Britney Spears on Monday publicly lambasted journalist Diane Sawyer for the interview they did in 2003.
“Seriously though… I lived in my apartment for a year and never spoke to anyone… my manager put that woman in my home and made me talk to her on national television and she asked if I had a shopping problem!!! when did I have a shopping problem?” Spears wrote in a lengthy Instagram post that has since been deleted.
The pop star — whose 13-year conservatorship was recently dissolved, making her financially and legally independent for the first time since her 20s — explained that after she and fellow musician Justin Timberlake broke up in 2002, she didn’t socialize or leave her apartment much, so she was not prepared for Sawyer to enter the apartment and ask her personal questions.
Spears added that she considered herself “a baby” at the time of the interview, but would stand up for herself now in the same situation.
“She can kiss my white ass,” Spears wrote.
A representative for ABC News did not immediately return a request for comment.
Sawyer was among the public figures facing backlash after FX and Hulu’s release of “Framing Britney Spears” in February. The New York Times documentary looked at Spears’ life and everything that happened leading up to her conservatorship, including an old interview with Sawyer that made the pop star cry.
In the 2003 primetime interview, ABC News’ Sawyer pushed the then-22-year-old Spears about her recent breakup with Timberlake. While Spears had been quiet about the split, Timberlake commented about their split and made a music video implying she cheated on him. Sawyer prodded Spears, “You broke his heart. You did something that caused him so much pain, so much suffering. What did you do?”
She also asked Spears about a statement from the then-first lady of Maryland, who’d said she would shoot the pop star if given the chance. Spears seemed visibly appalled by the comment, while Sawyer seemed to defend it: “It’s because of the example for kids and how hard it is to be a parent.”
Since the dissolution of her conservatorship, Spears has been more freely using her social media platforms to thank some celebrities — and the free Britney movement — for their support and condemn others for what she sees as a lack of support.
