Louisiana native Britney Spears thrilled four teenagers in New Orleans on Monday when she took them on a shopping spree.
The girls, aged from 13 to 17, were among those who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina last summer, and Britney decided to treat them to a day out and buy them new clothes. All four were left homeless following the August hurricane and Britney, who was in New Orleans for the Mardi Gras festival, appeared on the "Good Morning America" show to surprise them.
After shopping for clothes, Britney took them to lunch at top chef Emeril Lagasse's restaurant, Emeril's, which opened especially for the pop star and her young friends, where they enjoyed a traditional Cajun meal of red beans and rice, fried chicken, and macaroni and cheese. (I didn't make that last part up - apparently the famous chef can whip up mac 'n cheese, too.)
"It was an honor to be here with all of them," Britney said later. "We had so much fun and it was amazing."
As for the devastation left by Katrina, she said, "Words can't do it justice. I would see people on television saying 'You have to come here. You have to see it.' And until I actually came here and actually talked to these kids saying it was a nightmare, and they were waiting to wake up from this dream, it's heartbreaking. It really is heartbreaking."
