Barbara Walters announced this morning on The View that Britney Spears’s manager and sometimes boyfriend Sam Lutfi called her to discuss Britney’s mental-health situation. He reportedly said Britney is receiving treatment for her “mood swings.”

Walters’s co-hosts on The View questioned whether he’s qualified to talk about this. Walters responded:

“I don’t know if anybody is telling the truth or not telling the truth … He has been with her constantly. He seems to be enormously supportive.”

Actually, he seems like a huge jerk who is totally unqualified to talk about mental-health issues. Page Six reported this morning that three people have taken restraining orders against him in California, including his ex-friend Danny Haines, who had this to say about when he cut Lutfi out of his life:

Lutfi humiliated him, e-mailing naked photos of him to his family, friends and co-workers. He texted and called incessantly and, according to court documents, told Haines he hoped his sister would be “raped to death.” Haines says that in one e-mail to him, Lutfi wrote of Haines’ mother that he hoped “Satan devours her flesh and bones” and he looked forward to the day when he would “p— on her burial.”

Btw, Barbara Walters is still a serious journalist.