Britney demands removal of unflattering billboards

Britney Spears in a 2006 photo. Lawyers for Spears have told a Florida radio station to take down billboards showing the pop star's shaven head as part of an advertisement for its morning talk show.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Lawyers for Britney Spears have told a Florida radio station to take down billboards showing the pop star's shaven head as part of an advertisement for its morning talk show.

The billboards featured three identical pictures of Spears, apparently snarling, next to radio station WFLZ's logo and a picture of talk show host Todd Schnitt.

Atop the pictures run the labels "Total nut jobs," "Shock Therapy" and "Certifiable."

A spokeswoman for Clear Channel Communications, which owns WFLZ, said on Monday it had received a letter from law firm Lavely & Singer dated June 14. The letter demands that the billboards be removed and says images of Spears can be used only with consent.

"Clear Channel was already exposed to substantial liability for its offensive, unauthorized commercial exploitation of my client's photograph on the billboards," the letter said.

"Once again, we demand the immediate removal of the billboards, confirmed by documentary evidence and verified under penalty of perjury," it said.

Schnitt said in an interview that Clear Channel had already pulled down the billboards. "I'm not happy with that," he said.

Spears is trying to stage a comeback and reportedly is working on a fifth album. She entered rehab earlier in the year after a spree of high-profile partying and erratic behavior, including shaving her blond hair.

Reuters/Nielsen