Britney Spears has checked herself into a mental-health facility for “emotional distress” over her father’s ongoing health issues, TMZ and Variety report. The pop star is said to have admitted herself a week ago for a 30-day stint after becoming “distraught” over her father’s turn for the worse. Spears had previously canceled her latest Las Vegas residency in January, citing her father’s recent hospitalization and the life-threatening nature of his illness. “It’s important to always put your family first … and that’s the decision I had to make,” she wrote.
TMZ reports that her father has since had two surgeries to treat “major” issues with his intestines and colon, and has suffered complications from that second surgery; his condition is described as “quite serious and not getting better.” Shortly before the TMZ report, Spears posted on Instagram for the first time since January with a picture of a quote about self-care and a caption that reads, “We all need to take time for a little ‘me time.’” According to sources who spoke to People, Spears “just needed to focus on herself.” (Vulture has reached out to Spears’s reps for clarification.)