LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Troubled pop princess Britney Spears has entered rehab, her representative said in a statement issued to entertainment magazine People.
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Spears, 25, sparked a frenzy of speculation about her mental state last weekend after she bizarrely shaved her head at a hair salon, got two new tattoos and was seen partying in Hollywood.
"Britney Spears has voluntarily checked herself into an undisclosed rehab facility today," the statement quoting Spears' representative carried on People's website said. "We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time," it added.
Spears' management could not be immediately contacted for comment but celebrities routinely use People as a conduit for significant announcements.
Spears, famous for hits such as "Oops! I did it again" and "Toxic," had briefly entered a rehab centre in Antigua last week but checked out within 24 hours according to reports.
The singer has been in the media spotlight since November when she announced plans to divorce from husband Kevin Federline, the father of her two children.
Entertainment media have followed her every misstep since then, with unflattering photographs of a panty-less Spears appearing regularly.
She was also captured falling asleep in a Las Vegas nightclub over the New year period.
Tuesday's announcement comes after Spears stunned staff at a suburban Los Angeles hairdressers last Friday by walking in and demanding they cut off her mane of brunette hair extensions.
When staff at the salon refused, Spears grabbed a set of clippers and dramatically shaved her head to the delight of a crowd of paparazzi who had gathered outside to watch.
Salon owner Esther Tognozzi said Spears "just looked in the mirror and said with tears in her eyes, 'Oh, my God, I shaved it all off. My mom is going to be so upset with me.'"
Footage of the incident showed Spears crying in her chauffeured car for some 10 minutes before entering the salon after it had closed. She later went to get two tattoos at a tattoo parlor.
Shop employee Emily Wynne-Hughes told reporters that Spears "wasn't making sense at all and you could tell she's not in a good place at all, and that she is totally freaking out."
"After she left the shop we all just looked around and said to each other, 'We just saw a huge celebrity on the verge of a nervous breakdown,'" Wynne-Hughes said.
