Britney Spears blames the paparazzi for her infamous meltdown - insisting their constant pursuit for photos led her into a downward spiral.

The star was hospitalized twice earlier this year and lost custody of her sons Sean Preston, three, and two-year-old Jayden James after a series of public meltdowns, including a headline-grabbing incident when she shaved off all her hair. The pop superstar has since got her life back on track, winning three awards at the MTV VMAS in September and enjoying huge success when her comeback single Womanizer made the biggest chart jump to number one in Billboard Hot 100 history.

Speaking in her new tell-all MTV documentary, Britney: For The Record, Spears analyses what led to her epic fall from grace, and decides the hordes of paparazzi that constantly follow her played a huge part in her breakdown.

She explains, "I used to be a cool chick. But I feel like the paparazzi has taken that away from me - like, the way I used to live my life. I used to be a cool chick but I'm not anymore." And the star admits she didn't do herself any favors - because she surrounded herself with people who didn't have her best interests at heart.

She adds, "I had let people into my life that were just bad people. You're so busy you don't see what's going on. You don't have time to stop and think. ..It's important to have good people around you."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)