Barretto started working for Spears when she got out of rehab on March 20, and was fired on May 17 because he did not hear Britney asking him to pick up her hat.
Barretto had actually apprised Britney of his hearing impairment but he admits without rancor that she probably never even learnt his name during the three month, preferring to call him either baby or honey.
The loyalty of the 6ft 7in gentle giant, who says without a hint of grandstanding that he would have taken a bullet for the pop star, has never been questioned.
The 27-year-old former private investigator, who filed a declaration in court Monday (17 Sep 2007) against Britney alleging "nudity, drug use and safety issues post-rehab" says he did so out of safety concerns for Britney's two toddlers.
Britney as a mother
Britney always needed help with her children and frequently turned to her bodyguards for it.
"I was surprised to find how much the job involved looking after her kids," he says.
"We were the only family around her. She'd call a doctor to come out if they cried too much."
Britney's behavior was unpredictable even in the presence of her children 'She's unpredictable. No one knows what she'll do next. That's what scared me. I don't know what caused her screaming, whether it was drugs or mental instability. She'd be wailing, making no sense. It was worse at night. 'She'd scream and guards would run to check on her, just in case it was a snake or an intruder. 'I'd ask how she was, and she'd say, "I'm OK." Sometimes the baby was in the room when she screamed, and the guards would grab him. There were times when an overwhelmed Britney would begin "to shut down" and send all the help around her away. Those were the moments her security detail would fear for her kids. Britney's day starts "around one or two in the afternoon." 'There were times when she spent very little time with them, some days less than an hour. And she's not very good at knowing whether they eat or need changing. I don't think I ever saw her feed her kids at home.
"Once she took the kids to the dance studio and didn't bring any food for them. She sent someone out to get them soup and crackers."
Barretto recalls how at the security detail, "We'd say, 'We're not bodyguarding; we're babysitting.' But we were babysitting Britney, as well as her kids. "In my opinion, it was a child taking care of children. I wouldn't have her as a babysitter."
Drugs
Britney, displayed a very limited attention span and would get bored of anything quickly, a possible reason she turned to drugs.
"I've seen her take narcotics in nightclubs on only two occasions, but her drugged behavior - fidgety, nervous, jumpy - I've seen at her home, too, so I assume she was on drugs at home," Barreto says.
He never saw Britney buy drugs, but says: "She'd sneak out of the house on her own without security. Sometimes she'd be gone till the next morning. It was an unspoken subject, just as nobody ever asked her about drugs."
Alcohol
Britney's stint at Promises rehab did not do her much good.
"She was supposed to be sober after rehab, but she loved her Jack Daniels and Coke," says Barretto.
He claims: "She'd always drink it in a Styrofoam cup, so nobody could see what she was drinking.
At one point of time, when she was seeing Howie Day, Britney may have come close to an overdose of drugs and alcohol feels Barretto.
He recalls how on the day she was to perform at the House of Blues concert at Anaheim she went missing.
Barretto and another guard finally found her locked in a room with Howie Day.
When they broke open there were cigarettes, and what appeared to be narcotics next to the bed, straws and a powder that appeared to be cocaine. Across the room was a glass pipe for smoking drugs.
"He was on the bed in his boxers. Her eyes were huge. She was upset, kept shaking, biting her nails and sweating. She was really high. My partner said she was the worst he'd ever seen."
Barretto's account of Britney is complete and provides an excellent insight into all her quirky behavior reported in the tabloid press - her proclivity to go commando, shed clothes any where and anytime, erratic and unlicensed driving, forgetfulness, vanity, seeking paparazzi attention.
Barretto who at no time sound self serving continues to wish Britney well.
"I've seen some pictures of her recently. She doesn't look happy - but that's OK. She needs help. I hope she gets it. I want to see her succeed. 'I was raised without a mum and dad. My grandparents took me away from my parents because they had me at a very young age. 'I don't want that for Britney's kids. I wish Britney the best.'
