Britney Spears once wrote a message to the world about her split from Kevin Federline and, more than a decade later, a new documentary is getting her word out.
Amid the release of Netflix's Britney vs Spears, viewers are digesting a flurry of new information about the inner workings of the pop star's life, including the controversial conservatorship inflicted upon her in 2008, its implementation and the impact it's had on her for 13 years.
Among the revelations that surfaced in the film was a statement Spears allegedly penned and gave to Andrew Gallery, who worked on the 2008 MTV documentary, Britney: For the Record and, according to Gallery, had formed a friendship with her. After the release of a December 2008 issue of People featuring Federline as the cover star, Spears gave Gallery the written statement as a response to the interview, he explained in the film, and asked Gallery to read it on TV. E! News has not independently verified the author of the letter, but has reached out to Spears' team for comment.
"I was amazed how a lot of the focus was on Britney their mother to sell a story for People magazine instead of the focus being on Kevin," the statement read. "What happened to Britney was a year ago and people need to get with the times."
Spears—who shares kids Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden James, 15, with her ex—allegedly wrote that she was "forced" to divorce Federline by her lawyers because "she went to visit him in NY and he wouldn't see her and the children," the letter read, "and her lawyers said if she doesn't divorce him he's going to do it himself." E! News has reached out to Spears' former lawyers for comment.
In the letter, she also claimed their fighting stemmed from his problem of "waking and baking to marijuana" at 5 a.m. E! News has reached out to Federline's attorney for comment. "No one talks about these things because no one knows the truth," the letter read. "She was lied to and set up. Her children were taken away and she did spin out of control which any mother would in those circumstances...Now this year Britney has been silenced to speak about anything that's really going on."
The singer also noted that the "people controlling her life" had earned $3 million that year. "She would love for new eyes to see her situation, but if she brings it up she's constantly threatened that the conservators will take her kids away," the statement continued. "So how long does this go on. As long as the people are getting paid and she has no rights it could go on for a while, but it doesn't make it right at all."
In response, her dad Jamie Spears' attorney Vivian L. Thoreen told E! News, "Since her public breakdown, Jamie has devoted his life to helping Britney meet her goals of regaining custody of her children, rehabilitating her career, and being in a position to live the life she wants to live. Upside down in her home mortgage and facing multiple lawsuits in 2008, Jamie worked tirelessly to protect Britney from further exploitation, resolve millions of dollars in lawsuits that were pending against her, and help rebuild her finances so she and her sons are once again financially sound. Jamie loves Britney unwaveringly and wants only the best for her. He will never stop loving or supporting his daughter."
The statement continued, "Jamie does not answer to the court of public opinion; he answers to a court of law, the probate court. All of his actions were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court. His actions were done with the knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney, and/or the court. Jamie's record as conservator – and the court's approval of his actions – speak for themselves."
In the message, Spears mentioned she had given her brother Bryan Spears a $2 million apartment and her mom Lynne Spears a $4 million Louisiana estate. As for her dad? "The best job in show business," the letter read.