One of the funniest moments in gossip history is still Mariah Carey’s assessment of Jennifer Lopez: “I don’t know her.” That moment took on a life of its own. But perhaps we need a new version: “I’ve never met her.” It only works when you’ve totally met someone before and there’s photographic evidence. That’s what happened with Britney Spears on Monday – she was doing an interview with Kyle & Jackie O on KIIS and Brit was asked an awkward Katy Perry vs. Taylor Swift question. The answer became even more awkward when fans pointed out that Britney doesn’t seem to remember ever meeting Taylor Swift.
Britney Spears threw a bit of unintentional shade at Taylor Swift during an Australian radio interview Monday, insisting that she’d never met the country-pop superstar. As fans were quick to point out on social media, the high-profile pair had indeed crossed paths on at least one occasion. KIIS radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O had Brit on the line to promote the release of her latest single “Make Me.”
Playing an age-old game of “Who would you rather?” with the singer, Britney’s answers were as diplomatic as expected (Oprah or Ellen? “Both! Both! Both!”), until she was asked to compare two of her pop contemporaries.
“Who would you rather sit next to on a 24-hour flight to Sydney, Taylor Swift or Katy Perry?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know, that’s hard. They’re both so cool, I don’t know,” said Spears. “I’ve briefly met Katy Perry at the ‘Smurfs’ movie premiere. Maybe because I’ve met Katy Perry I would say Taylor Swift, because I’ve never met her before.”
As fans pointed out, Taylor met Britney as early as 2003 and again in 2008 (the photos in this post). So… is Taylor Swift just that unmemorable? Did Britney just have a brain-fart? I’ve done that before, actually, and I’m not even on any kind of medication like Britney. I’ve sworn up and down that I never met someone at college and I had no idea who this person was and I realized days later… oh, right, I totally did know her in college. Is it the same thing with pop stars? I really hope Kim Kardashian responds the same way the next time she’s asked about Swifty: “I’ve never met her.”
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I’ll give her a pass on this one. Britney lives in a medicated fog, and I’m sure someone asked her to take a picture with Taylor at the time. I bet there are hundreds of young and new female artists that Brit has taken pics with over the years and only the tiniest percentage have made it.
^^ This.
Yup! Brit has probably met hundreds (if not thousands) of people for a quick “This is so & so, here’s lets get a photo… Next!” moment, so medicated or not, it’s not surprising she would forget some.
Agree. Most likely it was a quick “Hi, can I have a photo?” type think. I think this is making something out of nothing. It would be different if they worked together. Also did Mariah and Jennifer have the same situation? A quick “let’s have a photo” type thing or did they actually have serious interaction? I don’t think that has ever been made clear.
Louise i don’t think that’s quite the point with JLO and mc, it’s just how she dismissed the question with total disdain. No comment on anything nice about JLO. Doesn’t really matter if they’ve been introduced or not. But I would assume they have, otherwise why does MC hate her so much?
This. My dad is on a lot of medication for mental illness and he forgets stuff all the time because of the meds. He also has an iron trap memory… But it’s selective.
I agree, she has been in a fog for the past 10 years so I think she can get a pass on this. Besides, taking a picture doesn’t mean she knows Taylor.
In all fairness Taylor doesn’t look like that anymore, and I would say if it wasn’t for Kanye drawing attention to her, she would have stayed in the country genre. That incident paved the way for her more mainstream career. IMO she could have easily turned into Mandy Moore rather than A list pop star camp.
*No disrespect to Mandy Moore. I like her music.
Maybe, maybe not. Country was getting more and more poppy in general during that time. You got a lot of bands who did country rock / country pop that became more and more mainstream. It might have brought more attention to her, but I think she’d have ended up in a similar position either way. Her country was never super twangy 80s/90s country.
Taylor became and continues to be famous, due to smart business decisions and know how. She received a VMA award hat had nothing to do with him. He keeps linking his name to her because he’s not doing as well.
Agreed @Liz. I think she (with her team) had a master plan and it began in country (song writing, more relationship building with your label and mentors) and transitioned to pop for as far as she could go. I don’t think there have been many unplanned steps in Taylor’s career (which is also why I think she has a hard time with authenticity).
She already had a legion of fans behind her at that point. Very loyal, semi-crazy (in some cases) fans.
Please don’t give delusional Kanye that much credit. I believe she was pretty famous not just in the country genre.
All I can see is TS hair! Why did she ever cut it?
I disagree. Her hair in the photos above looks real housewivesish.
Nope! It looks young natural and healthy.
To be fair to Britney both of those “meetings” were a long time ago before Taylor was a huge deal and looked like a “can I get a photo with you, Britney?” moments – not in depth conversations or anything.
If they just posed for photos briefly and never really talked or anything, then I dont blame her. It would be hard to remember everyone you ever met.
Exactly. It’s hard to remember everyone you meet… and that’s for REGULAR people. I can’t imagine the amount of people Britney has met over her lifetime, specifically those “quick” interactions that are superfluous and just filled with nothing more than exchanging pleasantries.
Britney Spears has been a superstar for almost 2 decades, I can’t even guess how many thousands of people she’s taken photos with, so I can’t blame her for not remembering someone she took a photo with 8 years ago.
Exactly. Any time she’s out, she’s meeting people and taking photos. Unless they had a lengthy chat, no reason for her to remember.
A song is coming about it, just wait.
Nah she wouldn’t be THAT petty. I wonder if her fans are gonna do anything about it though.
As petty as Tay Tay is, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to do a diss track on Britney. Britney is still a pop icon, even after all these years.
I don’t think shade was intended. These two moments could easily have been a blur to her. They may have exchanged a few words, who knows?
Still I wonder how Tay Tay is going to live down this past month. It’s like a ten car pile up of crap.
Also Britney Spears has NEVER been a b*tchy person.
She’s that popstar/ famous starlet who rarely engaged in stuff like that unlike many of her peers.
Spear’s niceness – almost naivete – is legendary.
+1 to what everyone said. Plus if this was 2008 wasn’t this right before Brit had her moment? I can understand why she wouldn’t remember much from that time period.
this awards show was her comeback after her meltdown and she won for Piece of Me and it was a joyful moment for her fans however this was the beginning of healthy yet Medicated Britney.. I’m not surprised she didn’t remember that photo since it was her comeback night I’m sure she was focused on other issues.
I’d try to block that out, too.
Haha!!! I had the same thought.
Smart girl, that Britney. Blocking out that meeting. 🙂
Taylor looks like a whole different person.
It’s not about growing up and maturing into a young adult, she must have had some work done. I mean, more than the super-obvious boob-job.
just what I was thinking. That change can not be age only
She had a very obvious nose job
I don’t think I buy the nose job, mainly because in her recently pap outings with Tom Hiddleston her nose appears much rounder/softer to me than I remember it being during her 1989 promotion. She’s also gained a tiny bit of weight since coming off the 1989 tour, when all of her features and bones were in sharp relief. I think her narrower nose is due to a combination of age, weight and make-up. Glad to be proven wrong, though.
I think she also had an eye lift.
No shade for Brit, given everything she’s been through am sure she has more important things to remember.
Tay Tay has def had work on her face done – she now looks almost like a different person and its not down to weight loss on her face. Her nose is different, her eyes are bigger and her features in general are sharper.
Meh, I’ve been to events like that. You pose for pics with literally dozens of people and often it’s over in two seconds without exchanging a single word. I saw a photo of myself and Catherine Tate once that I had no idea had been taken (I didn’t even speak to her and didn’t know she’d been standing next to me.) For someone like Britney, there are probably hundreds of people lining up to take a pic with her.
We do tend to block out trauma.
Leave Britney alone! Given everything that’s gone on with her since 2008, I think she genuinely doesn’t remember Taylor. Certainly Britney has had more important issues; she’s been through a LOT. Britney continues to work hard and be a good Mom despite any issues. One thing about Britney: she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body which is more than one can say about Taylor Swift.
Yes and it shows in how the industry has treated both in their difficult times. Other artists etc.. have always been supportive and kind to Brit, she is universally liked within the music industry with no one having anything bad to say about her. In contrast look at Tay Tay, the past month has shown us how unpopular she is with other artists/industry people and how badly she treats others – no one has anything nice to say about Taylor Swift or her parents who manage her career.
Britney is a true superstar – Taylor is just a wannabe.
Thank you. Are these the same Australian radio hosts who had a hand in that despicable “prank call” situation with the nurse at the time of Prince George’s birth?
If not, they seem equally vile and nasty-they are clearly making fun of her. People who derive joy from belittling the mentally ill are among the lowest type, IMHO.
It’s the same radio station. Jackie O and Kyle DID however do that infamous and awful lie detector segment on live radio. Be advised that the link contains a story about sexual assault.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/enetertainment/articles/2009/07/29/1248546762075.html
I LOVE Britney – I have such a soft spot for her, and I’m so glad her father took control and got her real, actual psychiatric help, at a place like UCLA hospital instead of some posh, frou-frou clinic like Lohan ends up at. They saved her life, and she seems to be doing ok. She also seems to be a really kind and sensitive soul – unlike TS, who is, in my view, a manipulative, controlling Ice Queen.
Brit had a lot going on and taylor wasnt suoer famous- pass!
There is a reason Britney to this day is still under a conservatorship. She’s not well and can not care for herself or manage her affairs. She is not shading anyone, she’s just…well, a little “touched” as they say.
This. Even before Britney had her meltdown, she was known as sweet but very dumb / clueless. My ex-boyfriend’s niece was one of her backup dancers a few years ago and said that Britney was extremely controlled and watched very carefully in all situations. She also said that Britney never seemed to remember any of the dancers she constantly worked with on her shows – it was a “blank vibe.” She’s not mean, she’s just not there.
She seems to be doing better now with whatever drug cocktail they have her on, but it speaks volumes that she is still under a full conservatorship – to this day, she allegedly cannot make any key decisions on her own (personal or professional) and every purchase she makes is tracked. There was a New York Times article about it back in May.
RIP both their old noses.
Has anyone actually listened to the radio show audio? I’m not a fan of Taylor, and I’ll love Britney until the day I die – However, my interpretation of the interview was completely different. I took Britney’s response to mean that she’d rather spend time on a flight with someone she doesn’t already know, and take that opportunity to meet someone new, meaning she’d use that flight to get to know Taylor better. Did anyone else think this?
Yes, that’s exactly how I interpreted it. Everyone is focusing on the fact that she didn’t remember meeting Taylor but what she’s actually saying is not negative at all. She’s saying she doesn’t know her but would choose to be on a flight with her because she could get to know her. She tried to find the least possibly offensive or insulting answer to that question and people are still jumping on her. (Not people here, but apparently people on social media.)
Thank you Lala! I’m so glad someone else heard it that way too. Obviously the “shade” interpretation gets more page clicks and retweets. Sad.
There is a story about Brittney going to dinner at a Hollywood restaurant and she made a big deal of talking to the owner and telling him how nice the restaurant was and how she’d have to come back, etc etc.
That was the same restaurant in which a year or so before she had filmed her “Gimmie More” video. She had zero memory of that, like at all. And when the owner told her she HAD been there and about the video she got very upset. That story has stuck out to me & makes me think that Britney has been medicated for a long time and probably doesn’t have a very good memory.
Am I surprised? Noooooo… or… Shade???
Not shade at all, she said nothing but nice things. Hell, there are women I see every week at my homeschool group I don’t know by name because I can’t remember. Harmless.
Britney Spears reminds me of Marilyn at times in her vulnerability and sex symbol status. Thank the Lord her parents stepped in when they did and saved her. She is living her life, staying out of trouble, being with her children, co-parenting with K-Fed who is sleazy as hell, working hard at what she does best, and is still successful in her career after nearly 2 decades. She has come so far since Justin, the string of horn-dogs, Paris and Lindsey, paparazzi hounding, and the epic meltdown of 2006-2007. The memory issues should have never even made the news.
Actually I did this two days ago when I forgot that I saw Penny Marshall at a supermarket in 2013