Putting her foot down. Jamie Lynn Spears asserted that she doesn’t want to start drama with sister Britney Spears as they feud over her upcoming memoir.
The Sweet Magnolias star, 30, penned a lengthy statement after the pop star, 40, addressed Jamie Lynn’s claims about their relationship and her book, Things I Should Have Said, on Thursday, January 13.
“Last thing I want to be doing is this, but here we are … It’s hard to see these posts, as I know the world also feels. I just wish her well,” the former Nickelodeon actress wrote of her older sister on Friday, January 14. “Brit, I am always here, you know behind the scenes I have always been here. It’s become exhausting when conversations and texts we have in private don’t match what you post on social media. I know you’re going through a lot and I never want to diminish that, but I also can’t diminish myself.”
Jamie Lynn alleged that the “Toxic” singer’s reaction was “absolutely not the truth,” adding, “Now it’s getting harder for me to rationalize to my oldest daughter [Maddie] why our family continues to get death threats, as a result of their aunt’s vague and accusatory posts, especially when we know she could tell the truth, and put an end to all of it in one second if she wanted to.”
The Zoey 101 alum opened up about where she stands with Britney, who was freed from her 13-year conservatorship in November 2021, during an emotional sit-down with Good Morning America on Wednesday, January 12.
“That love is still there, 100 percent. I love my sister,” she said through tears. “I’ve only ever loved and supported her and done what’s right by her, and she knows that. So I don’t know why we’re in this position right now. … I’ve always been my sister’s biggest supporter, so when she needed help, I set up ways to do so.”
After Britney publicly addressed her conservatorship during a June 2021 court hearing, fans were quick to criticize Jamie Lynn for seemingly staying silent on the issue. On Wednesday, the actress claimed that she “went out of my way to make sure that [Britney] had the contacts she needed” to put an end to her restrictive conservatorship, which prevented her from making her own decisions about her health and finances.
The Glee alum fired back at Jamie Lynn’s statements via Twitter one day after the interview aired, alleging that her sister was “never around me much 15 years ago at that time … so why are they even talking about that unless she wants to sell a book at my expense??? REALLY??”
Britney wrote, “She never had to work for anything. Everything was always given to her!!! … But see, I always was the bigger person. They all got to DO IT and PLAY ME and I always sat there and took it. But see, now it’s a joke … the last thing I would ever do is ask for what was just given to her!!!”
The Grammy winner’s younger sister told fans on Friday that “after a lifetime of staying silent,” she was ready to “set the record straight myself in order to protect mine and my family’s well being.” Jamie Lynn shares Maddie, 13, with ex Casey Aldridge and Ivey, 3, with husband Jamie Watson.
“That being said, I hate to burst my sister’s bubble, but my book is not about her,” the actress continued. “I can’t help that I was born a Spears too, and that some of my experiences involve my sister. I’ve worked hard since before I was even a teenager, and I’ve built my career in spite of just being someone’s little sister.”
As the tense back and forth made headlines, Jamie Lynn asserted that “there are no sides” for fans to choose.
“I don’t want drama,” she concluded. “But I’m speaking my truth to heal my traumas, so I can close this chapter and move forward, and I wish my sister could do the same. No matter what comes, I will always love my big sister and be here for her. It’s time to put an end to the unhealthy chaos that has controlled my life for so long.”