AJ McLean From BSB Got Real About The Last Time He Saw Britney
He has a lot of passionate thoughts.
Fans have long vocalized their concern that Britney Spears has been taken advantage of under her strict, 13-years-long conservatorship. Now, some of Hollywood’s biggest names have expressed solidarity with the pop star. From Christina Aguilera to Madonna and Mariah Carey, it seems like everyone who’s anyone is team #FreeBritney, and rightfully so. You can add Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean’s comments about Britney Spears’ conservatorship to that list. Let’s just say, he did not hold back.
On the July 14 episode of Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live, McLean, who’s Spears’ childhood friend, admitted to Cohen, “Back in the beginning of this whole conservatorship, when everything happened about 13 years ago, I could kind of empathize in that moment, maybe with her family, with how things transpired. … But for it to go on this long I think is absolutely asinine. I think it’s insane. I think it is completely brutal.”
McLean went on to describe an encounter at a cupcake shop when he last ran into Spears, “My wife asked me to go in to get some cupcakes for a birthday party for one of my daughter’s friends. Went in, she was there, she looked right at me and I was like, ‘Hey, it’s AJ.’ And she just kind of had this glass face. Like, she just didn’t know who was there. It took her a minute. And then she realized it was me, and we hugged and we talked for a brief moment, but I could just see that this wasn’t her. Like, I’m not looking at the person I knew from years and years ago.”
The Backstreet Boy revealed, “It broke my heart. … She was with a gentleman. I’m assuming it was security and/or maybe a driver because I know, based on her words — which I do believe 100% — you know, she’s not allowed to drive herself. She can’t do anything, like, literally. She can’t do anything.”
McLean believes the medication Spears may have been on at the time (Spears alleged she was forced to take lithium against her will under her conservatorship in her June 23 court testimony) may have contributed to her odd behavior. “I know a lot of that, in my opinion, could be whatever they’re keeping her on… which is just insane. It’s not fair, and I just don’t think it’s right.” (Elite Daily previously reached out to Spears’ team for comment on the claims in her court testimony, but did not hear back.)
The “I Want It That Way” singer seemed most disturbed by the fact that Spears had allegedly been kept away from her companions from her time in Alcoholics Anonymous. “One thing that really grinds my gears, because I am sober and I am in an AA program, the fact that she cannot stay in contact with anyone from her fellowship, from when she was going to AA meetings, that is BS to me,” McLean said. “Because that’s the whole core of what we do in this program, is fellowship. We lean on each other, we look up to each other for support and… if somebody were to take that from me, it would really be difficult for me to stay sober, honest to god. I just wish the best for her, honestly.”
With Judge Brenda Penny granting Spears’ request to appoint her own lawyer in the July 14 hearing, it seems that the “Toxic” star might finally be taking back control over her own life, and McLean is all for it. “Free Britney. That’s my whole thing, man,” he said. With fans and celebrities continuing to show support for Spears, it seems like McLean isn’t the only one that wants it that way.
