Quantcast
MobileRJ | RSS TwitterTwitter FacebookFacebook E-mail Alerts
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

sponsored by
News
May. 08, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

BRITNEY SPEARS FAN SITE: Just that innocent, fan says

Web site creator is ready to battle singer's father

By ADRIENNE PACKER
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Britney Spears
Photo by Jason Bean/Review-Journal.



Jordan Miller, 21-year-old UNLV student, talks about his battle over his fan Web site about Britney Spears. The pop star’s father, Jamie Spears, accuses Miller of copyright infringement.
Photo by John Gurzinski.



Jordan Miller's fan site, breatheheavy.com, features Britney Spears in handcuffs on the home page.

Whoever imagined Jordan Miller's Britney Spears fan site would get a half-million visits a day?

After all, he was only a high school sophomore when he launched breatheheavy.com in 2004.

Most Popular Stories
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • FATAL SHOOTING: Police again mourn comrade
  • NORM: Biden finds rank has its privileges
  • NORM: Walton: Coach deserved a punch
  • Station Casinos posts $455 million third-quarter loss
  • DEADLY HOME INVASION: Police suspect link to family
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • Two of three suspects in slaying of officer could face death penalty
  • UNLV sacks football coach Sanford
  • NORM: CityCenter seeks presidential visit




    • Whoever thought a Spears fan in Texas would text message a declaration of love for Miller that would be flashed on a screen above Spears during a concert?

    After all, Miller is now just a typical college student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

    And whoever imagined the 21-year-old kid who updates his site daily from his bedroom in his parents' Summerlin home would be threatened with legal action by the father of the wildly popular singer?

    Miller's world turned upside-down last fall after he received an angry phone call from the pop star's dad, Jamie Spears. Since then, the communications major has been accused of copyright infringement, and he's fighting back.

    "I'm working my ass off to report on this girl," Miller said Wednesday from his attorney's office.

    An image of a handcuffed Spears cradling the "Breathe Heavy" title leads Miller's site, but nothing about the image or the Web site is kinky. The title comes from the star's breathing pattern in one of Miller's favorite songs. The handcuffs represent Miller's opinion that the 27-year-old singer is being held prisoner.

    In February 2008, after the singer was forced into an inpatient treatment program for bipolar disorder, Jamie Spears was awarded conservatorship, giving him authority to make legal, financial and medical decisions on behalf of his daughter.

    Miller posted several blogs begging for Britney Spears to be "freed." He also posted a magazine story that suggested Britney Spears' younger sister, Jamie Lynn, was expecting her second child. Then he received an unexpected call on his cell phone.

    Miller said father Jamie Spears told him, "I am going to destroy your ass."

    "I was really freaking out for a good three, four weeks," Miller said. "Lately, I've been doing my own thing. I just kind of want to keep going."

    Each day, Miller scans the Internet for stories about Britney Spears, posts them on his Web site and adds his own comments. He encourages her fans to send him concert photos or messages about her worldwide concert tour.

    Miller said the site keeps him busy, but it is not as demanding now as it was when the singer was shaving her head, battering vehicles with an umbrella and being photographed without underwear.

    Henderson attorney Clarke Walton, who represents Miller pro bono, has been battling with the Spears legal team, which has threatened to sue Miller for copyright infringements.

    "The unauthorized use of these recordings, images, copyrighted works and trademarks constitutes actionable infringement under ... copyright and trademark law, and also violates Ms. Spears's rights of publicity and privacy," said a March 18 letter from Brad Rose, a New York-based attorney.

    Rose did not return a phone message left at his office Thursday.

    Miller and Walton are puzzled that Team Spears would leave other fan sites alone and sic legal hounds on a kid who is simply a huge admirer of the singer. Miller believes Jamie Spears is "trying to shut me down" because of his negative comments about the father's control over his daughter.

    Miller questioned, for example, why Jamie Spears is going after him instead of the tabloid magazine that first published the story about daughter Jamie Lynn Spears.

    He also defended his comments on the father's role as conservator over the pop star.

    "A conservatorship is for an 85-year-old who can't take care of themselves, not a 27-year-old mom who is working and making money," Miller said. "If she really does need a conservator, she should get an independent one."

    Miller suggested, as many gossip magazines have reported, that Britney Spears feels trapped by her father. The two have never had a close relationship, according to media reports. Miller and the gossip magazines also question whether Jamie Spears is serving as conservator to make money.

    So, why does Miller care so much that he's willing to go head-to-head with a man who clearly has tons more money than a college student who works part-time as a gymnastics instructor?

    "I've been asking that myself," Miller said. "I just think she's a really cool artist; I feel inspired by her. It's a healthy hobby. It takes a lot of work and dedication, but it's self-fulfilling."

    Spears' attorneys allege Miller is profiting from images of Britney, but Miller and Walton said that is not true. Miller pays $300 a month to keep the site going and receives an average of $100 each month from advertisers.

    Type in "Britney Spears fan site" on Google, and Miller's site tops the list, ahead of Spears' official Web site. Fans of the site -- it receives around 500,000 hits daily -- are supporting Miller.

    "Leave Jordan Miller alone," one fan in Canada texted Tuesday during a Spears' concert, a message that was flashed on a stage screen.

    Walton is not concerned about the legal threats coming from Spears' camp. He said the letters outlining the infringements have no substance. Photographs used originate from companies that approved their use or from camera-toting fans who submitted them.

    Miller is not using images or lyrics for a commercial purpose, like selling T-shirts.

    "If they want to fight, I'd love this fight," Walton said. "I feel confident we would win on the merits of this case."

    Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 20 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    Good for Him wrote on May 13, 2009 08:14 PM: Good for him! He deserves it, and I hope they make him pay. He's been spreading absolute bull about Britney and her family for ages, he's worse than a tabloid. He's one-sided and bias. 95% of the comments on his website are people telling him off. Obviously the problem isn't the 95% of the fans, it is HIM!


    He deserves it wrote on May 12, 2009 01:53 PM: To Anonymous @ May 9, 2009 8:17

    Karma. You get back what you put out and Jordan Miller has said much more hurtful and derogatory comments about the Spears family, and her management then any of the commentators have said about the dumb kid on this website.

    Maybe you and his parents should have actually instilled some values and INTEGRITY into this young man then maybe he wouldn't be facing a major lawsuit.


    Anonymous wrote on May 09, 2009 08:17 PM: As two who have known Jordan Miller since he was born, it pains us to see so many vicious comments from people who have no idea who he really is. My husband and I know him to be a genuine, long-time fan of Britney who's sincere and ethical.


    Ted wrote on May 09, 2009 07:10 AM: "Anonymous" says that Jordon has the worst ethics and professionalism of any "journalist". Wake up! Bloggers are NOT journalists. They have no standard of ethics to adhere to. And they need not have any professionalism. Nor do they require any intellect at all. They are only self-appointed know-it-alls who are legends in their own minds. For a better example, see blowhard (double entendre intended) Perez Hilton.


    TEAM BRITNEY wrote on May 08, 2009 07:59 PM: JORDAN MILLER IS THE PUPPET OF SAM LUTFI!!!

    more information here:

    http://exhale.withboards.com/exhale-general-f2/


    Jrox wrote on May 08, 2009 07:18 PM: Jordan is so pathetic.. TEAM JORDAN = TEAM SAM LUFTI


    Fair and Balanced Fred wrote on May 08, 2009 05:46 PM: Ms. Spears is a ranting, raving psychotic when off her meds: danger to self, danger to others, and gravely disabled.

    All of these three, any one of which would merit a person being held against their will in a psychiatric facility. Hence, that's what happened to Britney.

    Below TJ says: "Jamie Spears has made a career out of sponging off his daughter. Now he wants to bully this kid for criticizing him. He comes off as a second rate punk. Oh wait, that's what he is."

    Uh, huh. The woman's father does not love his daughter and the obscure Web site boy is more trustworthy than dad.

    Convince the judge of that, and Web site boy can become Britney's conservator!

    BTW: Britney is an adult, and when she takes her meds she is competent to make her own choices, speak for herself, and make her own decisions, which provides us with some clues as to the character of Jordan Miller, a wise and experienced age 21 (I remember when I had my first beer).

    Justin Miller has SERIOUS co-dependent and narcissistic traits, believing himself to be smarter than the judge, smarter than Britney's dad, and smarter than Britney (who, as a competent adult [when stable on meds] can do her own talking). Justing Miller: get help for yourself. You're just not that important.


    Breatheheavy is Lutfi's mouthpiece wrote on May 08, 2009 05:38 PM: Whoa whatever happened to doing some research and journalistic integrity Ms. Packer? Did you ever stop to think WHY the Spears family might want to shut the site down, and that maybe their reasons are valid?

    Jordan Miller has ties to not only Osama Lutfi but several paparazzi agencies like JFX online (which he wrote an aticle for, google it) and x17 online who harass Ms. Spears. That is why the fans do not support him or his website. People actually cheered that his website was being shutdown (go read the comments) however we soon all came to realize that it was just petty pimply Jordan being told he could no longer make money off of Ms. Spears and had to take the ads off from his website. At no time has his website shutdown, unfortunately.

    Breatheheavy has become a mouthpiece for Osama Lutfi, his meth addicted sister, Christina Lutfi and several paparazzi agencies running a ludicrous Free Britney campaign. You can imagine why these people and agencies want her free so that she can once again self destruct and give them more photos to document her self destruction.


    Backfired wrote on May 08, 2009 04:16 PM: If this kid was looking for sympathy, he ain't getting it here.


    Anonymous wrote on May 08, 2009 01:19 PM: Regardless of what he believes, Jordan has the worst ethics and professionalism of any journalist, or human being rather, that I've ever been in contact with. He is a selfish hypocrite who lacks respect for everyone and everything around him.


    Read All Comments