British fans feel snubbed by Britney

Olympian news services

Originally published Thursday, March 28, 2002

LONDON -- One day after fans booed Britney Spears at the London premier of her film, her spokeswoman blamed the brief appearance on security concerns.

Many of the 3,000 fans were irate after the pop star's brief appearance outside the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square on Monday night, where they had waited hours to see her.

When Spears finally turned up an hour late, she went inside after waving to the crowd for only a few minutes. The 20-year-old singer was quickly whisked into the theater and did not sign any autographs.

British tabloids made a big deal of the snub Tuesday, quoting young fans who had been bitterly disappointed by their idol.

Spears briefly appeared later on the theater's balcony before the screening of "Crossroads." But that did not appease many of the fans, who were standing behind barriers below.

A spokeswoman for Spears' film company, Momentum Pictures, said Tuesday that the singer had wanted to meet her fans but was advised against it to prevent "security" problems.

"It was deemed a security risk by all involved for her to venture too far into the crowds," the spokeswoman said. "Safety has to be paramount, not just for Britney but for her fans."

Jane Willis, 35, of Essex, had waited five hours with her 11-year-old daughter, Gemma, to see the star.

"Gemma's crying her eyes out because she couldn't see a thing," Wills said. "How does Britney expect people to go and see her film if she can't be bothered to say hello to her fans?"

NEW YORK -- New York City's former fire commissioner, Thomas Von Essen, is writing a memoir about the Sept. 11 tragedy.

The book, tentatively titled "Strong of Heart: Life and Death in the New York Fire Department," will be published by ReganBooks by the end of the year.

"It would, of course, be nice to think that a book like this, or the flood of other books and memories of Sept. 11, would help us to make a little sense or find some meaning out of the horror of that day," Von Essen said in a statement this week.

"But I never really believed that any of the deaths I saw could be explained, and I never found anything comforting or good from any tragedy."

According to ReganBooks, "Strong of Heart" will recount "the harrowing behind-the-scenes drama as the events of that tragic September morning unfolded, as well as the challenges he and other city officials faced in the days that followed."

NEW YORK -- CNN's Aaron Brown says his competitor on Fox News Channel, Greta Van Susteren, came back from her recent eye surgery looking like "a 25-year-old cheerleader."

Van Susteren, who left CNN earlier this year for a new show at Fox, had an eye lift during her time off. Both she and Brown are the hosts of news shows that air at 10 p.m. ET Monday through Friday on their respective networks.

"She went off the air (on CNN) looking great," Brown told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "She came on the air looking like a 25-year-old cheerleader."

While he said Van Susteren looks terrific, he said, "Like most things in life, I would like to think if I did it, I'd shut up about it."

Brown said he didn't mind losing in the ratings earlier this month when Van Susteren had Tonya Harding as a guest because "it's stupid. If I'm going to lose, I want to lose to stupid."

He said maybe Fox News Channel should change its motto to "fair, balanced and sometimes silly."

On Tuesday, Irena Steffen, Fox News Channel spokeswoman, responded: "Coming from a self-described news anchor that has on wine tasters and hypes Liza Minnelli's wedding, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. He seems to have become a legend in his own mind."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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