We love it when our favorite pop stars have each other’s backs! Jennifer Lopez showed her support for Britney Spears in the midst of the “Toxic” singer’s feud with her ex husband Kevin Federline. The newlywed actress took to her Instagram Stories on Friday, August 12 to share Britney’s’ now-deleted social media post about embracing her “freedom” and “independence” in her post-conservatorship life. “Stay [strong],” J.Lo, wrote adding a muscle emoji and an epic throwback snap of the pair at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.
In the since-deleted post, Britney also quoted Jennifer from her recent documentary Halftime, where the wife of Ben Affleck said, “You look right down that camera and tell every little girl in the world to get loud and never ever back down to giving light to injustice.” Britney added, “I’m here to share that freedom is a state of mind.”
The show of support from the “Jenny from the Block” hitmaker comes as Britney has been publicly battling Kevin after he criticized her parenting in an interview, where he said their sons Sean and Jayden have decided not to see their mother at the moment. Britney shot back on Instagram, writing, “It saddens me to hear that my ex husband has decided to discuss the relationship between me and my children… As we all know, raising teenage boys is never easy for anyone.”
Kevin also claimed Britney’s recent provocative selfies posted to social media were a large part of the issue, calling it “tough” for the boys, especially since they are of high school age. Britney referenced those comments by adding, “It concerns me the reason is based on my Instagram. It was LONG before Instagram.”
“I gave them everything,” she continued. “Only one word: HURTFUL … I’ll say it… My mother told me ‘you should GIVE them to their dad’ … I’m sharing this because I can!!! Have a good day folks!!!”
The fiery messages came after Kevin’s comments were revealed on Saturday, August 6. “The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now. It’s been a few months since they’ve seen her. They made the decision not to go to her wedding,” he said of Sean and Jayden, per Daily Mail, referring to them skipping out on their mom’s recent marriage to Sam Asghari. “This whole thing has been hard to watch, harder to live through, harder to watch my boys go through than anything else.” He added, “It’s been tough. It’s the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.” A source close to Britney tells HollywoodLife, however, that “much of” Kevin’s interview is “untrue” and “she’s seen boys recently.”
Britney and Kevin were first linked in 2004, after they met on the set of a music video. Britney married him three months later, only to file for divorce in 2006, citing “irreconcilable differences.” They had welcomed Jayden two months before the court filing and had given birth to Sean in September 2005. The exes now share custody of their teenage sons, with the “Breathe On Me” hitmaker holding 30% and Kevin the majority at 70%