By ANI
WASHINGTON: Pop star Britney Spears, who doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind, called out fellow singer Christina Aguilera after she dodged a question concerning the end of Spears’ 13-year-long conservatorship that gave her father legal control of her life.
Spears took to her Instagram Stories and posted a video of Aguilera, who refused to answer a question about Spears during a recent interview.
The video is from the red carpet at Thursday’s Latin Grammy Awards when Aguilera was asked by a reporter if she has been in touch with Spears following the termination of her conservatorship.
Aguilera can be seen frowning in the video, telling the reporters that she can’t answer the question before walking away and adding, “But I’m happy for her.”
Spears criticised Aguilera writing, “I love and adore everyone who supported me… but refusing to speak when you know the truth, is equivalent to a lie !!!! 13 years being in a corrupt abusive system yet why is it such a hard topic for people to talk about ??? I’m the one who went through it !!!! All the supporters who spoke up and supported me, thank you… yes I do matter !!!!!”
Spears and Aguilera rose to fame together as child stars on Disney’s ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’, on which they co-starred from 1993-1994. As teenagers, they both catapulted to international superstardom at the same time, when female pop singers were rising in the age of ’90s boy bands, alongside Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson.
Following Spears’ bombshell testimony in June about what she endured during her 13-year-old conservatorship, Aguilera lent her support to Spears by posting a statement, which said, in part, “These past few days I’ve been thinking about Britney and everything she is going through…It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live as they wish.”
While Aguilera was avoiding questions about Spears during the event, singer-actor Lady Gaga, who was at another red carpet event on Thursday, the Los Angeles premiere of her film ‘House of Gucci’, spoke at length about Spears when asked about her freedom.
Spears posted about Gaga to thank her for her words. She wrote on her IG Story, “Thank you Lady Gaga for genuinely taking your time to say something so kind. You made me cry !!! I love you !!!”
In the video posted by Spears, the ‘Star Is Born’ actor said that the way Spears was treated in the business was wrong. She also took a moment to comment on the negative treatment of women in the music business overall.
“I think that she will forever be an inspiration to women,” Gaga said in the video that was shared by Spears.
After Spears posted about Gaga, the star responded by posting a photo on her Instagram Story, writing, “Love you @britneyspears. Live your best life. I prayed for the legal system to treat you like a person. You’ve now changed the course for women in this industry forever. You stood up for yourself and were so brave. Thank you.”
Lady Gaga also spoke to Variety at the premiere of her Oscar-buzzy film. When asked about Spears, she said she would want to collaborate with her. “Of course I would!” Gaga exclaimed on the red carpet.
“Britney is, she’s a woman in this business that showed a lot of power in her sexuality, even in her youth, in a way that, I think for me as a young woman, was just so inspiring and empowering,” Lady Gaga told Variety.
“And I’d like to say this, truly — we can all root for her, but the person who changed her life was her. So this change that’s happening for her, it happened because of her, I believe. I’m excited for her future and I wish her all the best,” she added.
Spears’ conservatorship came to an end recently when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny terminated the court-ordered arrangement after a contentious, drawn-out legal battle.
Spears was first placed under conservatorship in 2008 with her father, Jamie Spears, overseeing his daughter by the terms of the court-ordered arrangement.
The next hearing is set for January 19 to address pending accounting and other lingering issues.
