Jamie Lynn Spears is gearing up for the release of her memoir, Things I Should Have Said, which details growing up in the limelight. The book’s press rollout has rubbed her sister Britney the wrong way as she’s been speaking out about Jamie in some recent Instagram posts. Jamie has caught heat in the past for not defending Britney amid her conservatorship legal battles, but the Spears sister says it’s because she was “never allowed” to speak about Britney growing up.
Jamie recently sat down for an interview on the popular podcast Call Her Daddy to talk about her upcoming book and discuss what it was like for her to deal with family issues in the public eye. Jamie admitted a lot of her sister’s life was kept private from her, and she only found out about Britney shaving her head from reading a blog post. Jamie said she was “never allowed” to publicly speak about her sister before because Britney’s team was so concerned with optics:
“It wasn’t even really my brand. I was a prop to a lot of things but at the same time, I was never allowed to control my own narrative or have my own voice unless it was in line with everything. I was never allowed to do or say anything that would possibly put my sister in a bad light. Honestly, I love my sister, I’m her biggest fan. But guess what? Sisters are sisters. That’s okay, and I think the biggest thing is why wasn’t that just made normal from the beginning? I was born into this family, I didn’t choose. […] Why can’t two sisters just exist in their own right? We never compared each other, the world did. We never had that dynamic or that issue. My sister, to this day, is still going to be the most badass performer that ever walked this earth.”
Jamie said staying silent about her personal life was deeply “ingrained” in her from a young age, but she’s now finally telling her side of the story:
“I couldn’t be responsible for everything that happened around her and also be authentic to myself. And I wasn’t allowed to be. I guess I didn’t have the courage to do it, I guess I was too scared, but when it’s ingrained in you so perpetually to be that way. I’m trying hard, I’m breaking a true pattern that has been ingrained in me. It is hard and I’m scared. But I have to do this. It doesn’t matter who your sister is, or who your family member is, or who your relationship is with. If something has caused you pain or this is your experience, nothing should diminish your experience. My whole life, I kind of felt like I didn’t matter.”
Listen to the entirety of Call Her Daddy here.