The singer releases her highly anticipated autobiography, The Woman in Me, on October 24
On October 24, Britney Spears’ long-awaited memoir will hit bookstores. After a life in the spotlight and 13 years under guardianship, the singer decided to tell her story in the first person in the book “The Woman in Me”. Ahead of its release, People magazine published on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, a long excerpt from the book as well as an interview with the singer.
In her memoir, Spears reveals how the celebrity part of her childhood, signing record deals at just 15 and becoming a mother at the height of her success, affected her. But two issues stand out: the 13-year guardianship she was put under by her father, Jamie Spears, and the abortion she had in her 20s while dating Justin Timberlake. These are some of the biggest revelations from her memoir. “My fans deserve to hear it straight from me”she says herself.
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She had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake
One of the excerpts from the book that has garnered the most attention is the episode, in which the singer, now 41, explains that during her relationship with Timberlake, now 42 – which began in 1999, when she was 17 and 18 years old, and ended in the early 2000s – she had an abortion. Until now, he had never spoken about it.
“It was a surprise, but for me it was not a tragedy“, he says in the exclusive feature of “People” magazine. “I loved Justin so much. I always hoped that one day we would start a family together. It’s just that this would happen much sooner than I expected“, she explains herself. “But Justin was definitely not happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were too young. Justin was so sure he didn’t want to be a father». Today, she still remembers it as “one of the most agonizing things she has ever experienced in her life.
In 2018, Timberlake released a book titled “Hindsight: & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me,” in which he referenced Spears, but not the abortion.
When her father belittled her and called her fat
Spears’ relationship with her father has been rocky since she was a child, and became especially complicated when he was granted custody in 2008. In her memoir, the artist states that she felt she was not enough for him, from a very young age, “a psychologically devastating situation for a child”.
For the artist, constantly feeling scrutinized and maligned by the press was difficult, but it was worse that her family did it. “If I thought being criticized for my body in the press was bad, it hurt even more from my own father. He repeatedly told me that I looked fat and that I needed to do something about it.”.
Spears also talks about how Jamie Spears and “his associates” (without naming anyone in particular) were in complete control:They could control my body and my money.” “It makes me feel sick. Think how many male artists have gambled away all their money – how many have abused substances or had mental health problems. No one tried to take away control of their bodies and money. I didn’t deserve what my family did to me».
The happiness of an almost normal family and daiquiris at age 12
Spears fondly remembers the early years of her career, when she started on the Mickey Mouse Club, a children’s program on American television, along with other young people who would eventually become stars: Christina Aguilera, with whom she shared a dressing room because they were the youngest; , actor Ryan Gosling and Timberlake. The artist says she has no regrets about becoming a child star, rehearsing choreography “up to 30 times” every day. “It was honestly a kid’s dream – incredibly fun, especially for a kid like me“, she says in the excerpt of her memoirs.
When the program ended, she decided to give up entertainment – temporarily, as it turned out – and return with her family to her small town in Louisiana. And she was happy there too, as she admits.
One story the singer remembers is that she went on a road trip with her mother, Lynne, with whom she no longer has a relationship, and when they arrived at their destination, they drank daiquiris together. Spears was an elementary school student at the time. “I liked being able to drink with my mom every now and then. The way we drank had nothing to do with the way my father did. When he drank, he became more depressed and “closed” in his darkness. We were becoming happier and more alive».
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Guardianship: from shaving her head to becoming a “shadow” of herself
Guardianship has been, without a doubt, the most difficult chapter in Britney Spears’ life. She clarifies that she lost herself, that it was difficult for her to get her adult self out. “I became a robot. But not just any robot – a kind of kid robot. I was losing pieces of what made me feel like myself“, says.
Guardianship “entered” her life when her mental health deteriorated and unfortunately for her it led to a public incident that became one of the most infamous of her career. It happened in February 2007, when at the age of 25, Spears was seen walking into a tattoo shop with a shaved head. “I was stared at so much growing up. They looked me up and down, told me what they thought of my body, since I was a teenager. Shaving my head and acting were my ways of fighting back.” writes. “But under guardianship I was made to understand that those days were now over. I had to let my hair down and get back into shape. I had to go to bed early and take whatever medicine they told me to take».
Spears explains that it was hard for her to feel and act like an adult because she wasn’t treated like one, and that meant she often acted like a child. “But then my adult self would re-emerge – only my world wouldn’t let me be an adult“, he writes. All this burdened her, personally, mentally and artistically
“Guardianship stripped me of my femininity, turned me into a child. I became more of an entity than a person on stage. I have always felt music in my bones and in my blood. They stole this from me. If they had let me live my life I know I would have followed my heart and come out of it the right way and worked on it“, continues.
The singer states that she was unable to produce strong creative works: “I did little bits of creative stuff here and there, but my heart wasn’t in it anymore. As for my passion for singing and dancing, it was almost funny at that point». And he adds: “Thirteen years passed with me feeling like a shadow of myself».
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The challenge of freedom
Regaining her freedom after 13 years of her father’s guardianship was not easy for the singer, as she reveals in her memoir: “Learning this new freedom, I admit, is challenging at times». Talking about this experience was also difficult. “It’s hard to talk about it,” says Spears to recount the darkest moments of her life, such as “not having a moment of peace, being judged by strangers who don’t even know me, having my freedom taken away by my family and the government and losing my passion for the things I love».
But it was important for her to find her voice again, to tell her story (“without consequences from the people in charge of my life”), and she believes her fans deserve to hear and read it from her. “No more conspiracies, no more lies. Only I own my past, present and future”.
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Source :Skai
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
