Britney Spears hit back at her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, on Wednesday and called his “constant gaslighting” about her parenting “extremely hurtful and exhausting.”
Federline, who was married to the singer from 2004 to 2007, released a new memoir, “You Thought You Knew,” where he accuses his ex-wife of some shocking behavior toward their two sons, Preston and Jayden, including watching them sleep while holding a knife in her hand.
He also accused Spears of bleaching her kids’ hair down to their scalps, causing burns in the process, as well as deliberately giving Jayden shellfish even though he was allergic to it.
A spokesperson for the singer told Variety that Federline and others are just “profiting off her” and at a time when Federline’s child support payments have stopped.
“All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James and their well-being during this sensationalism,” they told the outlet.
Spears went into more detail in a social media post where she pulled no punches about Federline’s 2022 claim that their kids supposedly chose not to see her for months.
“The constant gaslighting from ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting. I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys,” she began. “Relationships with teenage boys is complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.”
Spears then said her sons’ treatment of her is because “sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by [their] own father for me.”
“They need to take responsibility for themselves,” she wrote.
The singer claimed that one son has only seen her “for 45 min in the past 5 years,” while the other son has made “only 4 visits in the past 5 years,” and she’s had enough.
“I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available,” she said. “Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here.”
Back in December, Spears revealed she had reunited with 18-year-old Jayden for Christmas after not having seen him or his brother for two years.
Despite her despair over the relationship with her sons, Spears said she “will always love” her two sons, before closing out her post with a note of her intentions.
“I am actually a pretty intelligent woman who has been trying to live a sacred and private life the past 5 years. I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same,” she said.