In a summer of seemingly one train wreck after another, Spears started appearing in the press wearing a variety of hats with wig attached, attacking a photographer with an umbrella, spontaneously frolicking in the ocean in her underwear, making out with a college-age extra while skinny-dipping in a hotel pool and hitting clubs left and right – all while Federline began lining up witnesses for his custody fight – including issuing subpoenas covertly to many in his ex's inner circle, including assistants, nannies and her long-time manager, Larry Rudolph. After a disastrous photo shoot with OK magazine in August – during which Spears reportedly seemed "out of it," went to the bathroom with the door open, wiped her greasy fingers on expensive frocks and then took off with some of the pricey wardrobe provided without even finishing the interview or shoot – things seemed to be reaching a boiling point for the girl who had cut out everyone in her life who cared for her. When the singer was announced as the opening act of the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, public interest ran high – could she pull it off? Performing her first single off her first studio album in some time, "Gimme More," Spears bombed so spectacularly – that even she appeared to realize it, giving up mid-song. Her lip-synching was off, her dance moves lethargic and she even stumbled a bit just walking through her routine. It did not help matters that she was poured into a sequined bikini that was not flattering to her figure. Critics wasted no time slamming the singer, who reportedly left the stage in tears, for not only phoning it in, but for partying in Vegas non-stop in the days leading up to the anticipated performance.

If Britney-watchers thought that things could not get worse for the former pop princess, they were wrong. Only weeks after the VMA disaster, a judge ordered Spears to surrender custody of her two children to her ex-husband, ruling that Federline would take custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James only two days after said ruling “until further order of the court.” The order stemmed from an unspecified oral motion made by Federline’s attorneys and was handled in a closed-door hearing. The judge’s order did not state the reason for the change in custody and all transcripts of the proceedings were ordered sealed. However, that did not prevent many in even the mainstream "respectable" media from taking a stab at what moved the process from court-ordered parenting classes and drug/alcohol testing to losing physical custody only days after the previous rulings that still allowed for 50/50 custody. Some suggested it was because she had recently been photographed driving with the children in the backseat, sans a valid California driver's license; others guessed it might be a failed drug/alcohol test. Whatever the reasons, the ruling surprised many with its abruptness. Spears responded by chirping happily to paps who followed her to her tanning salon, but not long after, her long-estranged mother and her little sister arrived from Kentwood. After missing her first scheduled visit, it was announced that the judge was suspending her visitation rights only two weeks after the original ruling. The reason given: Spears had failed to comply with the judges orders; the specificity of which, was not given, leading to further speculation.

Spears remained relatively quiet throughout the rest of 2007 following the court’s Oct. 1st custody ruling. But she was back in the news Jan. 3, 2008 when she refused to turn over Sean Preston and Jayden James to Federline’s bodyguard following a scheduled visit. The bodyguard arrived at her Beverly Hills home at 7 p.m. to pick up the kids, but Spears failed to relinquish them in violation of her visitation rights. Police arrived on the scene around 8:30 after receiving a call about a “custodial dispute,” followed shortly by Federline’s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan. Soon news helicopters, paparazzi and an ambulance were also on the scene – Spears allegedly locked herself in a bathroom with Sean Preston and refused to come out. Eventually, the fire department and a mental evaluator arrived, and her two children were finally handed over to Federline around 11 p.m. Spears was detained by police, who said she was allegedly “under the influence of an unknown substance,” then was sent by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she remained for 72 hours under a 5150 hold, an involuntary confinement administered when a person has been deemed a danger to themselves or others as the result of a mental disorder. After making news in mid-January for failing to report to a child custody hearing, Spears was seen again leaving her home in an ambulance during the wee-hours of the night on Jan. 31, 2008. Apparently, the singer had not slept for over four days, prompting her psychologist – who felt her condition had deteriorated – to call in police and have her brought to UCLA Medical Center on a “mental evaluation hold.” She was again placed on a 5150, with the possibility of an additional 14-day hold looming over her.