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Has Britney Spears jumped the shark?
Spears' negative publicity has hit a new nadir as fans start to lose patience.
This month, the singer's largest unofficial fan site, World of Britney, will close down. Last week, students nationwide voted Spears the most ill-mannered celebrity of 2006. This backlash comes on the heels of a shakeup in her inner circle: Spears split in October with her publicist, and her record label spokeswoman left in late December.
World of Britney founder Ruben Garay says he has "no doubt that, if her music is good, her comeback will be successful." Spears may release a single this summer and an album in the fall.
But she might want to make a move before then, public-image experts say. "If she were to make some apologies now, it would work in her favor to redeem her persona," says Boston-based Evangelia Souris. Spears' original appeal with fans, Garay says, was that she came from a small town and worked hard to succeed. But during 2006, her gap with fans increased, he says. The final straw for Garay: Spears was a no-show in October for a scheduled meet-and-greet with two fans.
That was about the same time students nationwide started voting for the best-mannered stars in an annual poll by the National League of Junior Cotillions. In a rare move, the ill-mannered category was added. Spears won by a large margin, says Anne Colvin Winters, the league's executive director. "Britney lowered the standards for civility and morality."
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