Britney Spears‘ former personal assistant and longtime pal Sean Phillips has confirmed he has spoken to the singer, who said she is ‘OK’ following her shock DUI arrest on Wednesday.
The hitmaker, 44, was taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol on Wednesday after driving erratically in a harrowing hour-long chase and allegedly ‘showed signs of impairment’.
Sean, who worked for the singer from 2006-2007, said he feared for her safety and said she needed to ‘get out out LA’ and away from the ‘people she is currently associating with’.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Friday he said the ‘lovely lovely’ pop star had given him permission to speak on her behalf, claiming the arrest was not in the Oops I did It Again’s ‘character’.
‘All I texted her was: “Are you OK” and she just said “I’m OK’”. I then asked if I could speak about this and she said: “Go ahead”‘.
He went on: ‘She is such a great person and we all make mistakes. I makes me feel bad when she suffers such public mistakes. I want the world to know she’s a great person…We all make mistakes’.
Britney Spears’ close friend Sean Phillips has confirmed he has spoken to the singer, who said she is ‘OK’ following her shock DUI arrest on Wednesday
The hitmaker, 44, was taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol on Wednesday after driving erratically in a harrowing hour-long chase (Singer’s car pictured following arrest)
‘The change I would like to see is for her to get out of Los Angeles. But I have been talking to her weekly, daily.
‘She’s the same Britney that I knew in 2003. There is no dissociation with her that I have with her character and personality’.
But amid chaos, he added: ‘You have to think about who else is she associating herself with’ – but did not reveal to whom he was referring.
Spears was most recently married to Iranian born model and actor Sam Asghari, 32, with the pair splitting in 2024 after two years.
He is has yet to break his silence on her arrest but has been making numerous TV news appearances to discuss the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
According to CHP, Spears was arrested on ‘suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs.’
However, they said that chemical tests to further determine any substances that she may have been using are still pending.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Spears’s representative for comment.
Representatives for Spears released a statement in response to the arrest to Daily Mail which read: ‘This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life. Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.
‘Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being.’
Britney Spears was arrested for DUI in Ventura County, California, last night
Meanwhile the singer’s family members were reportedly among the first people to check in with her following her DUI arrest.
According to TMZ, family sources said that her mother, Lynne Spears, gave her a call as soon as she learned of the arrest, at which point Spears had already been released from custody.
Spears’ former personal assistant and longtime pal said he feared for her safety and said she needed to ‘get out out LA’ and away from the ‘people she is currently associating with’
Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Friday he said the ‘lovely lovely’ pop star had given him permission to speak on her behalf
The singer also spoke with her sons Sean, 20, and Jayden, 19 – both of whom moved to Hawaii with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, in 2023 – after she returned home.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Britney and Lynne Spears and Federline for comment.
Britney’s mother allegedly wanted to let the singer know that she had her support, and she was said to have offered to assist Britney with any of her needs.
Despite years of strained relationships with her mother – and sometimes seemingly every member of her family – sources said that mother and daughter had a ‘positive’ and ‘hopeful’ conversation.
The family sources emphasised that Lynne loves her daughter, and they said the troubled singer’s family has been praying for her.
Despite their infamous ups and downs in the four years since Spears’ conservatorship was ended, the two were said to be on good terms.
Spears has long had a ‘complicated’ relationship with her mother, with a source claiming to Page Six in September of last year that ‘Their relationship is very fragile.’
They said at the time that ‘[Lynne] reaches out to Britney for the most part,’ and the two ‘talk and text every few weeks.’
The source claimed in September that there were no imminent plans for her and Britney to have a face-to-face reunion.
Their relationship appeared to reach its nadir around 2021, when Spears claimed that, even though her father Jamie Spears had overseen her restrictive conservatorship for years, it was allegedly her mother who had suggested the idea of creating the arrangement.
‘I will never get those years back,’ Spears said in 2021, before claiming that her mother ‘secretly ruined my life.’
However, their relationship appears to be on stronger footing now, as the singer and Lynne are now planning to spend time together soon after Lynne offered to visit in the wake of the arrest.
TMZ’s family sources contradicted earlier reporting and claimed that Britney and Lynne have been on good terms ever since they reunited for the first time in years in May 2023.
Spears was most recently married to Iranian born model and actor Sam Asghari, 32, with the pair splitting in 2024 after two years (pictured 2019)
Sam (R) is yet to break his silence on her arrest but has been making numerous TV news appearances to discuss the escalating conflict in the Middle East
Meanwhile the singer’s family members were reportedly among the first people to check in with her following her DUI arrest (pictured with mother Lynne in 2000)
The sources added that Spears and her mother talk regularly on the phone despite not having had a face-to-face meeting in more than two years.
The family sources added that Spears had spoken to her two adult sons after she returned home on Thursday, but it’s unclear who initiated the alleged call.
Spears has had a more publicly positive relationship with Sean and Jayden over the years.
In December, she revealed that Jayden had come to visit her for Christmas in a series of jubilant Instagram posts.
A source told People that month that ‘Britney had a fun time celebrating Christmas with Jayden,’ adding that it had ‘been such a special holiday’ for her.
Spears wasn’t able to reunite with her other son, Sean, as he was reportedly forced to stay in Louisiana due to a work obligation, though he was reportedly able to celebrate Christmas with his aunt Jamie Lynn Spears and grandmother Lynne.
Spears and her sons’ father, Kevin Federline, were married in 2004, but they divorced in 2007.
In the 911 call, dispatchers and officers describe the chaotic pursuit in real time.
One dispatcher can be heard saying: ‘A black sedan, erratic braking, swerving and driving with no tail light.’
‘Can we send all units down towards this area please,’ another officer requests, as colleagues provide updates on the vehicle’s location.
Officers identified the car as a ‘2026 black BMW convertible,’ and the call captures them tracking Spears before finally pulling her over.
Just last month, the singer was spotted behind the wheel of her Mercedes SUV, appearing to break the law in LA with her cell phone pressed to her face
The pursuit reportedly began around 8:13pm, with Spears driving in and out of the freeway lanes.
Around 9:13pm, dispatch confirmed: ‘Driver is out of the vehicle.’
Moments later, officers can be heard speaking with Spears, describing the situation: ‘Talking with the driver,’ one officer says.
Her car was towed and impounded by Roy’s Towing in Thousand Oaks, California.
The Baby One More Time hitmaker seemingly expressed immediate remorse as sources said she was ‘crying a lot’ while being processed at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office according to TMZ.
Now TMZ is also reporting that there was an unknown substance found in the car that will be part of the arrest as it is now being tested.
Daily Mail has reached out to Spears’ reps and law enforcement officials over these claims and have yet to hear back.
When a person gets a DUI in California, their driver’s license is automatically suspended.
There is also potential jail time, a hefty fine of over $1,000 and mandatory DUI education programs.
A first offence typically involves three to five years of probation, a six-month license suspension and about six months of DUI school.
Just last month, Spears was spotted behind the wheel of her Mercedes SUV, appearing to break the law as she held her cell phone to her face.
On February 12, she was photographed taking a spin around Los Angeles while appearing to be talking on the phone, which is illegal in California under the ‘No Touch’ law (Vehicle Code 23123.5).
She was not charged in relation to the incident.
It was, however, not an isolated incident for Spears, who, in recent months, was filmed swerving into the wrong lane on a highway after a night out. At the time, sources feared she was ‘spiraling’ amid the release of her ex-husband Federline‘s memoir. The two were married from 2004 to 2007.
Her history with the police also included being cited for a hit-and-run (misdemeanor) after hitting a parked car in 2007. This was dismissed after Spears paid an undisclosed sum to the owner, it was reported at the time.
She was also cited for driving without a valid California license in 2008, which was later dismissed by a judge.
In 2023, law enforcement visited Spears’s home regarding a video involving knives, but no charges were filed.
Spears has had very public personal struggles for nearly two decades.
In 2007, the star famously suffered a harrowing breakdown after exhibiting worrying behavior in the months leading up to her infamous psychiatric hold.
