Features
The Ballad Of Fed-Ex
Spears filed in Los Angeles Superior Court with a date of separation as November 6 the day she made a surprise appearance on “Late Night With David Letterman” in New York City. The couple had their second child, Jayden James, September 12.
Spears is asking to waive her right to spousal support and has declared in court papers that she and Federline have no community assets an indication the couple has an iron-clad prenup.
The marriage had drawn publicity since before its inception in October 2004 (the couple had an unofficial wedding a month earlier). The coverage progressively turned into farce and followed the same arc as Federline’s musical career. K-Fed, as he was dubbed, was a backup dancer for Justin Timberlake but eventually attempted a rap career.
His publicity has been mostly bad or downright snarky, though. Mr. Spears became an online meme much like Paris Hilton, where K-Fed “fans” were actually non-fans poking fun at him. Lowlights include a series of K-Fed “mashup” videos where people spoofed Federline’s recent single “Popozao” and an unwatchable performance debut at the Teen Choice Awards.
The divorce filing also took place three days after Federline played Webster Hall in New York City, where he reportedly had a sparse crowd. A November 9th show at House of Blues Chicago, on the heels of K-Fed’s debut album selling a dismal 6,500 units, drew in the hundreds but the house was papered.
Chicago Sun Times music critic Jim DeRogatis wrote, “Many in the crowd of several hundred, including Mike Davis, benefited from a last-minute ticket giveaway. ‘I think I’m gonna laugh the whole time,’ said Davis, 22. ‘At him.'”
The review was savage.
“His cliche-ridden take on West Coast gangsta rap found him poorly imitating Snoop Dogg while tediously boasting about how bad he is (in the thug-life sense), how good he is (in the mack-daddy sense) and how rich he is (in the kept-man sense).”
As for the Chicago Tribune, there was a car wreck in the Windy City. “Kevin Federline was that car wreck Wednesday night, and the House of Blues the site of the disaster, with a few curious fans (many plied with free tickets) on hand to watch him suffer.”
One man was led out by security after hoisting a large, cardboard sign insulting Federline’s manhood, according to The Associated Press. However, somebody posted on Craigslist.org that it was he who was tossed out at K-Fed’s insistence after wearing a FedEx shirt and carrying a piece of a FedEx box, then having words with the performer.
“So there I go again, more f**king trouble, but super fun,” the post reads. “BTW, his music f**king blows.”
To no one’s shock, his next show at the House of Blues Cleveland was canceled.