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Spears rode a wave of support and admiration after being released from her controversial conservatorship, but she disappointed and angered her fans with the recent Instagram post in which she referenced Aguilera and her backup dancers.
The 40-year-old pop icon posted a quote by the late comic Rodney Dangerfield, but the "joke" fell flat.
The quote from the notoriously outspoken comic read, "I found there was only one way to look thin: hang with fat people."
In the caption, Spears suggested she might not have faced the self-esteem and confidence issues had she had Aguilera's back-up dancers, as she would have looked small by comparison.
"I mean, if I had Christina Aguilera's dancers I would have looked extremely small."
Several of Spears’ fans and supporters were shocked and disappointed by the post, with many finding it blatant body shaming, something Spears has frequently been a victim of herself.
Among those apparently incensed by the post was Aguilera herself, as it was later revealed that Aguilera unfollowed Spears on Instagram.
People wasted no time in calling Spears out for her tasteless choice of words, with many demanding she apologize to Aguilera and her dancers.
Spears was quick to try damage control, posting a follow-up on Instagram to clarify what her earlier post actually meant.
Accompanied by an image by Hong Kong based illustrator @CarrieDraw, Spears made it clear that her post was not intended to be critical of Aguilera's body, but that she was merely pointing out that their backup dancers had noticeably different body types, while also tagging and throwing in some admiration for her fellow chanteuse.
"By no means was I being critical of Christina’s beautiful body, it is what it is!"
"I flew to see her show once and the main thing I noticed was the difference of our people on stage!"
"By no means did I even mention Christina, look at my post!"
"I was inspired by her show and she is a beautiful woman of power."
"Thank you @xtina for inspiring me!"
Spears went on to say that her post was meant to expose all the scrutiny she's had to endure her entire career, claiming that having different backup dancers might have prevented that from happening.
"To be honest, I’m not trying to be critical of anybody."
"What I posted is a projection of the insecurities I deal with all the time as a result of how my parents and the media have treated me."
" I would never intentionally body shame anybody because I know what it feels like."
"I struggle with this because of how I feel about myself, not because I hate how anybody looks."
"I feel like my family knew I was insecure and people were trying to purposefully feed into this insecurity by not letting me have a choice in the people who were on stage with me."
"I appreciate you all being understanding with me as I figure out this new life I’m living!"
Some of Spears' fans were touched by her apology, feeling she was brave and open with her feelings.
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
Others, however, were less convinced, finding her apology insincere and pointing out how not only did she not apologize to Aguilera's backup dancers, but she once again seemed to throw shade at their bodies.
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
@britneyspears/Instagram
Aguilera has yet to comment on either of Spears' posts, but Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato have both reportedly un-followed Spears in apparent solidarity with Aguilera.