“A lot of people say that a sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again ? !!!” Britney Spears recently posted on Instagram, along with a video of herself dancing to Indila’s song, “S.O.S.” She seems to be taking the phrase seriously since receiving backlash about an Instagram post that went live on Oct. 25th, related to themes she keeps blasting on social media.
According to screenshots from a different post, Spears wrote a lengthy caption related to body shaming, body positivity and her thoughts that felt specifically targeted towards another member of the music industry.
The caption has since been edited, but fans continue to question the the main motive behind it.
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Spears is known for posting revealing images of her own body on social media, including nudes (with emojis to censor the super private bits). However, she’s also been accused of body shaming celebrities in the past, including 90s teen rival Christina Aguilera, so her words sometimes feel contradictory to the messages she posts.
This time, the pop idol wore a bright red string bikini in the photos she shared, only showing her body from the waist up. The caption begins, “’Don’t you just love the nerve of women who stand firmly getting awards and speak on their beliefs about not showing their bodies on instagram ???!!!!!”
“’They say ‘This is NOT something I would do’ yet those women are the very ones who get 4 million dollar budget videos made about sucking and licking on homemade ice cream!!!!” Spears continues.
Though no one was specifically mentioned in the post, Spears superfans put the pieces of the puzzle together and think the rant may have to do with a line spoken by Selena Gomez, during an acceptance speech she made at the 2016 American Music Awards.
“I don’t wanna see your bodies on Instagram,” the singer and actress shared with the crowd. “I wanna see what’s in here,” while putting her hand over her heart.
“I’m not trying to get validation nor do I need it anymore,” she added, before taking home the Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist award.
Gomez has been especially passionate about promoting body positivity in recent years, even posting about not “sucking in” her stomach on her TikTok channel.
Other clues include the specific references to music video budgets, and ice cream. Back in 2020, Gomez collaborated on a music video with K-pop girl group BLACKPINK for their song “Ice Cream.” In the video, Gomez serves up chilly treats from an ice cream truck, wearing a bodycon black Puma bodysuit.
Why Spears would be drawn to a few words of a speech spoken over six years ago? Who knows! What’s even more confusing is that Spears and Gomez appear to be friends, or friendly enough, based on their public appearances together. Gomez was even one of the honored guests at Spears’ wedding to model Sam Asghari back in June 2022.
“These other girls have nothing but beautiful bodies !!!!,” Spears continued, in the post. “Who cares if the flaunt it ??? THEY SHOULD !!!”
The next few lines get even more confusing though, as Spears references a different kind of sweet thing to suck on…
“So the next time I see someone with a big budget video sucking on lollipops yet giving righteous speeches shaming other women for exposing their bodies, I would like to tell those people don’t be a hypocrite as you suck on your lollipop having HUGE budget dreams…”
Specific footage of Gomez with lollipops can be found across the internet, but maybe Spears was making a diversion to make readers think she was being impartial to her peer.
“Why would you stand firmly against girls getting attention JUST LIKE YOU and they have absolutely nothing ????” the 40-year old legendary singer concluded. Within a few hours, the original caption was edited to include three red rose emojis.
Gomez is not personally active on her social channels outside of TikTok, and provides content ideas to an assistant instead. She has not responded to the post by Spears, as she continues to promote her upcoming documentary, “My Mind & Me.”
