A TALENTED teen, a troubled adult, a lost soul, an unfit mother, an out-of-control attention-seeker - she's been called all this and more in the 26 years she's been in the public eye.
During those two and a half decades she's had her freedom taken away from her, become estranged from her sons, found lovers and lost them again, and been both supported and ridiculed on social media.
But Britney Spears is finally ready to tell her own story. Two years after a judge freed her from the iron grip of her father's conservatorship, she's released her memoir, The Woman in Me - and she's lifting the lid on a long-held secret and many of the issues that have plagued her over the years.
"It's finally time for me to raise my voice and speak out and my fans deserve to hear it directly from me," she tells People magazine.
"No more conspiracy, no more lies. This is me owning my past, present and future."
Her book, which has been called "a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith and hope", has already topped Amazon's bestseller list.
Ultimately, however, Britney (41) hopes her book will be a source of inspiration to others.
"I want the overall takeaway to be that you should speak up. Be loud. Know your worth. Inspire people and most of all, just be kind."
She speaks of her pride in her memoir on Instagram too. "I worked my ass off for this book and had a lot of therapy to get it done so you guys better like it.
"And if you don't, that's fine too."
THE ABORTION BOMBSHELL
The biggest jaw-dropper in the book is the revelation that she became pregnant at 19 while dating fellow pop star Justin Timberlake.
She was happy about it but Justin, who was part of the boyband *NSYNC at the time, didn’t feel the same way.
This story is from the 2 November 2023 edition of YOU South Africa.
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This story is from the 2 November 2023 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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