Is Britney's 'Gold' Tarnishing?

Posted Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 9:50 AM Central

by John Couture

After taking the box office by storm, Austin Powers In Goldmember is now being viewed as the movie that lifted the veil of innocence off of Britney Spears. In the closing credits, she's seen exchanging phone numbers with Mini Me upon learning that a rumor concerning his manhood was true.

While the humor of this scene comes as the result of going against her "good girl image" type, the last few weeks are giving fans reason to believe that this scene may not be as funny as initially conceived. After her much publicized break from boy-band member Justin Timberlake, it seems that she's on a downward spiral to a guest spot on The Osbournes, who, coincidentally, shared cameo credits on Goldmember.

First, rumors persisted that Timberlake had spilled details about their love life on a flight from Atlanta to L.A., although she maintains that she's waiting for marriage. Next, she was photographed smoking a cigarette. Then, she was diagnosed as being depressed and gaining weight as a result. Of course this weight gain led to a crash diet in which it was reported she only ate vegetables and drank water. This diet was blamed for an alleged incident recently where she passed out after a show. And finally, this past week, she was incriminated yet again when she "flipped the bird" to a bunch a paparazzi in Mexico who were more than happy to take pictures of the curious act. Speaking of Mexico, the last stop on her "World Tour," she walked off the stage after only four songs and refused to finish the concert while angry fans littered the stage with over-priced pop princess souvenirs whilst chanting, "fraud, fraud."

Whatever the reason or motivation, it appears that Britney's star is fading just like her record sales. And if things don't turn around fast, she just might become the next Debbie (er, Deborah now) Gibson.