Britney Spears Addressed Diane Sawyer Interview & Justin Breakup

Britney Spears appears on stage during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios October 22, 2003 in New York City

(Image credit: Getty/Scott Gries)

published 14 December 2021

We all looked on in horror back in February, when Framing Britney Spears came out and the star's disturbing 2003 interview with Diane Sawyer resurfaced. In it, Sawyer asked a 21-year-old Spears prying questions, painting her as a villain in her relationship with Justin Timberlake and in pop culture, and eventually making the young singer cry.

Now, in a since-deleted Instagram post, Spears has addressed the circumstances of the interview and given Sawyer a piece of her mind.

"Do we dare forget the Diane Sawyer interview in my apartment almost 20 years ago ???" Spears wrote (via People). "What was with the 'You're in the wrong' approach ?? Geeze ... and making me cry ???

"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 problem with shopping ??? When I never left my apartment ???"

Spears went on to describe how the breakup affected her at the time. "Something I never shared when I had that big break up years ago was that I couldn't talk afterwards ... I never spoke to anyone for a very long time ...I was in shock ... pretty lame of my dad and three men to show up at my door when I could hardly speak ... two days later they put Diane Sawyer in my living room ... they forced me to talk !!! I was a baby ...I was almost 22 and didn't understand ... but I f***ing know now !!! She said 'a woman or a girl' ... I would like to say now 'ma'am I'm a catholic slut !!!'"

Jamie Spears' lawyer, Alex Weingarten, stated to People, "Mr. Spears has no idea what Ms. Spears is talking about. Jamie never set up any interview with Diane Sawyer and was not present for any such interview. He had nothing to do with Britney's career at this point and was completely uninvolved in this interview. Jamie loves Britney very much, wishes Britney nothing but the best and hopes that she continues to seek the help that she needs to stay safe and healthy."

This is far from the first time the singer has called out members of her family for mistreating her. She previously said her father should be charged with "conservatorship abuse" and that her mother "ruined" her life, and that's just two examples.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.