Witness says Spears used drugs

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former bodyguard for Britney Spears offered on Monday to testify at a custody hearing about nudity and drug use at her home and his fears for the safety of her two young sons.

Gloria Allred, the lawyer for bodyguard Tony Barretto, said she was shocked her client was not questioned and that, instead, Barretto’s comments were filed with the court as evidence.

The pop star and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, are battling over custody of their sons.

Barretto, 28, said in a court filing that he worked for Spears from the time she left a rehabilitation clinic in March until May 17.

"Our client was prepared to testify on issues of nudity by Ms. Spears, drug use, and safety issues involving the children post-rehab," Allred said.

Federline’s lawyer, Mark V. Kaplan, said it was not unusual for lawyers to decline questioning a surprise witness.

"Sometimes lawyers don’t like cross-examining when they don’t know what the extent of the answers will be," he said.

Kaplan declined to comment on the hearing but told reporters his client was not seeking more money from Spears. He said there may be another custody hearing in mid-November.

Meanwhile, Spears parted ways with her attorney and management firm. Her divorce lawyer, Laura Wasser, was replaced by Mel Goldman of Los Angeles .....continued below

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Late Monday, Los Angeles talent powerhouse the Firm said it terminated its relationship with Spears after just a month.

"We believe Britney is enormously talented, and has made a terrific record. But current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job," the agency said in a statement.

Spears is preparing for the November release of her first album in four years, but her comeback plans have been marred by domestic woes, and she was widely ridiculed for her sluggish lip-synching performance at the MTV Video Music Awards this month.

In another development, the Web site for celebrity TV show "Entertainment Tonight" cited identified sources as saying the FBI was looking into death threats against Federline.

A spokeswoman for the FBI said the agency had received "non-specific and uncorroborated" information that it had passed on to local police. Los Angeles police confirmed that in June they investigated a claim about a contract killing on Federline, but the report was never proven.