Britney Spears Hides Out in Palm Springs

Posted on January 7, 2008 at 7:15 am (PST)

Britney Spears has done the impossible since her discharge early Saturday morning from Cedars-Sinai hospital: slipping out of her Beverly Hills home undetected despite the constant vigil of paparazzi and media outside. The pop star, accompanied by Finalpixx photographer Adnan Ghalib since a few hours after her release, popped into the Daily Grill in Palm Desert around 10 a.m. Sunday.

"She seemed in a really good mood, laughing with the guy she was with," says the restaurant’s manager. Spears shielded herself behind large, dark sunglasses and "had a champagne mimosa to drink," he said. Champagne for breakfast sounds very healthy. She stayed at the restaurant about an hour, as Vegas Confidential’s Norm Clarke first reported.

Spears, 26, had been keeping company with Ghalib, 35, before her recent meltdown. The two checked into two hotels over the past couple of weeks, but he was not on hand Friday during her stay in Cedars-Sinai.

Dr. Phil responded in this video below to the TMZ stories reporting that psychiatric professionals questioned Cedars permitting the TV doc into Britney Spears’ hospital room without her prior knowledge or consent.

Here’s what he said about his visit on Saturday morning on today’s "Early Show": "I want to set the record straight. I went to see Britney at the request of her family. I talked to Lynne, Jamie, and Brian, because they were frustrated that she wasn’t going to be held for a longer time."

Asked how he had come to be involved in the saga, Dr. Phil said, "Thursday night, the phone rang, it was Lynne, clearly she was very upset. Any parent would be. I was first contacted by her family a year ago, and had maintained a running dialogue for the last year or so."