Hello! Well, popstar Britney Spears has hit the headlines again – but not

necessarily for the right reason. As you've probably heard, she's been having

some troubled times; she's separated from her husband, she's raising their 2

small children on her own and even her music career is in question. But most

recently, Britney decided to go into - or 'check into' a 'rehabilitation clinic' –

usually shortened to 'rehab'. But just 24 hours after 'checking into rehab',

Britney checked back out. Well, the next public sighting of Britney was at

Esther Tognozzi's hairdressing salon. But what kind of hairstyle did Britney

want? Try to work that out from Esther's account…

Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

I said, "Well, I'm not shaving your hair off. And I tried to talk her out of it. I said: "Are you

sure you're not having a bad day and tomorrow, you'll feel differently about it? Why don't we

wait a little bit?" She said: "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now".

Yvonne: Britney Spears wanted all her hair shaved off but Esther didn't want to do it. As

we heard, she tried to talk Britney 'out of it' - she tried to persuade Britney not

to shave off her hair. But as we all know, trying to 'talk someone out of

something' – an action or an idea - isn't always easy. Now, as we hear the rest

of that story, try to catch what Esther said to Britney to try to talk her out of

having her head shaved – and, try to find out who shaved off Britney's hair in

the end?

Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

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I said, "Well, I'm not shaving your hair off." And I tried to talk her out of it. I said, "Are you

sure you're not having a bad day and tomorrow, you'll feel differently about it? Why don't we

wait a little bit?" She said, "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now". And as I was talking to

her bodyguard, next thing I know, she grabbed the buzzer and she went to the back of my

salon and she was shaving off her own hair. And she actually enjoyed shaving off her own

hair.

Yvonne: Esther asked Britney whether she was 'having a bad day' – because people can

make bad decisions when they're in a bad mood or are worrying about too

many things. Esther also asked Britney whether she might 'feel differently'

about having her hair shaved off the next day – whether she might change her

mind. But Britney's use of the word 'absolutely' told Esther that she'd already

made up her mind… she was going to stick to her decision.

Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

She said: "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now".

Yvonne: And because Esther wouldn't shave Britney's hair off, Britney grabbed the

'buzzer' – the shears or shaver – and did it herself! She'd 'absolutely' made up

her mind. Now we can even use 'absolutely' on its own to show that our

decision or our word is final. For example, if I ask: Do you enjoy programmes

from bbclearningenglish.com? You might reply: 'Absolutely'!

By the way, did you notice Esther's style of storytelling? It's one that you might

like to try out yourself after today's Entertainment because it's fairly simple to

use. Esther used a lot of the simple past – for example, 'I said', 'she said', 'and

then I said…'. Esther also used the present tense during her quotes even though

she was quoting from what had been said in the past. For example:

I said, "Can you wait until tomorrow?" and she said, "No!" Here's another

chance to check out Esther's storytelling technique: 

Entertainment © BBC Learning English

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Esther Tognozzi, hairdresser

I said, "Well, I'm not shaving your hair off." And I tried to talk her out of it. I said: "Are you

sure you're not having a bad day and tomorrow, you'll feel differently about it? Why don't we

wait a little bit?" She said: "No, I absolutely want it shaved off now'. And as I was talking to

her bodyguard, next thing I know, she grabbed the buzzer and she went to the back of my

salon and she was shaving off her own hair. And she actually enjoyed shaving off her own

hair.

Yvonne: Well, as for public opinion, many people are saying that Britney's shaved head

doesn't suit her – while the media are wondering whether she did it as a

publicity stunt – to draw more attention to herself because her music career

isn't doing well at the moment. Here's what Dean Piper has to say – he's from

"Closer Mag" – a sort of celebrity gossip magazine…

Dean Piper

I mean Britney, in particular, is turning into a car-crash soap opera. You know, this is the

latest in a long line of stuff. You know, we've seen her outfits change, the motherhood's gone

to the back – the backpage. She's going out clubbing with the likes of Paris Hilton. You know,

she was a pop girl…

Yvonne: According to Dean Piper, she's been wearing different types of clothes, her job

as a mother doesn't seem to be a priority – as he put it, 'mother's gone to the

backpage' while she goes out to nightclubs. As Dean put it, Britney's turning

into a 'car-crash soap opera'. So there's always something tragic or

controversial going on in her life, just like in a soap opera. And sadly, as with a

car crash, the public and the media just can't resist watching to find out what

the next tragedy will be or what bad decision Britney Spears will make next.

You've been listening to Entertainment from bbclearningenglish.com where we

hope that Britney will soon be back in the news headlines for all the right

reasons – her hit songs! Goodbye.