Britney Spears is setting the record straight about the comparisons made between her and Christina Aguilera.
In a new Instagram post on Thursday, August 28, the Princess of Pop pointed out that while people would often liken her to Aguilera during the peak of their stardom in the 2000s — which created tensions between them — Spears actually felt Shakira was closer to being her “twin.”
“I remember when I first came to LA, I always felt like the youngest and shortest person in the room,” the 44-year-old recalled. “Then I met Shakira and she was exactly my size.”
“We were honestly twins,” Spears continued, adding, “It was insane. Even more so than Christina, who is actually shorter than me.”
The Grammy-winner then recalled meeting Shakira while she was filming the music video for Whenever, Wherever, released in 2009. “She had all these cool braids and colors in her hair, and I had just woken up from a nap going there in the car, and she had just woken up from a nap in her trailer. Either way, I finally felt normal,” Spears noted.
The Toxic hitmaker has spoken highly of Shakira over the years, most recently naming the Colombian superstar as the inspiration behind her infamous knives dancing videos in 2023.
Meanwhile, her relationship with Aguilera has been marked with ups and downs. The pair found their footing together on Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 when they were just 12 years old, alongside Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, and Kerry Russell.
As they rose to pop stardom, Spears and Aguilera were often pitted against each other. Tensions first began brewing after their iconic 2003 MTV VMAs performance with Madonna, with Aguilera later calling Spears a “lost little girl who needs guidance.”
The feud came to a head when Aguilera appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with Justin Timberlake, whose relationship with Spears had recently ended. In the cover story, Aguilera said she thought Spears and Timberlake should get back together. Spears called the comments “confusing” and admitted they “stung” in her 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me.
