Has Britney Spears Proved She Can Control Her Life?

2009

January: Restraining orders are issued against Sam Lutfi, Spears' former manager, Adnan Ghalib, Spears' ex-boyfriend, and Jon Eardley, an attorney who claimed to represent Spears. Andrew Wallet, Spears' lawyer, claims that the trio "are working in concert to disrupt the conservatorship, with an utter disregard for Ms. Spears' health and well being."

February: An arrest warrant is issued for Ghalib after accusations that the former paparazzo ran over a process server -- serving him his temporary restraining order -- with his Mercedes, breaking his wrist.

March: 'Circus,' the second single and title track of Spears' most recent album, reaches number one on Billboard's Pop Songs chart as Spears begins a worldwide tour in support of the album. The singer performs nearly 100 shows around the world before ending her tour in November. The show receives mixed reviews, with many American critics praising the show while their Australian counterparts bash it to pieces.



April: A judge upholds restraining orders against Lutfi and Eardley, banning them from coming within 100 yards of Spears, her home or her family and barring contact with Spears and her children for three years.

May: Rumors begin to surface about Spears' more-than-professional relationship with her talent agent, Jason Trawick (right), who also represents Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff and Taylor Swift. They are later confirmed by 6,808 different media outlets.

And since every month needs a lawsuit, Kerry Vine, a former bodyguard for the singer, sues Spears for personal injury, claiming the singer "negligently operated her home and business thereby causing injuries" and "caused harmful or offensive contact without his consent."

June: Forbes magazine ranks Spears #13 in their annual Celebrity 100 issue, estimating her total pay at approximately $35 million from June 2008 to June 2009.

September: A Los Angeles Superior Court judge continues the 50/50 custody arrangement between Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline. Spears receives between $20,000 and $25,000 for each month her children are out of California.

October: '3' debuts at number one on the Billboard 100. Spears also settles a lawsuit with a photographer, who claimed the singer ran over his foot in 2007. Terms of the agreement are not released.

November: OK Magazine runs a cover story proclaiming Spears' wedding plans with Trawick. All sides roundly deny the rumor, though the magazine finally has an excuse to run an 'Oops, I Did it Again!' headline. Spears also faces a lip-syncing kerfuffle when an Australian government minister, apparently with all of Australia's problems already solved, publicly decries the singer's use of lip-syncing in her show.

December: A judge extends Spears' conservatorship, ruling that her father Jamie should receive $16,000 a month for watching over his daughter. Spears also starts the Rumors page of her website, calling "Bulls**t" on selected media articles and listing the Top 75 stories that were, according to the site, "factually inaccurate... reported the patently absurd, or because we believe they are simply offensive to the sensibilities."

In more important news, Spears beats out Angelina Jolie and Beyonce, among others, to be PopEater's Celebrity of the Decade.

2010

January: Spears appears at a routine conservatorship review in good spirits to review her progress with a federal judge.

February: Lawyers for Spears petition that certain "critical information" about Spears and her children be kept confidential for fear that "the possibility of such enormous profits presents a substantial risk that Ms. Spears' most confidential medical and personal information will be disclosed."

March: TMZ interviews Lufti, who, despite the restraining order against him, defends Spears and her erratic behavior over the past few years.

Spears' six-bedroom mansion, originally listed in September 2008 for $7.9 million, goes back on the market for $5.5 million. And you thought celebrities weren't feeling the economy pinch?

May: Spears severs her professional relationship with Trawick, so the couple can focus on their personal relationship. The singer also humbles Ashton Kutcher by becoming the most-followed person on Twitter with over 5 million followers.

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