Everything Jamie Lynn Spears Said About Britney During Nightline Interview

At the top of the conversation with Juju Chang, Spears was asked why she decided to speak out now and whether she was worried that sharing her “truth” could harm some of her relationships with her family.

“It was really important for me to first off honor my voice. I have to do it or how else can I expect my daughters to stand up for themselves?” she said, adding, “No one really considered me but I think that everyone is allowed to say their truth.”

After speaking about how her father’s alleged drinking problem “created a lot of anxiety,” Jamie Lynn was then asked about a passage in her book in which she describes an incident with her sister. She wrote that, at one point, Britney grabbed a knife and locked them both in a room — with Chang wondering why she included it in the memoir.

“First off, I think that experiencing my own panic attacks and how sometimes we can feel in those moments is important, but also it’s important to remember I was a kid in that moment,” she replied. “I was scared. That was a moment I had. I also was fearful to really say anything because I didn’t want to upset anybody, but I also was so upset that she didn’t feel safe.”

She also details another moment where Britney allegedly got in her face, “screaming” at her.

“She cursed at me and so I just walked out of the room, we’re all family, I’m not trying to argue. When I tried to remove myself from the situation, that’s when I guess she got really angry and my oldest daughter tried to mediate the situation. I hated that,” claimed Spears. “That’s not what you’re supposed to do, you’re 12. [My parents] told me I can’t upset Britney. I’m like, you saw me and my children get upset, when will that matter?”

She also writes in the book about Britney’s behavior over the years being “erratic, paranoid and spiraling,” despite telling Chang she “can’t really speak to anyone else’s state of mind.” She added, “But I am allowed to say how I felt because that matters. It matters I was in pain.”

Jamie Lynn said that in the early days of the conservatorship, both Britney and her father would take sobriety tests together — something that actually eased her mind. “I just, probably selfishly, was like everyone’s sober right now. I don’t have to be anxious for the first time,” she said. “There is actual people making sure everybody’s on the right track and I didn’t have to worry what I was walking into.”

She added that her relationship with her father Jamie now is “messy,” but she’s “working through it.” Said Jamie Lynn: “I have good days and bad days. I think the relationship stands is that he’s still my father and I have to acknowledge that in a responsible way.”

When asked whether her father was “out of line” by keeping Britney under the conservatorship for 13 years, Jamie Lynn said, “I just believe that if my sister wanted to be out of the conservatorship then that conversation should be had.” As for it ending, she added, “I was happy. If that’s what makes Britney and everyone else happy, that’s what should happen. It has so little to do with me except for the well-being of my family members.”

“I’ve always been my sister’s biggest supporter, so when she needed help, I set up ways to do so,” she continued. “Went out of my way to make sure she had the contacts she needed to possibly go ahead and end this conservatorship. But how many times can I take the steps without, she has to walk through the door.”

Chang also brought up Britney calling Jamie Lynn out on social media for participating in a Brit tribute at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards. In July 2021, she wrote, “I don’t like that my sister showed up at an awards show and performed MY SONGS to remixes. My so-called support system hurt me deeply!!!!”

“Honestly, it was somewhat confusing to me about that and I actually have spoke to her about that,” said Jamie Lynn. “I was doing a tribute to honor my sister and all the amazing things that I’ve done. I have cleared up with the fact that I don’t think she’s personally upset with me about that.”

The Britney portion of the interview ended with Jamie Lynn saying that, for her at least, “the love is still there, 100%.” She added, “I love my sister. I’ve only ever loved and supported her and done what’s right by her and she knows that. So I don’t know why we’re in this position right now.”