Barking and carrying a knife: Britney Spears caused a disturbance in a restaurant after leaving rehab.

Britney Spears caused a disturbance at a small Los Angeles restaurant shortly after leaving rehab and being sentenced for drunk driving. The 44-year-old singer behaved erratically and frightened other patrons.

Spears showed up at the Blue Dog restaurant in Sherman Oaks accompanied by an unknown companion. While seated at a table, she raised her voice, screamed, and made sounds similar to a dog barking. Patrons reported that at one point, Britney walked past them holding a knife, causing them to become uneasy.

Restaurant staff were forced to intervene when she lit a cigarette near the entrance, and Britney's security eventually took her home. Witnesses noted that the singer left a mess on the table, as if "a small child had been there," and a crumpled menu.

Spears' representatives have already told the media that the situation was "blown out of proportion." "Britney was quietly dining with her assistant and bodyguard. She was simply telling a story about her dog barking at the neighbors and in no way endangering anyone by using a knife. She was simply cutting her hamburger in half," they said, comparing these "attacks" against the singer to what happened 20 years ago, when journalists "tried to portray Britney as a bad person." "This is ridiculous, and it needs to stop," the Daily Mail quotes the star's representatives as saying.

In early May, Britney Spears was sentenced to 12 months' probation for drunk driving. Shortly before, she completed three weeks of treatment at a drug rehabilitation center after being arrested for drunk driving.

Earlier this year, the singer was seen leaving a bar with a glass of champagne in hand, and she continues to post videos of herself dancing semi-nude on social media. Furthermore, last fall, Spears found herself in the spotlight when, in an "unstable" state, she got behind the wheel and nearly hit a friend, as well as causing a dangerous situation on the road with her driving.

Spears, who had previously been under her father's conservatorship, is reportedly experiencing yet another mental decline online. The singer was only able to escape it thanks to a media campaign in her support. Coincidentally, around the same time, Britney sold the rights to her songs for $200 million, and her adult sons, with whom she had a difficult relationship, began to become increasingly close to her and even reportedly moved into her house.

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images, Kevin Winter/Getty Images, britneyspears/Instagram**