GEORGE CLOONEY - CLOONEY STANDS UP FOR SPEARS

GEORGE CLOONEY has defended troubled singer BRITNEY SPEARS for recently running a red light - blaming her erratic driving on the overzealous paparazzi chasing her. Clooney claims Spears was distracted by the photographers surrounding her car, adding he thinks it's unlikely she would have driven through the red traffic signal otherwise. He tells U.S. TV show Entertainment Tonight, "You look at the footage of Britney running the red light - there's eight guys with cameras at night in the middle of the street. "There are no rules now. It's getting to a point where people that are not involved are getting hurt." On Monday (19Nov07), a videotape of Clooney angrily confronting two photographers for driving dangerously surfaced online.