Places That Have Banned Britney Spears
It seems like a lifetime ago that Britney Spears was seen angrily smashing a paparazzo's car with an umbrella after shaving her own head. The Princess of Pop has since gotten her act completely together and appears to be happier and healthier than ever. Even so, the public won't soon forget her highly publicized problems—especially at these places, which actually had to ban her due to some, well, toxic behavior.
The Chateau Marmont
This luxury Hollywood hotel and restaurant reportedly had to kick Spears to the curb after she slathered her face with a plate of food in front of other diners, disturbing the locale's highbrow crowd in the fall of 2007. This was just a few months after she'd plopped down in a salon chair and took a razor to her head (which, an ex-aide later revealed, was an effort to avoid a court-ordered drug test of her hair), so her life was already a notorious mess. The following year, however, just as she geared up for the release of her sixth studio album, the aptly-titled Circus, Spears was again spotted hanging out at the Chateau Marmont. This time, though, she avoided the sideshow routine.
Winston's Bar
Shortly after her first big banishment, oops Spears did it again, and found herself being escorted toward the exit sign at West Hollywood's exclusive nightclub Winston's. This time, it wasn't so much her table manners that got her into trouble, but her brazenness with a bartender. She reportedly insisted that one of the ladies on staff trade Halloween costumes with her right there on the spot. It was also rumored that Spears had a major shine for the bar's former manager, Harold Karsenty, and, although the attention was flattering at first, he eventually grew tired of the fact that "Britney caused nothing but drama" while frequenting the hot spot.
A Hustler store
In another instance of Spears letting her wild side fly free, she was allegedly barred from returning to an L.A. Hustler location after she dropped trou in the middle of the store to try on a pair of the brand's "barely legal" skivvies when a clerk said she couldn't take panties into the fitting room. As if that weren't bad enough, Spears was reportedly then asked to pay for the muddled merch, and after she settled the debt, she swiped a wig off a mannequin on the way out in anger over the exchange.
Starbucks
Anyone who's ever given a passing glance to tabloid shots of Spears knows about her obsession with cold coffee drinks. She's been a Starbucks enthusiast for years, so of all the bans she's been subject to, this one had to sting the most. As reported by L.A.'s Daily News, employees reported that several locations of the popular caffeine stop had a "No Britney" policy in place in late 2007—not because of anything she did per se, but because of the hordes of photographers that surrounded her. "She came in here with the paparazzi and it was ridiculous," the source said. "They went behind the counter and things like that ... At least seven of our customers walked out because they were losing their minds." Starbucks HQ denied the ban was in place, officially, and Spears has never seemed to do without her mocha frappes, so it must not have lasted too long.
The Four Seasons
By the time the Four Seasons in Los Angeles decided to stop letting Spears through the door, she had obviously become used to the turn-down trend, because she bit back with a pretty clever response. Upon being told repeatedly that she was "not authorized to come in" to the hotel from the parking garage, Spears hopped back into her house and told lurking photographers, "Party at my house!" The hotel's luxe spa facility had become her home away from home at that point, but she was on thin ice with the Four Seasons after violating the building's indoor smoking prohibition and even reportedly bringing untrained puppies into one of the suites.
Villa Nightclub
Another high-profile Los Angeles club that forbade Spears from coming back was Villa, which became an unwilling haven for tabloid writers because of all the celebrities that made their way through the building. The club's owner explained his reasons for giving Britney the boot in the spring of 2008, saying, "She came twice, but we don't want the media circus that would create." At that point, the whole city seemed to be slowly shutting her down, one club at a time.
Awards Shows
Spears isn't currently on any red carpet black lists that we know of, but there was a time when she was persona non grata for some of entertainment's biggest nights. In early 2008, when she was still in the thick of her own cloud of chaos, she was reportedly blacklisted from the Grammys and all Oscars parties—reportedly for her own good. One source was quoted to claim, "The Hollywood fraternity are horrified that Brit's breakdown has been played out practically on their doorsteps. There's a great deal of sympathy for her, so the decision not to invite Brit is out of concern for her, too." The awards season cold shoulder treatment didn't last for very long, of course. Spears returned to the Grammys circuit again in 2010 and 2012 and also attended Elton John's annual AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Party in both 2013 and 2014. All's well that ends well. She's much stronger now.