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FANTASIA

Fantasia Overdose: Mngt. Releases Statement, PR Expert Assesses Damage

*On Monday, former “American Idol” contestant, Fantasia Barrino, was hospitalized after a medication overdose. Her manager brushed it off as a non-life threatening incident; authorities revealed that it was a suicide attempt.

She’s been in news headlines lately, being accused of being a Jezebel by Paula Cook, the wife of Antwaun Cook. Barrino and Cook are apparently having an affair.

The singer’s manager released a statement about the affair:

“Fantasia fell in love with Mr. Cook and believed that he loved her,” the statement admitted. Barrino overdosed in a suicide attempt after finally reading the allegations from her lover’s estranged wife who filed court papers against the Broadway star.

“Fantasia believed Mr. Cook when he told her he was not happy in his
marriage and his heart was not in it,” Barrino’s manager said. “She believed
him when he told her he and Mrs. Cook separated in the late summer of 2009.
She believed Mr. Cook when he told her he lived elsewhere.”

Barrino took the cocktail of aspirin and sleeping pills after reading Mrs. Cook’s child custody complaint which quoted a phone conversation between her and Barrino. “He don’t want you,” Barrino apparently told Cook. “… Maybe the next time that you get a husband, you’ll know how to keep him. … That’s why he is here with me.”

The singer’s father, Joseph Barrino, says she is doing fine and has been released from a North Carolina hospital.

So what’s next for the singer?

Fans and critics have been keeping a watchful eye on the star as she has been through some traumatic experiences the past few days.

Public-relations executive Howard Bragman, who has overseen the career rehabilitations of Isaiah Washington and Naomi Campbell, says the singer can’t worry about the talk. She has to get back to health.

“I think the number-one thing Fantasia has to do is heal. I think she has to get some psychological help, find out what brought her to this moment, and make sure it doesn’t happen again … that is number one,” Bragman told MTV News. “And once that’s under control, then you start to look at your projects on the horizon. You don’t give yourself this timetable. But assuming she’s well enough in a matter of weeks or months to promote her album or her projects, well, the reality is, we live in a very forgiving society.

“We like rehab, we like rebirth, we like reconnecting with people,” he continued. “We’re willing to give people a second chance if they look us in the eye and [tell us] why they’re going on with their lives and why they deserve a second chance. I don’t think this is a career-breaker.”

Barrino will eventually have to return her focus to upcoming projects, including a second season of her VH1 reality show “Fantasia for Real” in September and a new album, “Back to Me,” which is due Aug. 24. When she finally does, she needs to prepare herself for an onslaught of questions about just what happened Monday.

“I think she’s certainly going to get asked the question about what happened. And if she were my client, I would do one or two very well-orchestrated interviews, possibly a print interview, a People magazine, and then a broadcast interview … and get it out there,” he said. “And then if you’re asked about it again, you say, ‘You know, I’ve really talked about that a lot, and I feel comfortable with what I said, and I’m here to promote my album’ to change the focus a little.”