Britney Spears Cover-up

There appears to be some fudging of the facts regarding supermom Britney Spears and her New Year’s Eve escapades at Caesars Palace. Norm Clarke, a staff writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, reports “the hard-partying Spears was carried out of a nightclub” after she had “collapsed.” But Clarke’s story, which Matt Drudge quickly highlighted on his site, doesn’t include any description of the alleged collapse, nor are readers told how Clarke determined that the singer keeled over. Moreover, Clarke quotes an unnamed source who insists Spears actually “was not carried out.” The discrepancy between the source’s account and Clarke’s contention is not addressed in the article, and I can’t figure out why any journalist would quote an anonymous source whom he doesn’t believe.

I emailed Clarke and Sherman Frederick, who publishes the Review-Journal, to ask for a clarification. Frederick promptly wrote back: “We trust Norm and his sources. His track record is impeccable.”

It’s beyond me how Frederick can trust two messengers who are contradicting one another. As for the impeccable Clarke, he also replied with a note that left unanswered the question of what happened to Spears, and how he knows it: “Upon reading a report that Britney had collapsed, I called her manager, Larry Rudolph, and asked him for comment. Larry and I are friends--in fact he introduced me to Britney last night. I asked Larry if she was OK and mentioned the report that had her collapsing. He said she was fine, just tired and there was no reason for her to get medical attention.”

Apparently, the people of Sin City are serious when they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, because these folks have my head spinning. -- Jeff Norman