Britney Spears' ex-manager and the man accused of exploiting the star during her most vulnerable time, Sam Lutfi, allegedly has ties to Amanda Bynes, according to a bizarre new rumor.
A supposed source told RadarOnline.com Lutfi had befriended Bynes within recent months and even bought her a plane ticket to return to New York City from Los Angeles. When contacted by Radar, Lutfi denied purchasing the ticket, but refused to talk about his relationship with the troubled starlet.
Lutfi teamed up with Spears while she was working on her album "Blackout." At the time, she was reportedly estranged from her family and former management. After a very public downward spiral, the "Ooh La La" singer was placed under the conservatorship of her father, Jamie. In her book, Spears' mom, Lynne, dubbed Lutfi a "gatekeeper" who preyed on their daughter and controlled her.
"Amanda should be kept very, very far away from him. She is emotionally extremely vulnerable and needs mental health help," a source told Radar of Lutfi. “He can come across as extremely charming and caring, but he is also very, very manipulative, and would want total control of Amanda’s life. This is the last thing she needs in her life right now.”
Bynes' story does run parallel to Spears' 2008 saga. That year, the pop superstar was put on a 5150 psychiatric hold after she had a breakdown at her Los Angeles home. On July 22, Bynes was detained under the same code for a mental evaluation after she lit a fire in the driveway of an elderly woman she did not know. Both incidents followed months of bizarre behavior.
Bynes remains on lockdown in California after a judge granted an extension on the 72-hour stay, E! News reported.
Her parents are currently seeking conservatorship. In their filing, they claim Bynes poses "a substantial risk to herself and others," is "extremely paranoid" and has blown through money in a "very short amount of time," according to the New York Daily News.
Bynes was seen in New York City on July 17 and arrived in California three days later, the Daily News notes. The former "Easy A" star, who apparently has no driver's license or formal identification, claimed she "cabbed it" across the country.
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