I watched the second half of Lynne Spears’ interview on The Today Show and it’s more of the same from that woman. The 53 year-old divorced mother of three acts like there’s no way she could have anticipated the problems either of her daughters have faced and claims she tried to help them when she could. It’s like all she did was want the best for them and send them out on their own and then she got surprised when the world chewed them up. She talks about how much fun Britney’s fame was and how it was “rock and roll.” When Jamie Lynn told her she was pregnant, Lynne claims she did have a moment of self doubt as to how she could have contributed to the situation, but she talks in general terms and doesn’t seem sincere. Throughout the interview there’s a sense of cluelessness coupled with a refusal to face reality or take responsibility for her children.
On why Jamie Lynn went into show business too: it worked for Britney
Meredith: “A lot of people have criticized you as mom, said ‘You know, given what Britney had gone through… why would you expose Jamie Lynn to this business?'”Lynne: “At that time when Jamie Lynn got involved in it, that was during the honeymoon period of Britney’s career. That was when everything was coming up roses… At the time I thought ‘Oh my God, I have this wonderful other opportunity for Jamie Lynn.'”
Meredith: “So you didn’t see any pitfalls along the way?”
Lynne: “No, everything seemed to just rock and roll perfectly. We were on tour bus, Jamie Lynn was with us with her girlfriend… everything was just fun. We were traveling with Britney…”
Meredith: “Then it turned from fun to something pretty heavy for any parent. End of 2007 your daughter Jamie Lynn tells you that she is pregnant. How did she tell you that?”
Jamie Lynn handed her a note that she was pregnant – Lynne thought it was a joke
Lynne: “Actually I had just been to the doctor that day and she told me ‘Come on home, momma,’ because I was going to go eat after. So I came on home and I thought it was some little nothing.“She hands me a note and tells me to go into the bedroom and read it. And Casey wasn’t allowed to come over during school days, so she told me he was coming to pick up his wallet, so he was there. So she handed me this note, and said that she was pregnant and everything was going to be ok, mom, that she and Casey were going to raise this baby…
“I came out I thought it was a joke… I kept waiting for the punchline. Then I noticed Casey’s feet on the coffee table.. Casey’s not like that and Casey wouldn’t look at me. At this point I knew ‘This is not a joke.’ I was in shock and then I started to cry. She started consoling me.”
Talks in general terms about whether she questions her role, doesn’t seem sincere
Meredith: “Was it a moment as a mom where you go ‘What did I do wrong? Why is it happening, now the second child?'”Lynne: “As a mother, don’t we always blame ourselves? We’re the first one that’s going to get the blame. I mean, we never get the credit, but we always question ourselves and go ‘What did I do? We had this talk just a month ago.’ I had no idea, I mean.. I took a lot of the blame. I took all the blame. As a matter of fact, the personality that I am, it’s always my fault… mothers do that though.”
On Britney’s turnaround and comeback
Meredith: “When you look at where your daughter Britney has come since February. Your husband, Jamie, really took control of her life… It probably turned out to be the best thing…. Talk to me about who she is now personally and professionally.”Lynne: “She’s strong, she’s resilient, she had some big bumps in the road, but Britney’s fine. Britney is headed to the top once again. I have no fears about Britney. We had a beautiful birthday party for the boys the other day. It was such a celebratory time.”
[Transcribed from Lynne Spears’ appearance on The Today Show, 9/17/08]
Britney is lucky her father sobered up and she had him on her side because there’s little chance this woman would have done much to help her. She just doesn’t seem capable of being a parent.
Wow there’s like, a bunch of Spears family stories in a row.
I’m pulling for Briteny to end up back, as Lynn puts it, on the top. I used to not like her in the early 2000s, but now I just really want Britney to make it.
Just look at that answer,Brit going to top again.Thats what all they care this people.Just like Lohan said Lindsay became from a 8 million actress to half million.Thats what they care about.She should have answered that i hope she is healthie and remains healthie and will do everything i can and we will take it slow.Is she serious?God.Her first daughter was sleeping around at 14,and she didnt expected her second to not do it?My mother has 5 kids and everyone of them is special.My big brother is 11 years older than me,yet she watched him like a Hawk,and raised us too.And i had to work so far away from my family from an early age,yet they always called me every day,to hear me how i was what i do who is with me.This all are bull.Someone who has had a breakdown doesnt just become fine in a few months.Its a strugle that takes years./
The only joke is her parenting skills.
A bad joke.
Sometimes I wonder if the Spears family is really a bunch of mind-controlled Disney freaks. There is no way Lynn Spears has a healthy, realistic perspective about anything. Saying your daughter is “headed to the top again” in the same year she was committed to a psych ward and lost custody of her children (TO KEVIN FEDERLINE, no less) is bat@$*% crazy. She comes across like a programmed, corporate drone who’s only goal is to market the brand known as Britney Spears.
Christ-at the very least i thought she might have known the youngest one was having sex-or maybe had an idea about it
I think you are being a little unfair Celebitchy. I feel slightly bad for Lynne Spears, I mean when Britney was starting out, Lynne probably did not have the support that she needed to take care of all her kids and her husband was not there to help them out. Why does not anyone blame Jamie Spears for not being there for Britney and Jamie Lynne in the first place, he only came to the picture after everything hit rock bottom and now he seems like this big savior. Jamie is as much to blame as Lynne for their girls demise and bad parenting skills.
I didn’t see this interview, but from the snippets I’ve just read here – I don’t see anything suggesting that Lynn is an incapable or unskilled parent. I’m not saying that I believe she’s a wonderful parent – I don’t have an opinion about that really.
I’m not much of a pop music or Disney fan, but it’s hard NOT to know who Britney is if you lived in the U.S. and had elementary school-aged children around 1999-2000. It was my own second grader who brought Britney Spears to my attention.
My daughter would talk about her saying that she’s her favorite singer, etc. Well – when I finally caught some of Britney performing on t.v. and saw that such blatant Lolita-esque sexuality is marketed to children via Disney, etc. – I was horrified. I remembered seriously considering that “the end of times” had arrived because it seem that porn had become mainstream children’s t.v. and related programming – and PEOPLE ARE O.K. WITH IT!?!
So I would guess that Britney’s parents might have some parenting styles that greatly differ from mine, but I just don’t see anything in that interview (from what you posted) that suggests neglectful parenting.
I think everyone’s a little too hard on her too. She may not be the brightest bulb in the marquee, but I’m sure she loved her girls and wanted to do well by them.
Anyone who’s ever parented a teenager knows that there really is no way a parent can control them. If they want to do things that get them in trouble, they will. You can not keep an eye on them 24/7, and they will lie to you. You’re sure they’re in their room asleep, when in reality they’ve climbed out a window and are out with a group of friends, up to no good. And virginity is not visible, you can not tell, unless your child tells you or you catch them in the act, whether or not they are having sex. All we can do as parents is try to set them on the right path, and hope they will stay on it. I’m sure Lynn felt that being part of the Disney scene was healthy and good for her daughter. I mean, it’s DISNEY! Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck! Wholesomeness defined! She was wrong. But she doesn’t deserve to be beaten to death the rest of her life. Many of the wrong decisions her kids made, they made without consulting Mama.
Not everyone is deep enough to understand the complexities that a broken marriage and absent father can cause to the psyches of young girls– not even the girls themselves. Im sure everything did always look great on the outside; it makes for an easier time together as well (everything was fun). Fun doesnt heal all wounds, though, and does not compensate for structured parenting or an absent father.
She reminds me a lot of my own mother–she could only try to alleviate our troubles while she raised us 2 on her own with minumum wage and no child support; she tried to give us a bright spot in our lives here and there but there was really nothing more she could do given her situation. She’s not a psychotherapist or a millionaire. A broken home and poverty strike extremely deep and takes years to work through. Typically the mother is riddled with overwhelming fear for her daughters’ welbeing and future in such a situation, and actually, that fear does more to PARALYZE the mother from acting when she really needs to– ie, being more involved, being firmer, and so on. The mother is afraid of losing her children in addition to already having lost her husband and their father, and whatever support he could offer. Its a classic mistake of being ‘friends’ when she needs to be the leader- a lot of parents make this mistake.
Also the girls will want ot put up a happy front to ease the stress on moma (dont worry it ok mama…) so a majority of their troubles is indeed hidden from even the keenest eyes.
Amen Syko, you hit the nail on the head. Until you have teenagers, you don’t know what you would do or how you would react.
Ok. So how many of you commentators are hoping to turn your kids into celebrities? Come on, this woman does not deserve defending. She sold her daughters to the highest bidder. End of story.
My kids are grown. No hopes that they will make me wealthy and famous. For which I am grateful, because then I won’t be castigated on a celebrity gossip site by people who know very little about my circumstances.
It’s HARD to be a single mom. Heehee is right. You go from being a wife and mom to being a breadwinner, mom AND dad, because most of the time the dad distances himself from the family. You’re tired. You go from living in a nice three bedroom house to living in a two bedroom apartment and sleeping on a sofa bed in the living room so the kids can have the bedrooms. You are tired all the time, and yet you always have to put the kids first.
Having a daughter who was stunningly lovely, had some talent, and might bring everyone out of poverty by doing something she wanted to do anyway – that probably seemed like a godsend to Lynn. She shouldn’t have done it, she probably knows that now. But hindsight is 20/20 and few can see into the future.
We just all do the best we can with what we have. I don’t think she deserves such harsh criticism.
Syko, a lot of really pertinent points there and I’m glad I read your post @ 4:28 before I commented because it made me rethink Lynne a bit. Time and place, naivety, reasonable assumptions that Disney was a safe pair of hands etc. And that Lynne is not necessarily the brightest of people.
BUT, her ‘poor me’ protestations would hold far more water if she wasn’t now blabbing at length to promote a book in which her damaged daughters are the central characters. This need to justify and excuse herself is totally self-serving and I believe she deserves all the contempt she’s getting here and, hopefully, elsewhere. It’s all about Lynne and her unwillingness, even now, to see her daughters as people rather than cash cows.
There was a reporter (i think) who said the Rolling stone pic was taken in the Spears home with both parents full approval. Letting your young daughter be sexualized and sold is never justifiable. Lynn made a point of saying she was a teacher, yes a “TEACHER FOR YEARS”, well it doesn’t pay alot but you can pay the bills and the hours are good for raising a family on your own. Lynn also had family around to help. No excuse folks. Makes me wonder what you guys are doing with YOUR kids.
Thank you, Wow, for being a voice of reason here.
I cannot stand it when parents cop out by making statements that they can’t parent their teenagers because they are going to do what they want to do anyway. That isn’t parenting; it’s giving up and being lazy.
-The teen years are especially dangerous, as kids are still children in many ways, but with puberty and hormones, etc. they generally live in a confused and heightened emotional state. That’s just the way it is. This is when the parents need to be the MOST vigilant, ensuring their kids don’t get into situations that are beyond their years. It doesn’t take oppressing your kids, but it does take time and effort-something a lot of parents are not willing to give. OF COURSE you should know where your teen is 24/7 and you should be paying attention to who your kid is hanging out with.
It’s called parenting, and too many people refuse to do it.
I may no longer be a fan of Britney but I am happy that her dad had the sense enough to come back into her life and help her out. He may have done wrong in the past but at least he IS trying to make up for it and do what’s best for her. I mean he gave up his good paying job to go take care of her.
Her mom on the other hand needs psychological and psychiatric help and quick! What is this woman thinking she is to her daughters?!
I’m no Britney follower – but since when was she raised by a single mother?
I always thought her parents were together through out her childhood.
Sorry, but I think she’s a failure as a mother. How can you turn your kids over to Hollywood & think they’ll turn out fine? And as a teenager of the 20th century, you’re damn right my parents controlled me. This is not the day & age you can sit back and hope for the best.
Pretty convenient for a trailer trash mom to not have any responsibilities in her 15-16 year old girl getting knocked up.
As a dad-I would never allow my little girl humping and pumping every night with her BF under my roof. Like you didn’t know she was sexually active? She works in Hollywood the smut capital of the world? And Lynn, what about your other daughters life-did you learn nothing???
And common mommy-have you ever heard of telling your daughters to use birth control- the pill or is that something trailer trash doesn’t know about.
Lynn Spears is pathetic media grabbing whore that should be brought out behind the trailer on her estate-that her daughter bought for her-and be shot!
This way we will all be spared the misery of having to listen to this trailer trash logic BS for the next year-or until it become irrelevant news!!!
Momagers suck.
Anyone but me ever get tired of the constant “trailer trash” references? Not everyone living in a mobile home is trashy – and many people living in mansions are.
Plus, if y’all can figure out how to keep track of a teen 24/7, please let me know, as I have teen grandsons now and I’m sure their mom would love to have this knowledge.
Syko: Anyone but me ever get tired of the constant “trailer trash” references?
Not when they are accurate, as in this case.
No, Syko, you aren’t the only one. Personally, I’d rather live in a trailer with good hearted, loving, hard working, & reliable people than with a bunch of spoiled asshats in shoddily built McMansion. But that’s just me & my barefoot Band-loving upbringing. 😉
There is no way that the Spears family were gubmint check collecting, shiftless lay abouts. They had to have had some money lying around to afford head shots & all the other BS that comes with getting a kid into show business. All that crap is REALLY expensive.
Besides, is there an evidence that they actually lived in a trailer?
I read about the single moms having it tough and sleeping on sofas, and you know, I get that and I agree with that. But it wasn’t exactly like Britney’s mom was that down in the dumps? I saw a documentary and they started pimping her to the world when she was like eight or seven years old, driving her to shows so she could sing. What does an eight year old know about all this stuff unless her mom and dad encouraged it?
She isn’t blameless at all, and everytime I look at my own nine year old I’m glad that she doesn’t have the opportunity or the inclination to be a model or a dancer or a singer. She has the talent, don’t get me wrong, but I’d never throw her to the wolves at this age and then say sorry, couldn’t stop her. You let them be kids first and grown ups when they are ready. That doesn’t mean sex at fourteen when they shouldn’t really even know how its done!
…here is a mother who eats her young…no decent person would line her pockets by buying the book…besides, libraries will have it for free before too long.
I know, Bodhi – my younger daughter wanted to get into modeling at one time (age 16) and I bit the bullet and sent her to the school, and after enrollment we learned that the cosmetics they required were nearly $500, there was no way I could do that, and as a result she never got modeling gigs through them. She did gain a lot of self-confidence, though, so I guess it was money well spent.
I could easily be wrong, but I have always thought the Spears family lived in a normal middle-class house.
And everyone is correct, Lynn should not have gotten her kids into show business so early. But I sincerely hope that everyone here who is a parent is able, when their kids are grown, to look back and say “I never screwed up.” Because we all make mistakes.
Daisy, sorry, off topic, gorgeous doggie. What is it? Lab?
PS. You and Syko sound like top parents to me. Real ones.
Hey Geronimo 😉
That’s my pup Scout, we just put him down on Tues. due to a brain tumor, he was 10.
Thanks for the compliment, it meant alot coming from you. 😀
Oh, I’m sorry to hear about Scout. 🙁 We were in the same situation with my old dog & it was awful.
Please refrain from personal attacks and carrying on personal arguments. Comments like this will be deleted.
Daisy, God, so sorry to hear that. Must have been heartbreaking. I’m all teary now. 😥
And you too, Bodhi. One of my dad’s dogs, beautiful little fox terrier who believed herself to be all-powerful, took on a busy road of traffic a couple of months back and sadly didn’t live to tell the tale. A sad toast to all our lost four-legged beauties.
Sorry CB moderator 😳
Geromino & Bodhi, *lifting my glass*
here’s to all of our ‘lost’ four legged friends 😉
I’m so sorry about Scout, Daisy. I know just how you feel and it breaks my heart.
I wouldn’t believe a word that comes out of her mouth. She’s only trying to flog books. What’s done is done. She’d be better served going into therapy and trying to be the best grandmother she can be now.And please oh please don’t try to put those grandchildren into show business.