It’s been over a year since Britney Spears secured a book deal, reported to be worth at least $15M. The tell-all is allegedly finished, but if the latest rumors are to be believed, its future may be very uncertain. “Strongly worded legal letters” have supposedly been sent to the publisher by attorneys for several celebrities who reportedly fear they’re in the book, and because of all the potential lawsuit issues, the autobiography may get pushed back to late this year.
Obviously no one involved is speaking on the record, but if The Sun is to be believed, there are “two Hollywood stars” Britney Spears reportedly claims she had affairs with that are causing issues. They’ve allegedly reached out, and now, the publisher is supposedly consulting with its own legal team to figure out if there is any potential liability. This process could take months, which is why the end of the year is now being targeted for a release date.
So, what’s really going on here? Well, let’s start with the veracity of the basic rumor itself. Are there potential legal issues around Britney Spears’ upcoming autobiography? Probably, yeah. Spears has been extremely open on social media since the end of her conservatorship. She has put numerous family members on blast and has been very candid in expressing her feelings about what happened to her and how much resentment lingers. With a hundred thousand words or so to express herself, there’s every reason to believe she may go in very hard on some people, which could create legal liability.
Provided she didn’t sign any NDAs or management contracts that restrict her ability to speak, she’s, of course, free to share her life story and throw up middle fingers at whoever she wants, but if others feel the allegations are untrue or misleading, they have the right to file a lawsuit. Most of the time it never comes to that, as everyone involved would rather just move on versus provide more oxygen for the fire, but the risk is always there, as evidenced by Johnny Depp’s recent lawsuit against Amber Heard over an op-ed she was involved in.
As for who these mystery stars might be, that’s a far more complicated question. Spears has been married three times to people who wouldn’t be referred to as A-listers. She’s also had relationships with several mega-stars, most prominently Justin Timberlake and Colin Farrell. The former apologized a few years ago for statements he made about Spears and their relationship, and the later doesn’t strike me as someone who would really care what was said. Plus, we've already known she was planning to talk about those relationships. So, I think the likelihood is that this is nervousness around some people who have never been publicly revealed, which aligns with another statement The Sun’s source made after having allegedly read the book…
There’s a fair amount of throwing people under the bus, talking about past relationships, some of whom will be revealed for the first time ever.
Spears hasn’t spoken a ton publicly about the forthcoming autobiography, but she did reveal back in September that she’s written three different versions and has been through a lot of therapy to get to that point. She said she wasn’t sure the process was worth it, but it’s finished and she’s ready for people to read her truth.
Whenever this book does come out, expect the reaction to be quite pronounced. These days Britney Spears can’t even go out to eat or go through a fast food drive-thru without everyone and their mother dropping their opinions on social media. If she ends up bringing as much heat to the memoir as she’s implied, fans are going to have a lot to talk about.
