorneys Sunday afternoon were not immediately returned.
Kaplan said he knew it was only a temporary measure when he obtained emergency court orders two weeks ago granting sole physical and legal custody to Federline.
"These are very, very draconian orders," Kaplan said. "Because of that the court wanted to have a hearing to give her and her attorneys the opportunity to refute some of the declarations."
"No judge likes making orders terminating a person's involvement with their kids," Kaplan said.
Meanwhile, police were preparing for a media frenzy in the downtown civic center if Spears appears, issuing warnings Sunday that vehicle and pedestrian violations would lead to citations.
Kaplan said that if Spears comes to court, he would like to cross-examine her on the events of Jan. 3.
Police were called by a court appointed monitor when Spears refused to hand over Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2, to Federline's security guard and locked herself in a room with one of the boys.
Spears was taken to a hospital in an ambulance chased by photographers and was placed on an involuntary hold on grounds she was a danger to herself or others. Spears left Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a day and half later.
The day after the incident, Kaplan presented papers to Commissioner Scott Gordon who awarded sole legal and physical custody of the boys to Federline and suspended Spears' visitation rights.
Kaplan said if visitation is restored, it would be under more restrictions than those originally imposed by Gordon.
One expert in family law agreed that the hearing provides Spears her only hope of resuming visits with her children before a custody trial scheduled for April.
"Usually, when someone has the threat of losing their children, they'll do anything to get their children back," said Lynn Soodik, who predicted visitation rights could be restored if Spears appears and offers an explanation.
"This is not a punishment for her," Soodik said. "It's what's in the best interest of the children. The judge has to carefully weigh their safety versus not seeing their mother. It's drastic to have no contact with their mother."
Soodik said Gordon could order monitored visitation in a location away from Spears' home "in some kind of setting where the judge can assure that she wouldn't be able to lock the kids in a room with her."

Breaking News: Britney Barely Makes It To Deposition

As first reported by OK!, following her decision on Wednesday to blow off her second court-ordered — and seventh in total — deposition in her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, Britney Spears was given one final chance to make good on her legal responsibilities. All she had to do was show up today at 9:45 a.m. PT to give her deposition.
And yet, Britney, sporting a bright fuschia halter dress and black Christian Louboutin heels — "She was strutting like a supermodel," one witness tells OK! — didn't arrive at the office of K-Fed's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan until over 90 minutes later at 11:20am PT.So where was she all morning? The troubled singer left her home in Beverly Hills around 10:15 a.m., only to turn her car around and head back into her gated community. At first, her wingman Sam Lutfi, who was in the car's passenger seat, told members of the paparazzi that Britney would indeed show. And then OK! heard that Britney had sent her limo driver and Sam away, and that she would NOT be at the deposition!And then, just after 11am, Brit was spotted driving herself in her white Mercedes in the direction of Century City, where Kaplan's office is located. Slightly before noon, Brit emerged from Kaplan's office and drove off with her assistant Carla now along for the ride. Why such a short deposition? "It had been scheduled from 9:45 to 11:45 so she could be back home in time to be there when the boys arrived for their visitation day," explains an insider. "This was basically a big F-U to Kaplan by Britney. She showed up as late as she possibly could and left as quickly as she could."In a press conference following the deposition, Kaplan confirmed that the proceedings eventually began at 11:32am and ended at 11:45am. "Fourteen minutes is not a lot of time to develop a line of questions," Kaplan, who surprisingly described Britney as "cooperative," explained. He also told reporters that, as reported by OK! earlier today, there is a second day already scheduled for further deposing of the pop star. Britney arrived back at her Beverly Hills home shortly after noon and is now with her visiting children until the end of their scheduled time with mommy at 7pm tonight.
source: OK

Britney Spears's Attorney Wants to Quit

Britney Spears's lawyer, Sorrell Trope, filed a request Wednesday to withdraw from the singer's custody case, court documents show. "There has been a breakdown in communications between (Spears) and Trope & Trope (law firm) making further representation of her interests impossible," says the document. Trope gave no further details. But he told PEOPLE the ultimate decision to quit isn't up to him. "A lawyer cannot simply withdraw from a case," he says. "We will ask the court to relieve us, which will be heard (in court) within a month's time."The next hearing for Spears and Kevin Federline is set for Feb. 19. The request to withdraw was first reported by TMZ.com.Soucre: People

Driver license case against Britney Spears

LOS ANGELES—An attorney for Britney Spears wants the city attorney's office to prove that the pop star is a permanent California resident and subject to state laws that require her to have a valid California driver's license.
Spears faces up to one year of probation if convicted in a misdemeanor case of allegedly driving without a valid license. The case stems from a videotaped fender bender in a parking lot on Aug. 6, 2007.
A hit-and-run charge was previously dismissed.
Spears' attorney J. Michael Flanagan filed a discovery motion Wednesday that would require prosecutors to demonstrate that Spears, who owns homes in Louisiana and Florida, intends to make Los Angeles her permanent legal home.
"If they can establish that Britney is domiciled here in California, that she permanently intends to stay here, then she does have a requirement to get a license," Flanagan said in an interview. "Basically, it's a fix-it ticket."
Flanagan said Spears had a valid Louisiana license at the time of the incident, and got a California license six days after the complaint was filed.
A call seeking comment from the city attorney's office was not immediately returned.
Spears, who has pleaded not guilty, was not present in court Wednesday.
The next court date is Jan. 25.

Britney's hearing rescheduled as prosecution seeks probation

2 January 2008 (Sawf News) - A hearing scheduled Wednesday, January 02, in a case against Britney Spears for driving without a valid California license, has been rescheduled to January 25. Britney lawyer, Michael Flanagan, is opposing prosecution attempts to put her on one year probation.
Probation could quickly lead to the tail spinning pop star's incarceration as she is known to exceed speed limits and make erratic and dangerous turns on the roads practically every day in her attempts to shake off the paparazzi tailing her.
Flanagan told PageSix.com that if the City Attorney's office does not relent, he will seek prosecution discovery and ask them to prove that Britney was in California for a protracted time without having a valid state driver's license, something that could result in long drawn out legal wrangling.
Britney Spears was found to be driving without a valid California driving license following an incident early August last year when she hit a white station wagon with her black Mercedes convertible while pulling into a Petco parking lot in Studio City, CA.
Britney did not report the incident or contact the owner of the parked station wagon who took the case to the police. Later, in October last year, Britney settled with the owner of the Mercedes-Benz station wagon by paying her approximately $1000.
Britney, who got herself a California license early October, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of driving without a valid California driving license.
However, L.A. City Attorneys don't believe getting the license post facto compensates for not having one at the time she was charged.

Spears' lawyers ask to quit custody case

LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears' lawyers in her custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline are quitting.
The law firm Trope and Trope asked a court Wednesday to be relieved as Spears' attorneys. The firm says there's been a "breakdown" in communication with the pop princess that makes representing her "impossible," according to the filing, obtained by CelebTV.com.
A message left with a publicist for Spears' record label was not immediately returned.
Spears and Federline have been wrangling for months over custody of their sons, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James.
Federline has temporary custody because Spears, who has limited visitation rights, has defied court orders. The two were married in October 2004 and finalized their divorce in July.
On a separate legal front, an attorney for Spears wants the city attorney's office to prove that the pop star is a permanent California resident and is subject to state laws that require her to have a valid California driver's license.
Spears faces up to a year of probation if convicted in a misdemeanor case of driving without a valid license, a charge to which she has pleaded not guilty. The case stems from a videotaped fender-bender in a parking lot in August. A hit-and-run charge has been dismissed.
Spears attorney J. Michael Flanagan earlier Wednesday requested that prosecutors be required to demonstrate that Spears, who owns homes in Louisiana and Florida, intends to make Los Angeles her permanent legal home.
"If they can establish that Britney is domiciled here in California, that she permanently intends to stay here, then she does have a requirement to get a license," Flanagan said in an interview. "Basically, it's a fix-it ticket."
Flanagan said Spears had a valid Louisiana license at the time of the incident and got a California license six days after the complaint was filed.
A call seeking comment from the city attorney's office was not immediately returned. The next court date is Jan. 25.