Britney Spears and her ex-husband Kevin Federline have both spoken out about a report claiming that the pop singer is on drugs.
Over the weekend, the Daily Mail published a story in which journalist Daphne Barak alleged Federline had spoken about concerns that Spears was using drugs.
"I fear she's on meth — I've been praying someone would make it public and that she wakes up. ... It's terrifying. She is the mother of my boys," Barak claimed Federline told her.
In a statement to TMZ, Federline slammed the report as "repulsive" and accused the Daily Mail of "fabricating lies" for "click bait." He added that the article saddened his family, which included the two sons he shares with Spears — Sean Preston, 17, and Jayden James, 16.
"[The] lies and attempts to exploit minors is click bait and another repulsive example of where, unfortunately, certain journalism has sunk today," he wrote, in part.
Spears also responded to the report in a post shared on her Instagram.
"The fact that people are claiming things that are not true is so sad ... This may not even be them saying such things because it doesn't make any sense to me for them to be saying that," she said, in part.
Spears also addressed her two sons and their strained relationship saying, "It makes me sad because I tried so hard to make things nice for you and it was never good enough. So you guys go behind my back and talk about me … it breaks my heart and the news is so low."
Spears added that she hoped "it is just the news being hateful and Kevin nor Preston said any of those things."
In a legal letter addressed to the Daily Mail and obtained by People, Spears' attorney, Mathew Rosengart, dismissed the report of the star's alleged use of crystal meth.
"The Daily Mail, through Daphne Barak, posted a story yesterday containing numerous false and defamatory fabrications concerning my client Britney Spears that are attributed to Kevin Federline and his children, in particular regarding 'crystal meth,'" the letter said.
Rosengart noted that Federline "acknowledged the falsity of Ms. Barak's story" when speaking to TMZ. He further claimed that Barak "sought to contact Britney under false pretenses, again her minor children, which is exploitative, harassing, and outrageous."
"And moreover, Britney's representatives were never contacted prior to the publication of the story, further demonstrating actual malice and reckless disregard for the truth," the legal document added.
"Britney is indeed a public figure, but this conduct is beyond the pale and completely unacceptable," the letter concluded. "It is shoddy even by today's standards of 'journalism' and the unfair scrutiny she has faced."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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