Britney Spears' 'brave' memoir The Woman In Me is finally out
It features some huge bombshells
Britney Spears has now released her tell-all memoir The Woman In Me. Released on 24th October, fans now have a chance to read about Britney's life in her own words, including her thoughts on some major events in her career.
These moments include her decision to shave her head, posing with a snake at the MTV VMAs, and the revelation that she had an abortion during her time dating Justin Timberlake.
What is The Woman In Me about?
According to a press release from Gallery Books, the memoir is 'a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith and hope'.
Working with Elton John
In the summer of 2022, Britney and music legend Sir Elton released a reworking of Elton's song 'Tiny Dancer'. The song 'Hold Me Closer' was a huge hit, and in her book, Britney talks about working with Elton.
'I was so honoured… he’s one of my all-time favourite performers," Britney writes in her new memoir, via The Standard, continuing: 'Sir Elton was kind and made me feel so comfortable… I was nervous because it would be the first time the world had heard my singing voice on something new in six years, but I believed in the song and in myself, so I went for it.'
Posing with the snake at the MTV VMAs 2001
Ahead of the book's release, People reported on some excerpts of the book, including the moment where Britney opens up about that iconic moment at the MTV VMAs back in 2001, where she posed with a huge snake.
Britney said: 'The plan was for me to sing 'I’m a Slave 4 U', and we decided I would use a snake as a prop. It’s become an iconic moment in VMAs history, but it was even more terrifying than it appeared.
'All I knew was to look down, because I felt if I looked up and caught its eye, it would kill me.'
She went on to say: 'In my head I was saying, just perform, just use your legs and perform. But what nobody knows is that as I was singing, the snake brought its head right around to my face, right up to me, and started hissing.
'I was thinking, Are you f---ing serious right now? The f---ing goddamn snake’s tongue is flicking out at me. Right. Now. Finally, I got to the part where I handed it back, thank God.'
Britney's decision to shave her head
As reported by People, the singer also opened up about what was going through her head when she decided to get her head shaved back in 2007. Writing in The Woman In Me, she said: 'I’d been eyeballed so much growing up. I’d been looked up and down, had people telling me what they thought of my body, since I was a teenager.
'Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back. But under the conservatorship I was made to understand that those days were now over. I had to grow my hair out and get back into shape. I had to go to bed early and take whatever medication they told me to take.'
Britney's relationship with Justin Timberlake
In the third excerpt to be released, the 'Toxic' singer also revealed she had an abortion, during her time dating Justin Timberlake, as he wasn't ready to be a father.
According to People, in her book, Britney writes: 'It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated. But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.'
She continues: 'If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father. To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.' (sic)
Britney and Justin dated for three years between 1999 and 2002, before going their separate ways. Justin has yet to comment on these claims.
Take a look at the TV shows and films Britney has starred in:
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1999)
Brit took part in an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch after lead actress Melissa Joan Hart starred in the music video for her song, 'You Drive Me Crazy', which was itself the title track for Melissa's film Drive Me Crazy. In the episode, Sabrina thinks about moving to Paris to live with her dad, and Britney is summoned to give her a private concert.
Kenan & Kel (1999)
In 1999, Britney appeared in Nickelodeon's children's TV show Kenan & Kel as herself, meeting the pair during their trip to Hollywood. At one point, they gave her a makeover - and it's safe to say she wasn't happy with it!
The Simpsons (2000)
You're not really famous unless you've made an appearance in The Simpsons - and Britney got her role in 2000. Voicing a yellow version of herself, her character was in Springfield to present an awards ceremony with Kent Brockman, and accidentally killed the town's oldest resident after kissing him on the cheek. She then gives the award to the second-oldest - Mr Burns - who begs her not to give him the "kiss of death".
Longshot (2001)
Britney starred as a member of the cabin crew in a film called Longshot, back in 2001. The film was about two brothers played by Tony DeCamillis and Joey Sculthorpe. Younger brother Alex (Joey Sculthorpe) gets caught up in his older brother's activities.
Crossroads (2002)
Ok, so technically this isn't a cameo as Britney actually played the lead role in the 2002 film, but you can't leave out her turn in Crossroads! Brit played Lucy Wagner alongside Zoe Saldana and Kim Catrall in the coming-of-age movie, and also contributed single 'I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman' to the soundtrack.
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
Britney once again took to the big screen in Austin Powers, playing a robot version of herself. It turns out that Britney's appearance as herself in the third Austin Powers film was all down to Beyoncé.
She told the Calgary Sun: "She called me. She said she desperately wanted to be in the movie and wanted to wear a bra that shot bullets. We managed to accommodate her requests."
Pauly Shore Is Dead (20030
In 2003, Britney appeared in Pauly Shore Is Dead, a mockumentary comedy film, written and produced by American actor and comedian Pauly Shore. In 2023, the film celebrated its 20th anniversary, and Pauly shared a behind the scenes video on YouTube.
Will & Grace (2006)
Britney took part in one of Will & Grace's eighth season episodes, playing Amber-Louise - Jack's new co-host on 'JackTalk'.
How I Met Your Mother (2008)
She had two turns in CBS series, How I Met Your Mother. Britney starred as Abby in season three, the receptionist of Stella Zinman, Ted Mosby's tattoo laser removal physician who he gets a crush on. Abby in turn gets a crush on him, and is devastated to find out that he's actually interested in Stella.
How I Met Your Mother (2008)
Britney returned six episodes later as Abby - but this time, she enters into a relationship with Ted's best friend Barney Stinson, even getting engaged to try and make Ted jealous.
Glee (2010)
Britney's songs appeared in the TV show Glee more times than we can remember, but she actually made an appearance herself in the second episode of season two.
The Pauly D Project (2012)
In 2012, Britney starred in an episode of The Pauly D Project called Divas, Diamonds and D... The episode followed Pauly opening for Britney in Puerto Rico. The reality TV series aired for just one series of 12 episodes.
Jane The Virgin (2015)
Britney's appearance in Jane The Virgin was iconic. It wasn't just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of situation either - pretty much the entire episode revolved around Britney's feud with Rogelio, and the pair putting aside their differences.
Back in July, Britney shared a Reel on her Instagram page, which revealed that the book was available to pre-order. The video featured the words: 'It's coming... my story on my terms at last. Are you ready?'
Back in April 2022, Britney revealed that she was writing a memoir, which she said would cover her experience of living under a legal conservatorship. According to Page Six, the deal with Simon & Schuster was said to be worth as much as $15 million (£11 million), which would make it one of the biggest book deals of all time.
In 2021, the 41-year-old appeared in court to terminate her conservatorship under her father, Jamie Spears, which began in 2008. The arrangement controlled Britney's life for over 13 years and allowed her father to control her freedom and finances.
Jennifer Bergstrom of Gallery Books told People: "Britney's compelling testimony in open court shook the world, changed laws and showed her inspiring strength and bravery.
"I have no doubt her memoir will have a similar impact - and will be the publishing event of the year. We couldn't be more proud to help her share her story at last."
Britney also shared a video to her Instagram where she said: "Okay guys so my book is coming out very, very soon. I worked my a-- off for this book, I had a lot of therapy to get this book done, so you guys better like it. If you don't like it, that's fine too."
You can hear songs by Britney Spears on Forth 1.
Now read:
Britney Spears: Everything you need to know about the icon
Britney Spears: The very best cameos by the Queen of Pop
First photos released from Britney Spears and Sam Asghari's wedding