Sam Lufti, who was a constant and controversial presence by Britney Spears' side in the early aughts, is apologizing.
In referring to the pop star's bombshell testimony in her conservatorship case last month, Sam tweeted on July 14, "Just sitting here listening to that court recording, if she hates me after she's free I won't blame her… I failed her, I was supposed to protect her from all this, I let her down and we both paid dearly for it – – head in hands..I'm so sorry."
Sam, who didn't detail how he "failed" her or how he was supposed to "protect" her, acted as Britney's de facto manager in 2007 and was often advising her as she struggled with her mental health and her divorce from Kevin Federline. Britney's family felt that Sam was a terrible influence on the "Toxic" singer and levied a slew accusations against him, alleging, among other things, that he "drugged" Britney, which he denied. In her 2008 memoir, "Through the Storm," Lynne Spears, Britney's mother, called Sam a "predator."

Many fans at the time were also leery of Sam's intentions.
As Britney's conservatorship began in 2008, Sam was effectively cut out of her life. Around the same time that the conservatorship began, Britney was granted a temporary restraining order against her former manager. Years later, he went on to sue the Spears family for defamation and they reached a confidential settlement. In 2019, Britney obtained a second restraining order against Sam.
Sam has said that he and Britney haven't spoken in well over a decade.