Britney Spears has clarified a controversial comment she made about Christina Aguilera and her dancers.
On Monday, the Toxic hitmaker took to Instagram to share a quote attributed to late comedian Rodney Dangerfield that read, “I found there was only one way to look thin: hang out with fat people.”
In the caption, Britney wrote, “I mean if I had Christina Aguilera’s dancers I would have looked extremely small.”
After fans accused the pop superstar of body shaming Christina and her team, she returned to the platform on Tuesday to explain what she meant.
“By no means was I being critical of Christina’s beautiful body, it is what it is!!!” the 40-year-old insisted. “I flew to see her show once and the main thing I noticed was the difference of our people on stage!!! By no means did I even mention Christina, look at my post !!! I was inspired by her show and she is a beautiful woman of power… Thank you @xtina for inspiring me !!! To be honest, I’m not trying to be critical of anybody.”
Britney went on to insist that her post was actually a “projection of the insecurities” she has as a result of her music career and 13-year conservatorship. The agreement was finally terminated last November.
“I would never intentionally body shame anybody because I know what it feels like… I struggle with this because of how I feel about myself, not because I hate how anybody looks… I feel like my family knew I was insecure and people were trying to purposefully feed into this insecurity by not letting me have a choice in the people who were on stage with me. I appreciate you all being understanding with me as I figure out this new life I’m living !!!” the singer added.
Christina has not yet commented on the drama, though she reportedly unfollowed Britney on Instagram as a result.