Britney Spears Sends Sister Jamie Lynn Cease And Desist Letter Over Book, Threatening To Take Possible Legal Action

Pop icon Britney Spears has sent a cease and desist letter to her little sister over claims the younger Spears has made about her in the latter's new book.

The letter was sent to Jamie Lynn Spears on Monday via Britney’s attorney Mathew Rosengart, just one day before the release of her new memoir “Things I Should Have Said.”

"We write with some hesitation because the last thing Britney wants is to bring more attention to your ill-timed book and its misleading or outrageous claims about her," the letter, obtained by USA Today, states. "Although Britney has not read and does not intend to read your book, she and millions of her fans were shocked to see how you have exploited her for monetary gain. She will not tolerate it, nor should she."

In the book, Jamie Lynn describes her elder sister’s behavior in the past as "erratic," "paranoid" and "spiraling,” she recently admitted on “Good Morning America.” On “Nightline,” she claimed that during the pandemic, Britney "came at me screaming and getting up in my face" while she was holding her young daughter. The book also describes an incident in which she claimed Britney locked the two of them in a room together while holding a knife.

As Jamie Lynn, 30, began promoting her new book this month, the two sisters began sparring against one another on Instagram. Most recently, in a Tuesday post, Britney, 40, said she wishes she had slapped her sister, as well as her mother. On Friday, Jamie Lynn wrote, "I hate to burst my sister's bubble, but my book is not about her. I can't help that I was born a Spears too, and that some of my experiences involve my sister."

The cease and desist letter addresses the siblings’ upbringing.

"You of all people know the abuse and wrongdoing Britney had to endure during the conservatorship, after initially growing up with a 'ruinous,' alcoholic father," the letter states. "In fact, your own book reportedly states that your father 'spent most of my life in that cycle of ruinous behavior. His bouts of drinking caused me periods of torment and sorrow.' As I have previously stated, having endured a 13-year conservatorship that stripped her of civil rights and fundamental liberties, Britney will no longer be bullied by her father or anyone else. Britney was the family’s breadwinner and she also otherwise supported you. Publicly airing false or fantastical grievances is wrong, especially when designed to sell books."

The decision to end the conservatorship came after months of intense criticism of the conservatorship by the “Overprotected” star and her supporters. Britney had called the arrangement "abusive” during a court hearing months prior and suggested that her father and former conservator Jamie Spears, 69, and other relatives should go to jail for abuse. She said that her family “did nothing” while she was being suppressed and controlled. In the months after the initial hearing, Jamie Lynn’s social media accounts became riddled with commenters encouraging her to support and speak up more for Britney, and Jamie Lynn has said she's received death threats on social media over her perceived silence. 

The letter demands that Jamie Lynn “cease and desist from referencing Britney derogatorily during your promotional campaign.”

It warns, “If you fail to do so or defame her, Britney will be forced to consider and take all appropriate legal action."

Jamie Lynn maintained on “Good Morning America” that “love is still there” between her and her elder sister, though she admits their relationship has gotten complicated.

“I’ve only ever loved and supported her,” she said.