Spears in the hot seat over infant in SUV

Britney Spears defended photographs showing the pop star driving with her 4-month-old son on her lap, saying she was dodging the paparazzi.

Several photos published Tuesday showed Spears driving her SUV in Malibu with infant Sean Preston on her lap, rather than strapped into a car seat in the back. Spears said she did it because of a “horrifying, frightful encounter with the paparazzi.”

The agency that snapped the photos, X17, had a different account. “These pictures were taken in a very peaceful context, in which photographers exhibited no aggressive behavior,” the agency said in a statement released to “Access Hollywood.”