Call Her Daddy - Jamie Lynn Spears (Part 1)

Episode Date: January 18, 2022

Alex Cooper sits down with Jamie Lynn Spears for a two part interview.

what is up daddy gang it is your founding father alex cooper with call her daddy okay are you ready yes i'm ready jamie lynn spears hi welcome to call her dad congratulations you are an author yes how are you feeling I feel a lot of things I feel like nervous scared but also like good and proud that like I'm using my voice and saying what I want to say for the first time I know you changed the title of the book late in the game it was a what was it initially and then why did you that was never the title that was a mishap that happened where that was just something they put kind of for no one to really grab reference of my book or anything and then somehow or another it was leaked that was actually my book title it was never going to be my book title this is my book title and yeah I did

kind of wait till late in the game to name the book so perhaps it was frustrating but this has been the title of my book. Things I Should Have Said. Okay. Let's start the interview where you basically start the book. Things I Should Have Said. Okay. Let's start the interview where you basically start the book. On page one, you reveal that you were an accident. You just say immediately, I was an oops baby.

Your brother Brian was 14. Brittany was 10. Yes. And you come into the world. What was your mom's reaction though to finding out she was pregnant? She was really like why am I pregnant you had the surgery I have never had a vasectomy obviously but I hear that when you have them you have to go for the checkup because sometimes if it doesn't take then you are still fertile and you can still get a woman pregnant so your parents decided no more we've got Brian we've got Brittany we don't want any more babies and then your dad didn't go for the checkup Lynn is pregnant and they're like oh yeah I was determined to get on this earth so here I am here you are who told you that story like when did you find out that you were an oops baby it's not like the best I feel like I never did not know that like I feel like I just kind of like I mean my

sister is 10 years older than my brother's 14 years old I think maybe it was kind of a conversation of first off why don't I have a b name second off why why did you have them so close together and not me and it was never like it didn't hurt my feelings or anything it was just kind of like oh well we didn't mean to have you and then we did and then I guess I got real clever with my name they just put their names together and here I am oh my god it could have been a Kardashian moment of like the k and then the k it seems to be both of them are BJ like Brian James Brittany Jean and then Jamie Lynn honestly that is what made me ask why don't I have a B name like why don't I have the same name what was your parents logic by naming you their names Jamie and anyone that doesn't know Jamie is the dad Lynn mother and now your

name is Jamie Lynn well I know that my birth was not an easy birth I know that my mom had to go into an emergency c-section it was like not easy birth. I know that my mom had to go into an emergency C-section. It was like not easy birth. So I just was like, were you just highly medicated and wrote y'all's names in the wrong spot? I just couldn't wrap it because also she did not spell my name the way that the Lynn name is spelled in our family. I don't have an E.

Everyone else has an E. I have a cousin, Laura Lynn. It's L-Y-N-N-E. My mom's name is L-Y-N-N-E. And I'm just no freaking E. It's like you want it like, I don't get it. it like why not even you're not even giving me that connection I don't even know why I didn't even recognize it until I'm like reading the book I'm like oh Jamie Lynn like so you describe in the book that your parents had a tumultuous relationship and those issues in their

marriage and a lot of the overall family pain can be attributed to your dad's drinking problem. When did you know your father was an alcoholic? You know, it felt like, I guess I just knew something, you know, innately as a child that something's different, right? And then I could see the way my mom would act when he was around or I could, I didn't know what alcohol was obviously at a young age. I didn't know what drunk was at age, but I knew there was a part. I'd sometimes see my daddy and I didn't like it. And it was more than just like being mad. It like hurt me. It like, it like hurt my heart.

Like you're capable of being so great. Like, why are you doing this to yourself? Like I knew that innately at a young age. What do you remember about being around your dad when he was drunk well again because I did have that insulation of a sister who's 10 years older and a brother who's 14 years older I do think they kept me insulated from like a lot of whatever really happened I think it was probably their experience was probably different there's what 14 10 years I wasn't on earth that they lived with the same set of parents I'll never know what that was like was probably their experience was probably different. There's what, 14, 10 years. I wasn't on earth that they lived with the same set of parents. I'll never know what that was like or what their experience was.

I will say that dad was not like in the house every day by the time that I can recall. And then we were traveling a lot for Brittany stuff. And my dad did work off. So I could always justify it. It's like maybe that's what he's doing and that's where he is or maybe not you know so I think I kind of always lived my life justifying it to myself but also feeling safe because I had that insulation a little bit I guess I think it would consume my mom and my siblings were kind of there to take me out of it. I do think I was protected from some of it in that way, but also he wasn't around that much. So I have great memories with him, and I also have memories that I knew something wasn't right.

What was your mom's approach to handling an alcoholic husband? I don't think it was. I don't think there's a right or wrong way because like obviously I have compassion for the fact that my mom was in love with somebody who was incapable of loving her that way I think that I just wish I just wish you I get mad for her like why the why would you allow this to happen to you not only your children but like stop allowing this like outside of us like leave him that's what I couldn't understand but obviously back then you know things were I guess circumstances were different but

my mom always worked and you know my dad always worked I just didn't understand why she couldn't do that for herself and that later on turned to resentment I guess is your dad sober today yes he is how did your mom manage keeping your early careers on track without having basically help from your dad and being able to rely on him well that's where things really started to piss me off at a young age and me and my mom have walked through this and, you know, like I love my mama and it's, it's hard. I think where I started to not understand as far as our careers go is this man has, you've told me time and time again, like, and that I hated knowing too much about like, as I got older about their dynamic and their relationship. And I hated that she would say

you know he can't be in our life or whatever blah blah and he's drinking but then she would like the minute it was time to like make a decision about my career or like what I could or couldn't do she'd like call him up and let him have a say-so and I'd be like no like that's not fair she maybe just was afraid she didn't know how I don't know I can't answer that for her but I know that as what I was experiencing from that situation was like stand up for me tell him f off and that no you're not allowed to don't let him in because he clearly made choices to not be in did you ever like when you were younger start to like verbally speak up and at him he knew how I felt but I think my mom wanted deep down wanted to be with him so badly and make things work that she always tried to like mediate this kind of thing but like if he'd come over to like the house I'm like I would just like avoid

at a certain age once I got to a teenager because I verbalized it to her very much like why do you get to decide he just gets to come in my life like shouldn't I have that choice because it was like you say you don't want him but then you do and then you allow so honestly to this day it confuses me I'm like I don't know why we could I wanted somebody to step in for me so if they weren't going to I had to growing up your brother is 14 years older than you what was your relationship like growing up around your brother? I loved, like, my brother was, like, really protective. I was, he was, like, an athlete on the football team. And, like, he had a lot of girlfriends.

And he, I would, like, put on my mini cheerleader outfit and, like, go out on the field, like, the cheerleaders. Like, it's. Like, hey, Ryan. But then I also, too, was, like, a little shithead. So, yeah. Then your relationship with your sister. Brittany is 10 years older than you. In the beginning of just growing up,

like what was your guys' dynamic? It's first off all I ever knew. And it was just like, I was of course like her kind of little doll, but also at the same time, like I felt, I felt like she was my protector, I guess.

I don't know. Like it just always felt like, and I admired her too. Like I just, I guess. I don't know. Like it just always felt like, and I admired her too. Like I just, I loved her, everything about her. And my mom did work and it was always kind of like a group effort to like make sure I was taken care of. By the time you were entering first grade

and your sister, Britney Spears, was becoming a household name. Yes. In 1998, Hit Me Baby One More Time debuted yes it was massive do you remember when that song came out and like how did your family celebrate so first off I was so confused and then I just remember I was on the trampoline at my friend's house and like her song came on and somebody's like your sister is a real singer and she's famous and I was like what do you mean and they were like her and she's famous and I was like what do you mean

and they were like her song is on the radio I was like what do you mean like singer like Mariah Carey singer I remember I said that they were like yes and I remember it was like the gates open I was like oh I was like my sister did it she did it like this is everything's perfect and that was like I was so happy and I thought it was the coolest thing but it was in real time learning but in first grade like I just didn't know like I just thought like there's famous people and then there's us and then somebody just said my sister's like Mariah Carey so then that was my little head going like these are the same thing I couldn't understand it after your sister kind of starts to become famous did your parents change the way they

treated you and your siblings um no I guess I kind of always felt like an afterthought I mean I literally was right um so I just kind of learned to stay out of the way you know okay okay stay out of the way and too I was so proud of her I was like I know how hard she worked and I admired her and it was so cool like I got to witness you know like the coolest things watching her live out her dream. And so for me, it was just like stay out of the way and just like let this experience happen. Because this is something that I felt like, you know, this was the goal that everybody wanted and they got it. So I just need to like not mess anything up for anybody.

There had to be significant changes made to protect your family you write in the book talking about how there were guard dogs purchased bodyguards hired fans approaching your house at all hours men sitting in vans staring into your house as a little girl how did you conceptualize all this well the difference is too is getting famous now is different than getting famous back then like when you like made it there wasn't like social media like I think I've seen that person's face somewhere one day this person like you know then it was like you either were really famous or you there was no kind of fame you know it was more

of like and when she became a household name and it happened so fast um we still lived in a little house that was like right on the street and so people could just kind of like like come right up to us so I think that like my mom would like be like oh there's this she'd bring like literally would make them lunch I don't know it was really strange with regard to your early relationships you write in the book one of the first healthy male father figures in your life was Justin Timberlake why was he so impactful in your life you know and maybe I have some weird perception of it but that was a really maybe good time and perhaps like all of our lives so perhaps he was in that so I remember him fondly because that was like probably like one of the

best times in my whole family's life you know things were good and we were experiencing the good side of things but I just remember he was like he was just he was pretty like thoughtful like you know I loved acting and stuff like that and he like I remember for Christmas like got really thoughtful gifts and I don't know I just felt like he was funny he was really funny and too you have to remember like I was grew up around the Mickey Mouse Club those kind of yeah um and so I loved all those people because I felt like I don't know I just felt like insulated by them like funny story so I went and visited my sister when she did the Ellen show probably I don't know Ivy had been born so maybe it was two three years ago she was on the Ellen show and Ryan Gosling happened to be there the same day as her

they both were on the Mickey Mouse Club together so they're like you want to go see Ryan or whatever and I was like yeah yeah you know so we go in there he's like I always remember this story about you were he goes I think about it now raising my kids he said uh your mom and your sister when you get to being bad they'd always tell you the witch is gonna get you and that was the way they'd get me to do things and be like the witch is good he goes I think about telling my children that sometimes and he was great Ryan I wanted to be like okay yeah like whatever you want to say Ryan like it's a totally different dynamic if you like want to hang out now don't look at me as a little kid anymore exactly but no but like those are the kind of things that like

I think that because maybe I didn't have that male as my father figure was so unstable that like my first maybe my brother was actually probably like what I felt was more stable so then being around my sister's boyfriends kind of it imitated what I felt was like safe I guess how did Brittany and Justin's breakup affect you I was so sad I was so sad I was so sad I don't really know why I was so sad but I was because like I think everybody thought it was forever yeah um but I was so sad first off because I was my sister was so sad yeah but that also too was the first time that I saw maybe I didn't know everything about the relationship you know because perhaps she and you know where they were protecting me and obviously why would they talk to me about anything

right like it was it was really sad though seeing my sister be so heartbroken and also being like it's hard because like I also still want y'all to be together but she's obviously heartbroken why did they break up I truly do not know but I just think about it this I mean I think it's just like okay imagine you're in high school except you've got all the money and fame in the world I can't imagine okay nope would you be criminalized for like could you imagine like if like you know you whatever like if you talk to another girl text another girl could you imagine if like you were like criminalized for that whole thing like how dare you it's like well no first off I'm like young that's what every other kid my age is doing yeah why in the world am I being held to

different standard looking back on it with that perspective and seeing like how heartbreaking it must have been for my sister when Cry Me A River came out I mean like don't get me wrong like that's a way to launch your solo career though right way to do it hey that's a way to do it but I felt really sad and you know my sister she wrote that song every time and she's obviously beyond brilliant and when it comes to anything creative and she picked that song out on the piano and she wrote it and it still makes me cry because I think about like how heartbroken she was and then that was his song but that was every time was her song you know and it just feels like it still breaks my heart to think about that when was the first time you remember being photographed by the paparazzi I don't remember not being like I just don't remember it not being a thing even when we'd be at home in

Louisiana like what business they had there's like we're down the middle of Beverly Hills but then we kind of were able to have a little bit of fun with it like I remember one time we went and bought like this scream mask and like we bought milkshakes from Sonic and we got out of the car and threw it at him because you could do that and Kent would know he's gonna get on to you and so we did we did shit like that all the time um when did being photographed by the paparazzi become a problem for me I think that it was when it was invasive in the way of like you can't take advantage of someone during the hard moment. Like I felt like there was when the boundaries were crossed as to more than just photographing a celebrity, you know, on a red carpet or whatever's there, even when they're

like in Los Angeles going grocery, whatever. But when it becomes to where you're chasing down photos of someone going through a private moment or hard moment or whatever it is our children that's when it felt really invasive like nothing was your own anymore yeah how did your parents handle their children being ambushed by grown men with cameras I mean they hated it but it is like two you to remember, we're like a family from a small town. We don't know what the hell we're doing. And I say we as in, like, I was a baby. But I'd imagine that nobody knew, is this part of the thing?

Is this part of the job? You don't really know how to handle it. whole paparazzi culture really started I would say probably when as Britney was going to the height of her you know during that whole pop culture you know when it was like the big online blogs and the paparazzi it was just it was unbearable when you were 11 you began your acting career on the cast of all that also at 11 years old you write about noticing a shift in britney's personality you write in the book britney was showing signs of a debilitating exhaustion britney was changing in front of my eyes i was still too young to comprehend her struggles but i was old enough to recognize destructive behaviors similar to our fathers something was different with my sister but i didn't have the courage to speak out when you say she was changing in front of your eyes what were those changes

she was wanting to escape us a little bit more and when I say us I mean like my family which is normal she was that age she should go out and go do some with her friends so I remember kind of it as I got older being explained it's like you know she's going through a party stage or whatever it is you know that's fine she should whatever I just remember feeling like selfish like I was like her center of the universe maybe like her daughter her kid or whatever you want to call it and I thought it would always be that way right and then I just felt like things just were uneasy it wasn't that way as much anymore then you also write about a specific episode you reveal in the book which was pretty terrifying to read about you write apparently

everybody i know what you're about to say and apparently everybody finds this terrifying i mean it's a it's it's heavy no you go ahead and read it though because like i read it though you see okay you write britney said to me baby i'm. And she took a large knife from the kitchen, pulled me along to my room, and locked us both inside. She put the knife in the bedside table drawer and simply repeated, I'm scared. She needed me to sleep beside her. I knew something was wrong, and I was powerless to do anything about it. Why was your sister scared in that moment? I don't know.

I don't know, but I know that I was like very young and I know that this has come right after the whole marriage in Vegas and stuff. Okay. And again, I think that people need to remember, I'm telling this story about what I experienced, no matter who that person was that pulled me into the room. You have to understand like that was an experience I went through and it was really scary I felt really unsafe I I think it's important that I say that because I didn't understand I didn't understand it I was a kid I just knew I didn't feel I knew I felt really scared and especially from somebody

that like when I'm scared I run to you why am I I felt really scared. And especially from somebody that like, when I'm scared, I run to you. Why am I now scared with you? And I think that there's probably a lot of other young people who probably, or just any situation you feel that way. And I just, I never said anything because I said it to people around me. But I guess like, even when you read it to me and have people seem to keep bringing that up, I think I've learned how to like, because I was not allowed to have feelings about anything like, shut up, like, that's fine. Like whatever, we're not going to make a big deal out of this,

that I started to really not make a big deal out of things. And so when I say it, I say it more casually and be like, that's really fucked up. Like that's not normal. Um, I, I now I'm starting to like come to terms with that as I share and that's something that I don't I have a like I have to like kind of acknowledge I guess that like yeah that was really scary and I hated that that happened but also like she must have been in pain too but I was a kid like I didn't know what to do how did your parents react that your sister who was kind of an authority figure in your life trapped you in a room with a knife with her and was like saying she was scared what did your parents say you know I never felt like she was scared away

she was gonna like harm me or anything but it just felt like a weird yeah it just felt weird that's honestly yeah just and I didn't understand it. And I told them about it. And they were all having conversations about like how things did seem odd. Obviously, from what I could tell, you know, you know when your parents are like all like kind of like. But it wasn't just my parents. It was like her whole team, I guess, essentially. I don't really know.

Because, again, like I was more concerned about my fucking Sophie shorts. But at the same time, I told them they asked me to come in there and tell this therapist about it. And I did. And then I never heard anything else about it. So then I was like, okay, I guess it's just a thing that happened. Now having the space and time since that moment, what do you think was going on there I think that this was a brilliant young woman who was going through a hard time and she if she couldn't stand up for herself then somebody should have I wasn't an adult then I couldn't yeah somebody should have said stop the fucking presses

give this girl a fucking minute. I mean, I think now as a mother, like imagine if your younger daughter came to you and said, Mom, my older sister locked me in the room with a knife. Like, it's like, what would you do? We're going to take a minute, I think, right? I have daughters and they're the same age difference as me and my sister. And I look at it and I'm like how would I handle this and god forbid I ever have to handle something like this I just think that I think that first off I would have valued my younger one for coming to me with this and

realize that she might need some help walking through this and we might need to also shield her a little bit from this because she doesn't understand it, but it might later on affect her. And then I would take, hopefully take my older daughter and figure out how I can help her work through whatever it is she's working through. Because guess what? The biggest point is that that's okay. Why is that not okay to say I need to fucking take a minute and I need to do what's good for my wellbeing and everyone else's wellbeing. And maybe like, maybe that would have, you know, made a big difference for me, my sister, you know, I just hope that by normalizing the fact that it's okay, like we're

not okay or things suck or whatever. Yeah. So you went, like you had to sit down with a therapist and then you never heard of it again. And so clearly there was a lack of intervention. But again, that's not on you. You're like 11 years old at the point. Yeah. Then we just kind of like that just really not really was ever really spoke of again. Yeah. So I just kind of like, okay, maybe you just think, oh, my parents got it.

But I still was like uneasy. But then I just thought like in a kid, you just don't understand how like things don't just that kind of thing doesn't just magically get better no so I didn't understand I want to kind of go back to another scary moment you recount in the book an incident you describe having with your mom you write we would lash out at each other it all came to a head one day when my mom was emotionally strained and she snapped she started hitting me with a large beaded purse that had a camera inside she repeatedly swung the bag and landed several blows on my shoulders before she stopped i ran to the shopping center next door to where we lived i used a pay phone to call my brother brian mom is going crazy you stopped the story there what did Brian say when you told him that your mom was

beating you well again I didn't really look at it like that like I will say I was particularly an exceptional asshole to my mother a lot and I do regret a lot of things that I probably could have done better to her you do know that yeah regardless of being an asshole yeah I know I know but I just was like I just didn't understand all I wanted the only reason I was being mean to her because I just wanted her to stand up for me or stand up for herself and I think that that just became all too much and I called my brother and of course like I'd go stay with my brother a good bit when he was in LA and so I can't remember if he came and got me and you have to understand that these

are just like moments and incidences in my life that are just like kind of like blimps on like my story so that wasn't something that like I'd go stay with my brother when I felt like I just didn't want to be around my mom anymore or whatever else. And and I did feel bad for how I treated my mama. And like I don't and that's very unlike my mom, I will say. That's why I was just like I needed to get away from her, but I need to get away from her for a lot of reasons. Yeah. did anything happen like did anyone find out um people I never really told anybody that happened but like now me and my mom like like we obviously have talked about that yeah um I told her I'm sharing that and um

you write about in the book that the makeup artist saw the bruises on your neck I guess like I mean there's just no other I mean yeah he knew something was wrong yeah I mean maybe it's hard for me to even like say those things but like I'm sure through time like you you've started to sort of see how that's not okay yeah and I think that's like what I wish people would understand like I'm still like in real time real time, like, sharing these things. And, like, they're not easy for me. They're not easy for, I'm sure, like. Anyone.

You know, it's hurtful for me to work through this. Because sometimes I think I don't say it right or I don't know how to say it because it's still painful. I'm still processing it. But part of the main steps is, like like actually saying it out loud, I guess. And so I just, I'm trying to think in hindsight also, like how I felt then, how I feel now. And, um, I just think that like, I just, I just think that I just like, I don't want to like, I don't want to, I want to protect everybody. I think I've got to stop doing that I just like, I don't want to like, I don't want to, I want to protect everybody. I've got to stop doing that. It's a bad habit.

I can't diminish my experiences, no matter whether it was my mother, my sister, my brother, if it was a Joe blow off the street. Yeah. I have to respect my experiences. And I guess I just don't know how to do that. Cause I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. And I don't want to like, I just like, I just don't want to like I just like I just don't want to I just I don't know I'd rather be in pain than cause pain I don't want to pass on these patterns I'm sure my kids will tell me all the ways I f them up when they're older you know that's what every that's what all it's our job like you know it's like how many ways can a parent do this but at the end of the day I have to use my voice or else I'm not going to teach my children to do it. It's hard to hear you like immediately react and defend your mom.

It's hard. And I guess it's so hard because like people don't know what something so perpetually ingrained in your being. You know, it's not just about like writing a book or whatever it is about me, like truly saying I'm making this growth to be truly authentically me because that's all I've ever wanted to be it felt so hard to just like just exist for everyone else's pleasure so much of you has to be like don't say that keep keep the brand in mind like don't do this don't like you can't even be and it wasn't even like really my brand yeah you know it was like I was a prop to a lot of things but at the same time I was never allowed to control my own narrative or have my own voice and never unless it was like in line with everything and I was never allowed to do anything or say anything that would possibly put my sister in a bad light and

honestly I love my sister I'm her biggest fan but guess what sisters are sisters or whatever you know and like that's okay and I think the biggest thing is is like why wasn't that just made normal from the beginning yeah I was born into this family I didn't choose this was like yeah it's like imagine like a big ship and I'm like just a little like dinghy riding in the wakes like trying to like fucking survive you know and so that was my life was like, just survive this moment. And you might get to do something you want to do every now and then, but just survive this, you know? And so I really, I can't help that.

I loved acting too. And I can't help those things. And I don't know why, why can't two sisters exist in their own right? We never compared each other. The world did. We never compared each other. The world did. We never had that dynamic or that issue. My sister to this day is going to always to me be the most badass performer that ever walked on this earth.

Nothing's going to change that. The problem was, is that like, I couldn't be responsible for everything that happened around her and also be authentic to myself. Yeah. And I wasn't allowed to be. So I just, I wasn't allowed because like, I don't know why. I mean, I guess I didn't have the courage to do it.

I guess I was too scared. But when it's ingrained in you so perpetually to be that way, like I'm trying my heart, I'm breaking a true pattern that has been ingrained in me it is hard and i'm scared and i'm all of those things but i have to do this it doesn't matter who your sister is or who your family member is or who whatever your relationship is with something has caused you pain or this is your experience nothing should diminish your experience it's like my whole life i kind of felt like I didn't matter so it's like I just wish that mattered I hear what you're saying and it's like you and Brittany can both exist, but we can't take away from the fact that like,

everyone's always like, Oh, like she must be so jealous. And it's like, it's not an easy seat you're sitting in right now. Jealous and jealous. Just like not the, her,

her hard work. Nothing was nothing but an inspiration to me. Like, what do you mean jealous? Like that was, I got to experience watching a woman take over the fucking world. her hard work and nothing was nothing but an inspiration to me. Like, what do you mean jealous? Like that was, I got to experience watching a woman take over the fucking world. How can I be jealous of that?

How can you not have anything but complete admiration for it? What the problem is, is that now just because, just because I'm her sister, I'm somehow or another being looped into something that I worked really hard as I got older to create my own life. And we're going to get into that because. Yeah, sorry. We segwayed way out of it. We're like having a therapy session.

You know what the other thing is? It's like I know that like, you know, my family been through some dumb ass shit and like we're like whatever but like my mom I don't want people to go after her and try to punish her for something that that was a situation that went on between me and her me and her worked it out if I can work on that and move forward and acknowledge it then I don't need fucking Joe Blow over in a whole nother world telling my mama something mean from the outside it appeared as if the Spears sisters were thriving at one point like you kind of said like things at one point get that guess I forget that. Yeah, like no, it really did. Like outside world, your sister was the biggest pop star in the world. Your acting career is taking off.

Meanwhile, your mom was struggling to manage both of your careers. Your dad is in and out of your life. And at one point, your sister offered to buy your mom a house in order to get your mom away from your dad. Yeah. How did that plan backfire I was really confused by that now looking back like what a weird fucking thing to do and can you explain when you say what a weird thing to do like what are you talking like I don't know why like it seems like a weird thing to be like I'll give you a house if you divorce dad and why would your kid be able to tell you that already these dynamics are messed up and that was where I think

too I'm like my dynamics were kind of effed up because like my sister's paying bills but I was a kid I don't have a choice where I put my head or where I slept at like what am I gonna do like tell mom I'm not sleeping here well then guess what you're sleeping on the street like what do you mean you know like I had no choice over that but it was confusing to me I was like wait so they're getting a divorce because my sister said she's like can you imagine like the math going on in my head you're like so Brittany said she'll buy you a house if you get divorced so you're taking the house you're getting the divorce but then they get the divorce and you said they might as well not even got divorced

because you showed up at the house that she bought to avoid the dad like it was like me and my mom still argue about this like dad was there the night the first night we stayed in the house I'm like I'm telling you he was and mama says no he wasn't I said yes he was so I'm like so is Brittany gonna be mad because dad's here like do you see what I'm saying like I'm like who am I supposed to what am I supposed to but I just remember like feeling like what is up and what is down it's a very weird financial dynamic when the a child starts to be the breadwinner I will always say this that like my dad did always have a problem with that. So like he always, you know,

he didn't want to live in that house because Brittany had paid for it. He didn't like that. I guess that was just the dynamic. I don't know. But I remember just being really confused by all of it. As I think a lot of people would be, Jamie Lynn. I still am, I don't know.

You're working on Zoe 101 at one point in your life and you and your mom relocate from Louisiana to California. Yeah yeah who paid for the apartment you and your mom lived in usually like the network will give you a relocation fee it's never enough to cover like being there the whole time but it's something so i mean i always paid for the apartments that we were in okay um which didn't seem that odd i guess because like we were there for my work but at the same time that created a really unhealthy dynamic because I'm like I'm paying the bills why do I have to listen to you how was your money your money that you were making off zoe 101 and all that and all that like distributed within like your family like how was it explained to you like where was your money going did you get an allowance like how did it work for you I remember that my money was very

much something like in the beginning that I just kind of didn't think that much about because I was a kid and now I was like awesome I get to do what I love and that's all I thought about when we went into the Zoe stuff I was making a much bigger salary numbers that I noticed and also was older and could understand like wow of course I fought in you know you make that money it's all yours right like whoa what was I wrong and so I did I had like an allowance I think it was like five hundred dollars for like maybe every two weeks or something which is I think was for what I was making for us work was like maybe reasonable I'm not sure who really knows you start to kind of mention

like again you're so young and you mentioned that you would notice like your sister having these episodes being that young how in your mind were you defining an episode there was understandably a lot she was dealing with right who would be perfect you know like i just thought like once all this shit stops this little everything will go back to normal that's kind of what I thought okay and I just justified it as that way like I don't I didn't know or understand anything else and maybe I didn't want to deal with it it's not my place to speak on what it is someone else is dealing with or how they're dealing with it but I am allowed to say how things affect me and they did affect me and that shouldn't be diminished so for me it

just felt like I really wish all this shit could stop so I could have a normal existence so it would be like if she was just like there was just a lot happening with her acting differently in a moment and it would affect you and then you would be waiting for it to go my parents would my mom would fly off a lot and be like something happened with Brittany or whatever okay those were me in my head justifying it as maybe I don't know all the details but something's happened okay she needs me there and it was like that was kind of more so of what I saw and I think because I was the baby like nothing was ever directed at me yeah I was still kind of insulated by like she's the baby it was just kind of like mom's going to be with her again because something happened or whatever maybe there was some arguing or some yelling and yeah I would

just be like really like immersed up things like I had a friend over and like there would be I would just be embarrassed by it or whatever you know but I was such a young kid at the time like I was kind of like self-centered still as we all are like young kids so I just wanted like my family to act fucking normal that was it in February of 2007 Britney Spears was harassed and followed by the paparazzi and they documented her through the window of a barber shop as she shaved her head how did you find out well I know exactly what I okay I had been at a basketball game cheerleading because I was a cheerleader and we got home and my friends like that's back when you like went on like the blogs you know and stuff and they were like oh my god Jamelyn do you want to see this and I was like what do you mean it

almost felt like one of my friends took enjoyment out of it and like I didn't like that I remember being more pissed off about that and I was by myself I didn't have my mom and my daddy like they were there trying to help her and so like I was by myself and I had to pretend like it didn't bother me um so you found out because your friend pulled up a blog post or like a picture or something and your parents were with britney like i don't even remember talking to him about it you didn't even talk to your parents i'm sure i did right i don't remember yeah were you surprised i just wanted to be with her you know but then But then, too, like, I didn't want to, like, give anybody the satisfaction of, like, like, um, I just remember seeing it. I remember, like, all I wanted to do was, like, just go home and get my bed.

Like, I just had to stay at my friend's house. You had to stay at your friend's house that night? Because they were out of town. Like, my mom was out of town. And so, I just had to be like, huh, like,'re like that's like I don't even know what I said I really I can't recall maybe yeah like I guess I just kind of acted like it wasn't that big of a deal um but it was huge deal and obviously I was like I was just like I don't want to go to school tomorrow and I would go to basketball games, and, like,

like, the whole student section would, like, sing stuff from the other school and stuff to me, and, like, not that, like, that's not the end of the world, like, I don't want pity, that's the whole thing, but I just think that, like, these were things that happened that, like, I just, like, I need to acknowledge that we're not that great or fun and i just remember like sitting in my stupid little blue cheerleader outfit being like i was like you know like like it's like when somebody tells you something you try to act like it doesn't bother you but it really hurts your feelings yes it was like my stomach was like i was just like oh my god and you're trying to like just like deflect like oh that's weird like oh that's like i was like oh my god like oh like I don't even know

what I said like I don't even recall but I know it was my friend saying do we shower I can remember and I was like what is it like I didn't understand after that did you get to call your parents like when I don't even remember I don't think I did I don't even think I don't even know what we talked about I have no idea I keep trying to remember right now even like and this is a lot of time while I was writing the book I had to call my mom and be like mom I can't remember did this happen this way fact checking myself because I was like I couldn't remember things sometimes it was all coming apart yeah and I was like gonna sit here and grin and bear it like I was taught to you know after that do you remember what you're where were you at with your sister? I really like this part in like my life.

I think I just really disconnected myself from it. But I do know that like, obviously, that's where most of my family's concern was and maybe should have been. But like, there were things that like I see to this day that I'm like, I don't remember those pictures. I don't remember those things. It was was like I was kind of like at home like by myself like kind of figuring it out like I wish I had somebody to talk to about it you know I was gonna do talk to my eighth grade friends and be like or ninth grade friends be like oh yeah like no what do I say I just remember like I just would walk into the hallways and be like, just walk in this hallway anyway.

I didn't want to. And teachers would sometimes make comments. It was just like not cool. But this was my childhood experience. And this is what I went through. You're a 16-year-old kid. And you discover you're pregnant. How did you find out that you were going to become a mom?

I can remember I felt like absolute dog shit, and I didn't know why. Perhaps all the shit that was going on, I don't know, and then I realized maybe I'm feeling this way because, like, I'm having a reaction to, like, needing to just go home, be normal, all this stuff going on with my family. Well, my friend kind of suggested, you don't think you could be pregnant? I mean, I'd only been with this one guy. And so I was like, we'd been broken up for a little bit. And I was like, I just don't think so, you know. And sure enough, it showed up positive.

And I was like, I just was, it was so unreal how did the father of your child react to the news of your pregnancy he just like he was partying and he just just didn't want to he didn't have time for that I guess I mean he didn't he he did he told me that how did he know it was his I'm like well first off because like you're the only person I've been with but um you know i guess he probably i guess didn't believe that either i don't know um but also he was a kid right you know he didn't believe you uh-uh he didn't first he didn't believe i was pregnant so then i drove my happy ass out there to mississippi and i dropped a picture on his doorstep you're like let me show you and do like my mom's calling the whole time like where are you if she only knew that her biggest worry was not where I was yeah really like mom

you're about to find out soon are you kidding me which could you imagine like as a mom like okay this one daughter just had this and now this daughter's like I'm pregnant and like that's not the kind of problem you can just like hide once again I think whenever big crisis would happen my brain kind of would go into this weird like escaping mechanism where I would like but I did had I'd already like kind of prepped for knowing that they probably were going to want to isolate me so I did already I'd went to a local Walmart bought me some burner phones why did you think immediately oh they're going to isolate me because they didn't want anyone to know um that was kind of the motto of our life and I don't think that all this came from like oh

it's just a horrible place I think that sometimes it's like to protect like they did not want things out there that possibly could hurt us or whatever but at this particular time like I knew that they were going to want to like handle the situation before they allowed me to handle it so clearly you had seen that happen in your family well like I knew that like I was like like obviously like I'd been in a lot of pain with things with my you know I watched with my family and my sister but I still pretended like it was okay it was very clearly wasn't you know at the time did you feel like your parents were caught more up in the optics of how your pregnancy would affect your career and Brittany's career I think that genuinely like they were like oh my god our baby's having a baby like

that kind of was like a moment like oh my god this whole fucking thing is just like what what is going on and i think that like we have to remember i think they did want me to know there were options and all of that kind of stuff but i do think at that point that like especially my mom was so like checked out like oh my god everything's she just was kind of was like allowing the team to kind of she just wanted somebody to help like make this better I don't think that and then that to me I was like this should be a family matter like why do we have a fucking team here but at the same time like that was our world you write basically about a revolving door of people trying to give in to

to abort the baby you write and i quote once mama and daddy told my team things spiraled out of control it will kill your career you're just too young you don't know what you're doing there are pills you can take doesn't the family have enough to deal with i know a doctor don't make a mistake you'll regret for the rest of your life I'll never forget that last plea of making a mistake I would regret because it reinforced my decision to have my baby why did everyone in your life pleading with you to have an abortion reinforce your decision to have a baby well up until this point everyone else had kind of controlled my narrative and made my decisions that felt safe to me like pleasing everyone else protecting everyone else's best

interest was my job that's what I always had done and for the first time in my life I was standing up for what I wanted and I and this was one thing I couldn't I couldn't just accept I think that everyone has a choice and this was the one that I I knew in my I knew in my like heart of hearts this was what I had to do this was what felt right to me and if I went against that I was going against my very being my soul was telling me that I wanted my baby why did you decide to sell the exclusive rights to your pregnancy announcement to okay magazine well back then as you know like the paparazzi were just out of control so even before any of and i will say that was thing one thing that my team did do was say like look we want to be give

you the option to put your the pictures out there in the world the way you want to so you're not hounded by paparazzi and that was the ultimate goal and I was a kid and by the way I'm still a minor it's like what am I gonna what can I really do and so if it was going to give me a way to control my narrative which I thought was this was gonna enable me to do then of course I thought well why wouldn't I do that I will have control over the pictures that are my child. This is the words that are written about me. Cause back there, there wasn't really as much social media. It was like that one story. Then everybody just reposted that one story. Yeah. So I was like, this is me taking control of it. How did your family ensure the news would not leak before the article was released? This is the really fun part. Um, this part was really got me, you know? So I tell them I'm pregnant. There's a few days where we're at home and you know, everybody's like crisis mode. What

are we going to do? Blah, blah, blah. The okay deals made for me. And I'm just kind of like a piece in this puzzle, I guess. And I'm just going through like a piece in this puzzle I guess and I'm just going through them and I feel like shit mind you so I'm not like I don't have the strength to really fight back like I'm literally vomiting and so I just know that they say look the story's gonna break people are going to absolutely hell in this house and you just can't be here we need to put you somewhere where things can be controlled and you can have the space. You know, like I'm kind of thinking like, oh, we're going to go to like a nice place or something. You know what I mean?

It's called a spa. Or something. Or I don't know what I was thinking. But also, I didn't want to go. I was also a teenager who thought I was with the love of my life and going to get to be with him. And I was told that he was going to be able to come visit. And so I was kind of agreed to this. And so I fly into New york we stay a night there

and by the way we stay the first night there and we go watch me and my mom go to the movie theater and we see juno which i swear to god this is not i'm not making this shit up god we can go fact check this with mom if you want to like it was juno yeah and so literally i'm that was my favorite movie and like people call me juno lynn or whatever i'm like fucking right on that's a good movie i don't care it's such a good movie anyways they should have just came and filmed my life saved themselves a lot of money it would have been a better version no really like honestly so i know we flew into new york i still don't know like did i go to connecticut or massachusetts i'm not like i don't even know i just know when somewhere where's no

like as we got further and further i was like guys where are we going and so it was this house clearly like someone's like cabin or I don't know and poor mama is just over there like like what you know she's like she wasn't gonna obviously leave my side but she just was probably felt probably a little bit of pushed around by this machine too but I was also like why couldn't you stand up for me but at the same time I think she felt helpless maybe like she felt like kind of just had surrendered to this whole situation and so like she's like crying every day and I'm like vomiting and we like have to sleep in the same bed every night and we were there for like I don't know two or three weeks he never came they never let my you know the father come and I'll say i don't

think he wanted to he had you know he was like things to do but he got to go be in the normal world while i was like the story broke and while the story broke i didn't have internet or anything i had no idea what's going on so you have no idea to this day where you were sent no i don't know but i know there's a lot of stuff i mean we, we drove outside of New York for a couple hours. And who actually, like your dad facilitated this? Oh, no, my dad was not. He was, at this point, he had left, and he was like, he went to go focus on Brittany because, like, he was, when I told him I was going to have my baby and I wanted to do it normal,

and he was like, fine, do whatever you want, and I'm just, he just had left at that point so at this point it's my mom and i don't really know who was like make who was making these decisions i don't know but i was a kid like i don't know even you having that revelation is like kind of it's a big moment who paid for the house oh i know i paid for the house because i know exactly how much it cost and it was not cheap you're like i don't even know where i was to this day and i actually don't even know who facilitated whose idea really was it perhaps like maybe my pr team was like just like hider and i don't even know who my pr was at the time but that's a really like big point to hear you say that because i saw how genuinely you were

realizing you actually sold to say i don't even know who my mom is a grown-up like maybe we should just got in the car like we're just gonna leave you can just yeah like we could just leave but this thing had just gotten so big that it was like all these different people controlling and you just you guys were like okay let's go i still like i wonder who the run who was running my life i don't know did your parents see any of that okay Magazine money? No, they did not. I mean, they did not. That money went to, obviously, my baby. Now, 13-year-old, but you know.

What were some of the headlines you remember reading about yourself when the news finally broke that you were pregnant? Well, as we know, that's when it was like tabloid. It was the high time of tabloids. And so, again, I get wanting to protect me from it but also I moved to Mississippi I built my big ass gate around my house I was trying to just look I get it I have I'm pregnant I'm a 16 year old but I also I'm just trying to figure my shit out yeah I not kidding you. I still would have 15 paparazzi on me. And in the middle of nowhere, I'm just like, what are you doing here?

I'm not walking down the middle of Beverly Hills asking for this. Right. And being called a slut, so many different names about who the baby daddy was and all these kinds of things was just completely, it broke my heart. I'm about to have a baby. And like, honestly, what made me more mad was like, I don't want my daughter to think that her mom's a piece of shit. And like, now you've already done that. She's not even here yet. And also, I don't want my daughter to ever read a headline that she ruined my career or something. Because that's not true. And they didn't't they're so irresponsible

how could they say that how could these grown-ups say that to I was still a minor whether I was having a child or not I was still a little girl having a baby yeah that's a lot and then for people to go ahead and predestine another little girls how she might feel about this and we say we're better but no we just now we just do it on the internet on people's social media and hide behind it at least the magazines had enough balls to put it on their cover you're so right like i didn't think about that when you were like my child's gonna grow up and there's google and read that and it's like yeah you printed it proudly on your magazine you said it on national tv i mean this was like

like news stations you watch in the morning like these grown-ups saying these things could you imagine saying that about a young child wouldn't you be like oh my god this child is gonna have this baby like we need to all as a freaking world rally around these people that are making whatever it just doesn't even matter the point is it's like it was like I was a kid this magazine release of your pregnancy announcement was also how your sister found out you were pregnant apparently and like this again is something like I don't even know who put me where I was at but at the same time like why couldn't I tell my sister that was what I was told was the best thing to do and I just didn't even have

the energy to fight back you know Brian knew your mom your dad knew and Brittany was the only one that didn't know and you wrote they said it was too risky to tell Brittany about the baby why would it have been risky to tell Brittany about the baby I don't really know I mean maybe like they thought because maybe she would say something before the article came out did you like what what like when they came to you and told you don't tell britney like they didn't tell me don't tell britney was just like you tell no one anything and like i was thinking maybe like they were gonna call in britney too i don't know what i was thinking but i just knew that like of course like honestly i needed her more than it could you imagine what a difference it probably would have made if i was able to have my sister then and you were just kind of like at

that point like i had to surrender to it i was a minor number one and number two like what do you think they you think they were just thought like she may just like tell it like casually and like i think that she britney was obviously going through her own shit but i think i was so absorbed in my own shit that I couldn't even think about that yeah and it feels it makes me feel stupid too like why didn't I why didn't I know but then again I had to go like you were 16 I was consumed with like you know I wanted to like be around the dad I mean you know you're so consumed with all this dumb shit that makes sense you're like I want to try to make it work with the dad like I'm 16 and pregnant like I was more concerned about talking to him than I was anybody that makes sense you're like I want to try to make it work with the dad like I'm 16 and pregnant like I was more concerned about talking to him than I was anybody that makes sense you know like I was

like why can't I talk to the dad well like for a while there I couldn't talk to him yeah it was weird it was like and I remember there was somebody in my life who was like I mean the deed's already done so what are they really trying to keep you from him for you know what I mean like the worst has happened you're pregnant yeah like stop trying to keep me away yeah what happened when Brittany finally found out I imagine that like no matter what and where what kind of state of mind that any of us were in it like that's hard I just can't believe that they wouldn't have made sure she knew like I just can't believe that somebody wouldn't have done that did you guys ever have a conversation about it I think that maybe she might forget that I was a kid then and she might feel like I also didn't tell her so I think at first that was like something that maybe was harmful and hurtful to

her but I was hurting just back because I was kind of pissed off like I want my sister here why didn't she come to save me but then also not understanding that she's on the other end of the world. Like where's my, you know, so, but I was a kid then too. So I think that we had to like kind of understand, like, I didn't know. While you're in the early stages of teen pregnancy, your sister is dealing with her own struggles yeah a month after your pregnancy announcement britney is hospitalized and held for mental evaluation twice in one month what triggered those hospitalizations now this time was extreme like disassociation for me extreme i don't know if it's because i wanted to not have anything to do with that world with the

public because I was so burnt out on it myself I was like not speaking to anyone kind of like as soon as you know I got you threatened them with emancipation and then I yeah I I kind of had like closed myself off from all of that. And my dad was handling that. And I think my mom was with me. And I just didn't know what was going on. And I wasn't let in to know. I think I was kind of just like, I was just an afterthought. They didn't want to tell me anything.

I had no idea. I saw it like the rest of the world. And I was never told afterthought. Like they didn't want to tell me anything. I had no idea. Like I like saw it like the rest of the world. And I was never told the details of anything. That happened to your sister with you. Your sister didn't know what was happening with you when you were in the cabin. And so then when something's happening with your sister, you're also now not letting on that information when you guys are. And I was very used to that because like I was the baby of the family.

So like, of course, I didn't expect like my parents like run shit by me or anything. Right. But then again, too, I mean, I could see that my sister was hurting. But I didn't know what the right thing to do with anything was, you know, and clearly like the adults will know what they're doing. Right. Like, were you guys like talking ever or was that a time where? Before when I was still in L.A., like I'd still go stay over there and stuff stuff um but yeah I did become more so about like I didn't like the people around her so I just

didn't really want to be around that you just referenced it that's what I was going to ask you about you're pregnant at the time you didn't have a job you describe desperately trying to regain control of your life and your finances before your baby is born you take legal action against your parents at the age of 16 can you explain how why you decided to attempt to get emancipated from your parents it became the point where like okay i'm pregnant everyone knows i thought the reason y'all were keeping me so locked away like a princess was because of the story well the story's out everybody knows i'm pregnant so what are we doing now why am i still being monitored like this I didn't understand that like and also told when I could and couldn't see the father my child and I'm not I wasn't expecting

to like you know have everything I wanted all in one setting but I did expect that like I would be able to it's almost like maybe if like they made it not exist enough, it didn't exist. I don't know. But it got to the point where like, I was so monitored that I even, you know, I was able to go out, I got my GED. And so like,

I would go to those studies and I would go do that kind of stuff. And then I was able to do like a few other things, but I had to like tell them where I was. I was very much monitored. So you say, tell them who are you? I would tell my mom, like my mom would run everything by these people. Like I my team whoever they were and that made me mad too i was

like mom be strong enough you know like so you're getting monitored by these people like this is like everyone had to say so i guess and what i had to do and honestly i'm only hearing it from like my mom but i know that she's being controlled and i know that she's probably she doesn't want to upset anybody you know like i i don't know i don't know who to blame there I don't know if there is anybody to blame but I just know what I experienced I knew that I wasn't allowed to do certain things but at this point in time I'm having a baby like I got to start kind of preparing for it I don't want to live at my mom's house and have a baby right I need to go look at houses why do you think they were monitoring you so closely I don't know but I know that like they I just I don't know like what was

there to monitor anymore I'm pregnant and you know I wasn't speaking to my father at this time so I went and I remember like I looked at some houses or whatever and like I thought maybe okay things are gonna get better right well then I was very quickly told like no like I saw like they don't like wanted me to like live at my mom's house and like have this baby and I was just like fucking no I'm not doing that so I called my friend up who is my very best friend and I said look I need to talk to somebody legally I know I know I'm in a weird situation so I would lie and say I was going to doctor's appointments I would go meet with a lawyer and I did this a couple times gave all the all the facts, what I was going through, blah,

blah, blah. And I said, um, you know, I want to emancipate them. They gave, I was wondering what my options were.

I'd really never heard of these things. You know, I was like, what are my options? Like legally, this is my own money. Legally, this is my,

like I want to have control over it. I'm having a baby, blah, blah, blah. And so they actually, um, told me I could be emancipated.

So then what I did is finally decided the day I was going to serve them with these papers. And the other option was, is if they did not sign off on this legally, when there's some loophole in the law where she can, I could go get married if I'm pregnant and a judge would marry me. Even though I was a minor, there's some loophole and I'm probably, I'm probably quoting that wrong. But there was a loophole that I knew about that I could do if they did not legally emancipate me got it but by um doing that would mean that I would have no prenup or anything to protect myself at the end of the day my mom was basically like and my family at that point like look we're not gonna let her what she's worked hard since a young age to create, be at risk. So if we can just come to a compromise of you go do whatever it is that you need to do and live your life.

If things go horribly wrong, we still, as parents have, we can't step in, you know, and that's what we ended on. So I never had to officially emancipate them. But I did that day. I mean, I just loaded up all my shit and left. Did you feel after that though like did you actually get like regain control of your finances like when you were asking did it start to it clicked yeah and I was not somebody who was like I just want to go spend all my money I very much was like look these are the things I'm trying to do please guide me the right way to do it that was I wanted to buy a home I wanted to you know set up a life for myself that

was pretty simple um what I wanted now knowing your whole story like it is interesting to learn that Britney Spears was not the first Spears to take legal action against her parents to be like I want my life and my money back and like yeah there's small similarities happening right now the fact that you're like i don't know who made those decisions for me i don't know what like like uh like this whole universe on the phone or something you know and then they're dictating your entire life you actually were like okay fuck this i gotta stand up for myself you give birth in june of 2008 but at this point like you don't have a, like the OK Magazine check would only go so far.

Did you ever ask your sister for money? Did she ever offer? Never. I never asked my sister for money. And I will say that like not only did I make good money off of Zoe, but the check was not small. Switching gears here kind of like to like the public perception of you. Social media is like this unnecessary evil that comes with this industry and I talk about it with a lot of people that come on my show and you have been getting annihilated on the internet recently what are the comments you get that are the most hurtful that I didn't do anything to try to help my sister I very much did many things. February 1st, 2008, your father files for conservatorship over your sister. Why did you not speak out on social media? Your father struggled to parent. What qualified him

to be a thick? When did you come to realize that this conservatorship was infringing on Britney's rights? You were involved in the conservatorship. Wrong. Never involved in the conservatorship. There is a huge piece of this story that is missing.