Britney Spears has long been pitted against Christina Aguilera. So when the former mentioned the Burlesque star in her recent Instagram post about the "only" way to "look thin" (which is to "hang out with fat people"), fans were quick to speculate that she was body-shaming her Mickey Mouse Club castmate.
But in another post, the Hold Me Closer singer clarified that Aguilera actually "inspired" her. Here's how.
Why Fans Accused Britney Spears Of Body-Shaming Christina Aguilera
In a now-deleted post, Spears shared a photo of a quote that says: "I found there was only one way to look thin: hang out with fat people."
In the caption, she wrote how she would have looked smaller if she had Aguilera's dancers. "I wish I could have chosen the nannies for my children... my dancers... I mean if I had Christina Aguilera's dancers I would have looked extremely small 💃💃💃..."
She continued: "I mean why not talk about it?? Don't you think my confidence would have been a bit better if I could choose where I lived, ate, whom I called on the phone, dated, and who was on stage with me !!! It's hard sometimes now I see how much of my womanhood was stripped away at that time and every person sat back and didn't say a thing !!!" She concluded her post by saying that she'll spill more tea on the abuse she suffered during her 13-year conservatorship.
"Anyways ... I will be here talking bout things people NEVER talked about 🙄🙄🙄 !!!" she said. Instead of reacting to her stolen autonomy, fans were quick to focus on Spears' mention of Aguilera. After all, the two were once in a love triangle with Justin Timberlake. Reacting to a headline about the "escalation of the feud", a fan wrote: "Rectifying: Britney Spears finally exposes her obsession with Christina Aguilera!"
Christina Aguilera's Response To Britney Spears' Body-Shaming Post
After the backlash on Spears' Instagram post, Aguilera unfollowed her on the platform. This comes over a year after she tweeted her support for the Baby One More Time performer during her conservatorship trial. "These past few days I've been thinking about Britney and everything she is going through," wrote the Dirrty hitmaker. "It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish."
Five months after Aguilera's tweet, Spears called her out for "refusing to speak" about her then-terminated conservatorship. On her Instagram Story, the newlywed shared a video of Aguilera dodging a question about whether she'd spoken to Spears since her conservatorship ended. "We're not doing that," said her publicist — with her adding, "But I'm really happy for her!"
Spears wrote in the caption: "I love and adore everyone who supported me … but refusing to speak when you know the truth is equivalent to a lie !!!! 13 years being in a corrupt abusive system yet why is it such a hard topic for people to talk about ??? I'm the one who went through it !!!! All the supporters who spoke up and supported me thank you … Yes I do matter !!!!"
How Christina Aguilera Actually Inspired Britney Spears
As a response to the critics, Spears posted the photo below alongside a caption that clarifies her real intention about mentioning Aguilera in her previous rant. "By no means was I being critical of Christina's beautiful body, it is what it is !!!" she explained.
"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 !!!"
She also admitted that her previous post was a "projection" of her self-esteem issues. "To be honest, I'm not trying to be critical of anybody. What I posted is a projection of the insecurities I deal with all the time as a result of how my parents and the media have treated me," she wrote. "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 …"
She continued: "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 !!!" Aguilera hasn't responded as of this writing.