Britney Spears' Mom Lynne Responds to Memoir, Says She'd 'Never Get Rid' of Daughter's Dolls and Journals
Lynne disputed allegations she and Jamie Spears got rid of Britney's "prized possessions" following the pop star's stay in a mental health facility
Lynne Spears is responding to her daughter Britney Spears' memoir.
In her memoir The Woman in Me, the pop icon, 41, opens up about her relationship with her family, claiming that after she received mental health treatment in 2019, she believed her parents disposed of many of her "prized possessions" stored at Lynne's house, including Madame Alexander dolls as well as years' worth of her writing and original poetry.
Lynne, 68, disputed the allegation on Thursday, taking to Instagram and sharing photos of some of the alleged items alongside a note to Britney.
"I'm not sure who told you I got rid of your dolls and journals but I would never do that!" Lynne wrote. "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!"
In The Woman in Me, Britney writes about how her family "didn't have any money" growing up, and her most beloved childhood toys were the Madame Alexander dolls. In the book, she writes she had at least 15, including ones modeled after "fictional characters or historical figures — like Scarlet O'Hara or Queen Elizabeth," as well as characters from Little Women.
Following her 2019 stay in a mental health facility, which she alleges her family forced her into, Britney writes that she returned home to find the aforementioned belongings missing.
"When I saw the empty shelves, I felt an overwhelming sadness," writes Britney, noting that she "never wanted to publish" the writing, though it was "important" to her. "And my family had thrown them in the trash, just like they'd thrown me away."
In an exclusive excerpt from the memoir obtained by PEOPLE, Britney says that she and Lynne, 68, would drink daiquiris together as early as eighth grade — and reflects fondly on that time spent with her mother.
Spears also writes that her adolescence, spent in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, following the end of her time on the Mickey Mouse Club in 1994, were happy years, and that she was able to settle into “normal teenage life — or the closest thing to ‘normal’ that was possible in my family.”
“There was something so beautifully normal about that period of my life: going to homecoming and prom, driving around our little town, going to the movies,” she writes. “But the truth was, I missed performing.”
The star — who was 16 when she released her debut single “...Baby One More Time” in 1998 — has long been vocal about the strains in her relationship with both Lynne and father Jamie, and has said she feels she was mistreated by her parents during the 13 years she spent in a conservatorship that was put in place in 2008.
Though she’d spoken publicly about her unhappiness with Lynne’s alleged involvement in the now-terminated conservatorship, Spears and her mother appeared to make inroads toward reconciliation in May, when the pop star revealed that Lynne had paid her a visit and the two had begun to hash things out.
"My sweet mama showed up at my door step yesterday after 3 years … it's been such a long time … with family there's always things that need to be worked out … but time heals all wounds !!!" Spears wrote on Instagram. "After being able to communicate what I've held in for an extremely long time, I feel so blessed we were able to try to make things RIGHT !!! I love 💕 you so much !!! Psss… I'm so blessed we can have coffee together after 14 years !!! Let's go shopping afterwards !!!"
Spears’ memoir is out now via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
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