October 31, 2007 23:44

Tabloid Hell: 'Britney needs mental help' says former assistant

Ryan Seacrest wakes Britney up for a morning interview

Britney Spears’ former assistant Kalie Machado has talked about the troubled star’s emotional breakdown during her split with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Machado, who was Spears’ assistant for three months, told US Weekly that the spilt "just made her crazy and depressed" and that “she needs mental help”.

Meanwhile, this morning (October 31), Spears spoke to Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, in a rare interview to promote her new album, ‘Blackout’, released yesterday.

When asked how often she would see her children, after a judge ruled yesterday that she would have two supervised visits and one overnight stay per week, Spears said: "That's, like, all in the court. Stuff like that, my lawyers know all that stuff."

Seacrest appeared to have woken the pop star up when he called, her voice groggy when she came to the phone.

She said they ate fried chicken and watched movies to celebrate the release of her album.

She commented on her recent tabloid attention saying: "People talk and they say what they want at the end of the day, you know, in the tabloids and in the magazines," she said. "But you just try to keep on doing what you do, like, you know, and as long as you know what's up and you know what's true, that's all that really matters, you know?"

The interview finished when Spears' current assistant Ali Simms took the phone and said Britney was taking a shower.

--By our New York staff.
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