Sideshow: Brit seeing shrink, pal says

Brace for impact, because this'll come as a big shock:

Britney Spears

is in treatment with a

psychiatrist

- a medical doctor who specializes in mental diseases and disorders.

Least that's what USAToday.com says

Barbara Walters

says

Sam Lufti

said. Speaking yesterday on

The View

, Walters said she got a call from Spears' pal Lufti (who seems to enjoy sharing shards of Brit's private life with the media). Walters said Lufti told her Brit is seeing a doc because she "is suffering from what [Lufti] describes as mental issues." But do not fret! Brit's issues "are treatable," Lufti told Walters.

Brit wisely doesn't entrust her mental health to just anyone. Earlier this month, she was appalled when

Dr. Phil

visited her during the forced hospital stay that followed her bizarre custody standoff, then shared their talk on TV. Course, Dr. Phil isn't a medical doctor, but a psychologist. And he is not even licensed to practice psychology in California. You might even say he's just this annoying guy on TV.We must tour!

Jimmy Page

wants it so bad he can taste it.

The

Led Zeppelin

guitarist said yesterday that he was all gung-ho to take the band on a global tour after the act's reunion gig last month in London.

But, real life - front man

Robert Plant

's scheduled tour with

Alison Krauss

- got in the way. Now Led Zep probably won't be able to hit the road until September, at the earliest.

Citing a report in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, People.com says teen savior

Miley Cyrus

had to endure some distress - even suffering - this weekend.

Miley abruptly left the stage during her gig Saturday in New Orleans, telling her tween disciples she was feeling poorly.

But she prevailed over the sickness.

That is what the 15-year-old avatar of

Vishnu

(that all-pervading essence of all beings) teaches us - to prevail (and

pervade

, if we can).

Soon, Miley returned with a stool. "Thanks, you guys. I feel a lot better, but I'm going to sit this one down."

At evening's end, dad

Billy Ray Cyrus

joined Miley for an encore. Much love there was.

Traditional gangsters are back in fashion in Tinseltown. Following the success of

Brad Pitt

's soulful, melancholy turn as

Jesse James

,

Johnny Depp

will try his hand at being

John Dillinger

in

Michael Mann

's

Public Enemies

, which will costar

Christian Bale

,

Giovanni Ribisi

, and

La Vie en Rose

beauty

Marion Cotillard

. The picture, which is set in Chicago in the '30s, will start shooting March 10.

Sally Kirkland

just finished filming three flicks back-to-back (her latest picture is a modernized take on

Shakespeare

's

Richard III

), which may explain why she needed a rest. The actress' rep tells TMZ, "Ms. Kirkland was admitted to an outpatient hospital for exhaustion and sleep deprivation" over the weekend. The 66-year-old Kirkland, who is credited as the first actress to appear fully nude on the American stage (in '68 for

Sweet Eros

), "has been treated and released."

Not really sure why this was even an issue, but

Entertainment Tonight

and OK! report that

George Clooney

, who was nominated for a SAG award for

Michael Clayton

, was not trying to diss SAG by not attending Sunday night's ceremony. Mr. Clooney was busy do-gooding in India in his new, U.N.-appointed role as a Messenger of Peace. Anyway, George lost:

There Will Be Blood

star

Daniel Day-Lewis

won for best actor in a film.

Folks who were traumatized by the lack of pomp and circumstance at the Golden Globes may find relief with the Feb. 10 broadcast of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) on cable station BBC America (

» READ MORE: www.bbcamerica.com

). Unhampered by our writers' strike, the Brits can pomp and circumstance it till the cows come home.

"I am convinced this city [New York] is going to crack

Clay Aiken

like an egg."

So prophesies journo

Ariel Levy

in an acerbic New York Magazine profile of the star of the Broadway hit

Spamalot

that will have many a Clayhead break into tears.

"Perhaps Clay Aiken is not a homosexual," Levy says on the famously unresolved question of Clay's orientation. "But . . . he insists so incessantly that he is brimming with folksy self-acceptance when he so clearly doesn't have a clue." (

Ouch!

)

Levy chastises Clay for (unwittingly?) making his own aversion to discussing his sexuality into a marketing tool. "He's promosexual," Levy declares, and married to self-promotion.

The NFL says the pregame show for Sunday's Super Bowl game will feature

Alicia Keyes

and Jordin Sparks. The

American Idol

winner will sing the national anthem for the show, which Fox will broadcast from Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. This will be something of a homecoming for the 18-year-old Jordin, who is a Glendale native.

"I am engaged . . . to

Barack Obama

,"

Scarlett Johansson

said Friday in what must have been a shocking announcement to the presidential candidate's wife,

Michelle

. "My heart belongs to Barack, and that is who I am currently, finally, engaged to. Yes."

Scarlett, 23, an avid Obama supporter, made the joke - for jest it was - when, upon her return from a USO tour in the Persian Gulf, she was asked to comment on rumors she has become engaged to fellow actor

Ryan Reynolds

.