On Saturday, Britney Spears shared some history from way back in 2003, admitting that twenty years ago she joined the legion of Swifties after Taylor Swift gave her a private performance. At the time, Swift was not known, but at 14-years-old she was already writing and singing her own music. Spears was a global super star.
On Instagram, Spears posted a photo from the night when a teen Swift played for her, as well as a shot from 2008 after Swift’s song “Tim McGraw” launched her career and had her attending the same industry events and award shows as her idol. They were photographed together at the MTV Music Video Awards that year.
“This is way back when but kinda cool… During my Oops Tour, I got a knock at my door,” Spears’ caption began. “My good friend at the time was the assistant to my manager who was trying to become a manager himself. There was a knock, and then he said, ‘I have a girl named Taylor who wants to come in and sing for you.’”
Spears continued, “I was like of course !!! He walks in, and she sings a beautiful song with her guitar 🎸 I was like wow wow she’s unbelievable !!! We took a picture, and she then became the most iconic pop woman of our generation. Kinda cool she plays stadiums, and I prefer her videos over movies any day. She’s stunning !!! Girl crush.”
At the end of her post, Spears added a post script to her mother, Lynne, writing, “Ps mom I love you so so much, but there were 3 dolls in the cabinets when I went home 2 years ago … kinda really weird you would take them out and then put them back in … so messed up. Nope, I don’t want them. Keep it all. I honestly don’t care anymore … honestly though.”
Spears recently released a bestselling memoir titled The Woman In Me, which revealed a lot of alleged altercations between herself and her family members, including Lynne and her sister Jamie Lynn, as well as some accusations directed at her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. In the book, she mentions her collection of Madame Alexander dolls, saying her parents had thrown them out along with her diaries. Lynne responded on her own Instagram page, which is likely what Spears is referring to.
“I’m not sure who told you I got rid of your dolls and journals but I would never do that!” Lynne wrote on November 9. “That would be cruel because I know how much they mean to you. They are special to me too because of the years we spent collecting them. Of course I still have your things, and I am happy to send them to you if you’d like me to. Please let me know and know how much I love you!”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.