Neil Patrick Harris
Gossip

Below is the first picture of Britney Spears reprising her role as Abby, a ditzy receptionist, on the hit CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother.

When Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Abby (Britney Spears) realize that they have one thing in common â€" their mutual hatred of Ted (Josh Radnor) â€" they decide to go flaunt their new "relationship' in Ted's face.

Britney Spears and Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother.

"I had such a great experience the last time I was on the show that I couldn't wait to come back," Britney Spears said in a statement.

"I was really looking forward to working with this cast and crew again. Everyone was so nice. Abby is going to have a lot of fun!"

The episode, "Everything Must Go," airs next Monday, May 12.

That's the rumor going around celebrity news circles, but if one of the CBS show's stars has his way, it's not gonna be happening anytime soon.

Neil Patrick Harris says he doesn't want Britney Spears back on How I Met Your Mother - nothing personal, he says, but he simply doesn't think they need to have recovering celebrity train wrecks show up for cheap ratings boosts.

"I'm in the minority that our show does not need stunt casting in order to succeed," Harris said in an interview with TV Guide.

Neil Patrick Harris: Not hoping for a second Britney Spears cameo.

There were rumors that Britney might make another appearance on the show after her first one, which was generally considered a success by her low standards.

Seriously, though, she's been receiving treatment for her mental problems and any sort of work that she showed up for and didn't melt down during is solid.

Producers have reportedly been receptive to the idea of Britney's return, as has the singer's dad, Jamie Spears, who is open to her working in TV more.

She's also got an offer from 30 Rock, so stay tuned!

Neil Patrick Harris decided to come out of the closet late last year because he sensed "this sort of witch-hunt brewing," the actor says.

"There was a little of media scrutiny heading my way," Harris told Ellen DeGeneres in an episode of her talk show airing Thursday.

"People were starting to ask for stories about other people that may have fooled around with me, and the last thing you want to do is talk about your private life based on a scandal.

"I'm not a very scandalous person and so I didn't want to have to respond to some story, whether it was lie or truth, so I just made a statement and sort squashed the fires."

Harris, 33, revealed to People magazine in November:

"I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest."

"My life had been relatively open in my world," he told Ellen DeGeneres, who is in a long-term relationship with Portia de Rossi and was one of the first major celebrities to go public with her homosexuality.

"I've been dating the same guy for three years and our families know. We go out together all the time but I just feel like as an actor part of your occupation is retaining a bit of mystery so you can be believable in many different types of roles, so I never felt it was an obligation for me to hold pinkies down the red carpet or anything."

Harris, who shot to fame as a teen doctor on Doogie Howser, M.D., now plays philandering Barney on CBS's How I Met Your Mother. His going public as a gay man follows similar admissions within the past year by Lance Bass and Grey's Anatomy star T.R. Knight.

"[Barney] is this crazy womanizer on the show, so I just didn't find [my sexual orientation] important," he said. "But other people did and I sort sensed this witch-hunt brewing."

Ultimately, Harris believes (and we agree), a decision to go public should rest with the individual - not with ass clown celebrity gossip generators like Perez Hilton.

"If someone doesn't want to talk about stuff or if someone has reason that they don't want to, I don't think they need to be criticized and chastised necessarily for that," Harris says, "Unless they're blatantly lying about things. I'm not such a fan of pushing people to make decisions."

Having gone public himself, Neil Patrick Harris knows it was the right choice.

"For me that is the greatest ending to the story so far. Nothing really has changed at all," he said. "I'm doing nothing different and people aren't behaving differently towards me. ... People heard and they're like yeah, and? That attitude, I think, was great."

Last week, we reported that John Mayer had a way to fix the Grey's Anatomy rift caused. Now someone else is throwing in his two sense.

Neil Patrick Harris, the star of How I Met Your Mother who first became a household name when he portrayed Doogie Howser, M.D., came out of the closet last fall right after Grey's Anatomy star T.R. Knight came out - only Knight did so after co-star Isaiah Washington made a gay slur on the set.

Then, at the Golden Globes last week, the situation came full circle when Grey's Anatomy won Best TV Drama. Prompted by the press, Washington vigorously denied making the slur about Knight... while repeating said slur. Two days later, Knight told Ellen DeGeneres how Washington did indeed make the slur.

Here's Harris' take:

"T.R. has proven himself to be an incredibly classy, dignified guy," he said. "I'm impressed that Katherine Heigl said what she said. I was shocked that it all reared its ugly head again... I was just sort of stunned that anyone would want to rehash any of that. But I think the people, the classier people, handled it as they always do."

Unlike Mayer, Harris wouldn't comment or speculate - seriously or not - on what punishment should be doled out to the homophobe with a history of violence.

"It's impossible for me to make any kind of comment about that because I wasn't there when it happened," Harris said. "It's just disappointing that it's... cyclical."

It is disappointing. You know what else is disappointing? That Perez Hilton is getting rich trying to out gay celebs and making the lives of stars like Lance Bass a living hell.

Anyway, as far as Harris' own coming out, the actor hinted that his choice to go public was fueled by a desire not to be exposed in such a fashion as Knight.

"It's been a bit of a non-story to be honest," he said. "The one thing I didn't want was to have to make a statement in retaliation or in response to a quasi-scandalous event, because you never want to be defensive. I felt that there was this sort of kindling burning underneath, a story was being searched for. I just never wanted to live my life in a way where I was backdooring and cowering and trying to, like, avoid. So I think the statement that I made sort of quieted the speculation."

We applaud Neil for the mature way he handled his life-changing decision last fall and for his comments on this matter. It's good to see that for every worthless Cisco Adler type we come across in this business, there's a classy Neil Patrick Harris to cancel things out.

And we couldn't be prouder of Doogie Howser for the mature way he made this announcement.

The How I Met Your Mother star, Neil Patrick Harris wanted to quell recent reports that he had denied his homosexuality. So, following in the footsteps of Lance Bass and T.R. Knight, he simply said:

"The public eye has always been kind to me, and until recently I have been able to live a pretty normal life. Now it seems there is speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.

"So, rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love."

Amen, Neil. Ellen DeGeneres must also be proud.

Harris, 33, talked to People magazine in 2004 about life, but didn't bring up his sexuality.

"I'm enjoying my 30s," he said at the time. "I feel like I know where I'm going. And I like where I'm going."

So do we. We hope other celebrities follow Harris' cue and freely admit what they are. In other words: it's ok to say you have no talent, Brooke Hogan.