Britney Spears

[Ginger]

The way Britney described her decision to have an abortion ("I know some people are going to hate me for this...") indicated to me that she's very concerned about wanting people to approve of her decisions and couching her stories accordingly.

I do not believe at all that Britney was unaware of Kevin's existing girlfriend, child and baby on the way for any significant length of time. It was all over the tabloids from the beginning. Shar Jackson says Britney was waiting outside the hospital for hours in a blacked-out SUV while she gave birth, and Britney is saying she was "clueless" about everything until after the baby was born. I believe Shar.

Regardless of when exactly she found out what Federline was all about, it was soon enough for her to end the relationship. She's saying not only was he a deadbeat parent, but he lied to her about it. Yet after finding out, she proceeded full speed ahead with an engagement, wedding and baby. It doesn't make her look any better. She needs to own those choices.

[Ladybug]

Britney has no impulse control and at the height of her fame she was indulged and catered to by everyone around her. If she wanted a man and he wanted her, a wife or baby mama wasn’t going to stop her. Adnan the paparazzo was also married but she claims she didn’t know.

I tried listening to the Celebrity Memoir Book Club episode in this book but I had to stop. The hosts are huge Britney stans and apologists. To them she is a genius and the most victimized woman of all time. I have a lot of sympathy for Britney and many people in her life treated her poorly but she’s as fallible as any other human. Her addictions and mental illness have taken a toll on her kids.

[ahah]

I made it all the way through the Celebrity Memoir Book Club, but i needed breaks. I also convinced myself that they were only saying nice things about her thinking that Britney is the kind of person who'd befriend fans who said enough nice thing about her (even though I know that's not true). In some ways, I think from what they described and what others have said about the book that Britney talks about her life like an addict. Nothing is her fault - she remembers every good thing she's ever done, forgets the ways she's hurt people, and finds ways to justify any of her bad behavior pointed out to her. She has zero accountability.

[cremetangerine82]

I'm glad KFed has been a great father, Britney could've easily found someone who wanted to push the boys into child stardom. Does she cover Jason Alexander?

[ladyboy]

I can't be the only one who imagines George Costanza with Britney anytime someone references Jason Alexander, can I??

[cremetangerine82]

Nope, it has happened as recently as last year!

[Ladybug]

I don’t remember is she names him or just calls him “a childhood friend.” She does talk about the Vegas wedding like it’s NBD. They were drunk and thought it would be fun. Her parents freaked out and flew to Vegas to make her get it annulled. This was a moment of realization for her about how much her family didn’t like when she acted outside of their control.

[Auroranorth]

Yeah, I believe Shar Jackson. Britney's big on revisionary history where her screw-ups are concerned, and nothing is ever her fault in Britneyland.

She says that she was just drunk and bored when she married Alexander. That does seem fairly likely.

[royalwave]

Nov 1, 2023 14:41:34 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

Britney has no impulse control and at the height of her fame she was indulged and catered to by everyone around her. If she wanted a man and he wanted her, a wife or baby mama wasn’t going to stop her. Adnan the paparazzo was also married but she claims she didn’t know.

I tried listening to the Celebrity Memoir Book Club episode in this book but I had to stop. The hosts are huge Britney stans and apologists. To them she is a genius and the most victimized woman of all time. I have a lot of sympathy for Britney and many people in her life treated her poorly but she’s as fallible as any other human. Her addictions and mental illness have taken a toll on her kids.

Yeah, the CMBC girls take it waaaay too far. They really don't make any bones about saying anyone who has ever possibly done Britney wrong--including Justin, Kevin Federline, and basically every member of Britney's family, should rot in hell. Based solely on Britney's side of the story--because clearly she's the most reliable narrator in the world. In their view she is nothing but angelic.

I listened to the entire podcast but there were a couple times where I thought what they were saying bordered on dangerous--almost an incitement to violence against certain people in Britney's orbit, like they ought to be killed. There have been several episodes where I've disagreed with their take on authors (ahem...Prince Harry), but this was the first one where I thought they went completely off the deep end. They are pretty much desperate for Britney to reach out to them and be their new best friend.

[Ladybug]

Oct 24, 2019 13:25:06 GMT -4 royalwave said:

They are pretty much desperate for Britney to reach out to them and be their new best friend.

This was another interesting and maybe scary aspect of the book. In most celebrity/fan parasocial relationships, it's all one-sided on the fan's part. However, Britney was very aware of the Free Britney movement and claims that helped influence her decision to fight back against the conservatorship. She thanks these fans directly in the book. So she is participating in the parasocial relationship as well, very aware and attuned to what fans and non-fan-observers are saying about her. I could definitely see her having direct contact with some of these people. She is a person desperate for love and her entire life she's been trying to gain approval.