Britney Spears has spoken out after receiving backlash for an Instagram post where she appeared to body-shame Christina Aguilera's backup dancers.
As previously reported, the Toxic singer posted an image of a quote to her Instagram page, which read: "I found there was only one way to look thin: hang out with fat people."
The 40-year-old captioned the image: "I wish I could have chosen the nannies for my children … my dancers … I mean if I had Christina Aguilera's dancers I would have looked extremely small… I mean why not talk about it ?? Don't you think my confidence would have been a bit better if I could choose where I lived, ate, whom I called on the phone, dated and who was on stage with me !!!"
She added: "It's hard sometimes now I see how much of my womanhood was stripped away at that time and every person sat back and didn't say a thing !!! Anyways … I will be here talking bout things people NEVER talked about !!!"
Many of Spears' 42 million followers on the platform voiced their distaste at the post, with many people calling her out for "body-shaming."
One user even commented: "Britney we love you-but this post is harmful to others who live in bigger bodies and people who experience [eating disorders]. We know [you've] been hurt. But let's not hurt others in our healing."
In the wake of the backlash, Aguilera allegedly unfollowed Spears, causing fans to speculate whether their on-and-off again feud had been reignited.
Now, it seems the 'Circus' singer has addressed the negative responses to her post, uploading a cutesy drawing of two pixies emblazoned with the names Avery and Olette - perhaps a depiction of her and Aguilera.
She added one of her trademark lengthy captions, writing: "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 !!!"
Spears added: "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 !!! 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 !!!
Her apologetic words were met with praise from her fans, with one person writing: "And this is how a true Queen speaks."
"Don't worry, Britney. Your true fans knows you didn't mean any harm in that post," someone else added.
Fans and followers of the singer are used to her openness and honesty surrounding the termination of her 13-year conservatorship - which saw virtually every aspect of Spears' life micromanaged and controlled by her father, Jamie Spears.
While she may not always get her messages across in the best way, you have to admit she is one tough cookie - perhaps even 'Stronger' than she thought she could be.