Britney Spears stared at herself in a mirror, grinning as she grabbed an electric clipper.
Chunks of her long, iconic locks fell to the floor of the Southern California salon. Paparazzi cameras outside documented every second of the now-infamous night in 2007, later following her with her new buzzcut to get a tattoo.
The star said she did it because she felt cornered and humiliated by the paparazzi, who had chased her from the house of her estranged husband, Kevin Federline.
In the midst of an acrimonious and widely publicised custody battle for their two young boys, the Princess of Pop said she acted out in defiance and wanted to give the press "some material". She called it an impulsive decision - one that to her, served as a public rebuke to a world she felt held her to untenable standards.
To her, it was a "desperate move by a desperate person".
