Britney Spears Seemingly Calls Out Stars Copying Her Image: ‘At Least Mine Was Real’
Britney Spears criticised what she sees as younger performers copying the image she had early in her career, saying her own look was “real”. The post matters as a reflection on the schoolgirl style that became closely associated with her breakthrough and on how she views her legacy.
In an Instagram video posted on Saturday, 17 October, Spears wore a tied white shirt, a short grey skirt and red boots, and wrote that people who are genuine can be hated. She did not identify anyone, but may have been referring to the schoolgirl outfit in her 1998 video for “…Baby One More Time”, which has passed one billion YouTube views, or other early-career looks. The post followed the release of her previously unreleased song “She’ll Never Be Me” and preceded the 6 November release of a 25th anniversary edition of her 2001 album *Britney*.
- Spears said some younger performers echo her early image.
- She described her own look as “real” and did not name anyone.
- Her 1998 schoolgirl video has passed one billion YouTube views.
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Britney Spears rose to fame in the late 1990s, when the video for her debut single, “…Baby One More Time”, helped make its school uniform-inspired outfit a defining part of her image. The video has since passed one billion views on YouTube.
Spears became one of pop’s most recognisable performers, and her early style remains a reference point in pop culture. Her comments touch on questions of originality and how artists’ images are remembered, though she did not name anyone she believes has copied her.