Britney Spears slammed Halsey over her new music video, Lucky, which dropped on Friday by taking to X – shortly before deleting the post and claiming her phone had been hacked.
The Baby One More Time hitmaker, 42 – who gave her ‘blessing’ to Halsey to sample her 2000 track of the same name – initially stated that she was ‘upset’ over the video that saw the songstress, 29, channeling Spears from the early 2000s.
To share her thoughts, Spears jumped to X (formerly known as Twitter) – after taking down her Instagram account one day earlier on Thursday.
‘For obvious reasons I’m very upset about the Halsey video,’ Britney began. ‘I feel harassed, violated, and bullied.’
‘I didn’t know an artist like her and someone I looked up to and admired would illustrate me in such an ignorant way by tailoring me as a superficial pop star with no heart or concern at all.’
Britney Spears, 42, slammed Halsey over her new music video, Lucky, which dropped on Friday by taking to X – shortly before deleting the post and claiming her phone had been hacked
The Baby One More Time hitmaker stated that she was ‘upset’ over the video that saw the songstress, 29, channeling Spears from the early 2000s
The Princess of Pop then explained, ‘I have my own heath problems which is why I took down my IG account yesterday. I will definitely be putting it back up to show I CARE.’
‘I’m speaking with my lawyers today to see what can be done on this matter,’ Spears said towards the end of her post. ‘It feels illegal and downright cruel.’
However, the post was soon deleted – with the star explaining on X that she wasn’t the one who uploaded the statement.
‘Fake news !!! That was not me on my phone !!! I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it!!!’ she penned, followed by a red rose emoji.
Halsey also quickly responded to the singer’s second post and shared on X: ‘and I love Britney!!!!’
‘I always have and always will you were the first person who ever made me realize what it means to feel inspired. And you continue to inspire me everyday.’
Halsey channeled Spears in the Lucky music video that officially dropped on Friday – with the tune inspired by Britney’s 2000 track of the same name.
In the lyrics, the mother-of-one references to her recent health struggles, after revealing her battle with Lupus SLE and also ‘a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.’
‘For obvious reasons I’m very upset about the Halsey video,’ Britney began. ‘I feel harassed, violated, and bullied’
However, the post was soon deleted – with the star explaining on X that she wasn’t the one who uploaded the statement
Halsey also quickly responded to the singer’s second post and shared on X: ‘and I love Britney!!!!’
The Princess of Pop then explained, ‘I have my own heath problems which is why I took down my IG account yesterday. I will definitely be putting it back up to show I CARE’
Halsey channeled Spears in the Lucky music video that officially dropped on Friday – with the tune inspired by Britney’s 2000 track of the same name
‘I shaved my head four times because I wanted to/ and then I did it one more time cause I got sick/ I thought I changed so much nobody would notice s***, and no one did,’ she sang at one point.
‘Then I left the doctor’s office full of tears / Became a single mom at my premiere / I told everybody I was fine for a whole damn year, and that’s the biggest lie of my career.’
In the chorus of Britney’s version, she could be heard singing, ‘She’s so lucky, she’s a star, but she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking, “If there’s nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?”‘
However, Halsey altered the lyrcis to sing in first person. ‘But I’m so lucky, I’m a star, but I cry, cry, cry in the lonely heart thinking, “If there’s nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?”‘
After teasing a glimpse of the music video, Halsey also revealed that she had gotten Britney’s ‘blessing’ to sample the 2000 track.
Earlier last week, a social media user questioned the Without Me singer if Spears had been ‘involved’ with the new single.
The star then replied to the fan by typing out, ‘yes of course! I wouldn’t even dream of doing it without her blessing!’
Her new Lucky music video was directed by Gia Coppola – the granddaughter of acclaimed director, Francis Ford Coppola.
Simon Rex – who is known for starring in the Scary Movie franchise – also made a cameo in the video.
Britney took down her Instagram account on Thursday and explained in her since-deleted post on X that the reason was due to her own ‘health problems’
In the lyrics, the mother-of-one references to her recent health struggles, after revealing her battle with Lupus SLE and also ‘a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder’
The star then replied to the fan by typing out, ‘yes of course! I wouldn’t even dream of doing it without her blessing!’
As news broke that she was sampling Britney’s song, fans dug up an old interview that caused Halsey to be accused of slighting Spears.
She explained in 2017 that she had recently come to regard herself as a CEO after realizing she controlled more of her work than other pop stars.
‘At first, it was naivete,’ she told Fast Company. ‘I thought every artist did everything themselves. I thought Britney Spears wrote her own music – I thought every superstar was designing their own live stage show, so I always just did those things.’
After the interview went public, social media commentators started saying Halsey had taken a swipe at Britney – prompting Halsey to respond on social media.
‘Most stuff is easy to ignore but that one hurts cause I just love her and have always spoken highly of her and her genius is undeniable,’ she wrote on Twitter.
‘I love Britney so much and I wish people weren’t spreading stuff,’ she insisted. ‘All I said was it takes a lot of people to complete a song.’
Lucky is the second single from Halsey’s forthcoming fifth studio album, coming nearly two months after she released its lead single The End.
The End was a mournful acoustic ballad about someone throwing herself into a romance while battling a life-threatening illness.
Halsey, who has declared a preference for both ‘she’ and ‘they’ pronouns, has yet to reveal the title or release date of her next album.
Her new Lucky music video was directed by Gia Coppola – the granddaughter of acclaimed director, Francis Ford Coppola
As news broke that she was sampling Britney’s song, fans dug up an old interview that caused Halsey to be accused of slighting Spears
Last month in June, Halsey opened up about her health battle to her fans. In a post shared to Instagram at the time, she explained, ‘In 2022, I was first diagnosed with Lupus SLE and then a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.’
‘Both of which are currently being managed or in remission; and both of which I will likely have for the duration of my life.’
However, she positively added, ‘After a rocky start, I slowly got everything under control with the help of amazing doctors.’
‘After 2 years, I’m feeling better and I’m more grateful than ever to have music to turn to,’ the mother-of-one continued. ‘I can’t wait to get back where I belong: With you all. Singing and screaming my heart out.’
In a separate post, she also opened up about her health battle in series of videos that appeared to document the singer receiving infusions and also showed her breaking down in tears.
‘I love Britney so much and I wish people weren’t spreading stuff,’ she insisted. ‘All I said was it takes a lot of people to complete a song’
In 2022, Halsey shared on Instagram that she had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjogre’s syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome – known as MCAS – and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, known as POTS.
The singer also suffers from endometriosis, and gave her followers an update earlier this year in March after undoing a procedure.
At the time, she uploaded a photo to social media and explained that she was ‘back in diapers’ during the recovery process.
The Bad At Love singer has also previously revealed her ADHD and bipolar disorder diagnosis.