Sam Lufti, the shady man who has somehow wormed his way into Britney Spears’ life, made a point of calling Barbara Walters this weekend to blab about his client.  The pop star’s ‘manager’ for some reason felt it was necessary to update the newswoman on Spear’s current status.  (Apparently Adnan Ghalib‘s tacky interviews on Entertainment Tonight and The Insider haven’t told us enough.)

So with permission, Walters shared a portion of her conversation with Lufti on today’s episode of The View.  The veteran reporter - who was very careful in choosing her words - started off by saying that she “couldn’t vouch for the information”, but that he “seemed to be very knowledgeable” and “was very nice.”  She then revealed that Britney (according to Lufti) is suffering from “mental issues which are treatable.”  Spears has supposedly been to a psychiatrist and (Barbara assumes) is starting some kind of treatment.  Sam claims the singer has been having mood swings and difficulty sleeping.  And despite rumors to the contrary,  Brit’s mother (Lynne Spears) has apparently been in contact with her daughter and has offered words of support.

Now here’s what I don’t understand:  how does Lufti’s conversation with the media make him any better than Dr. Phil?  Shouldn’t her ‘manager’ want to keep her business private?  And why would Spears choose to be seen with her paparazzo even after his tell-alls aired?  (BTW - Walters was under the impression that Ghalib has since been kicked to the curb.)  I think we can safely say that this girl needs more than just psychiatric help.  She just needs to stay away from slimy men, period.