Would Things I Shouldn’t Have Said have been a better name? Jamie Lynn Spears is facing a challenge to the ongoing promotion of her memoir, Things I Should Have Said, from her older sister, Britney Spears. The 40-year-old pop star sent her little sibling, 30, a cease-and-desist letter via her lawyer over mentions of Britney in Jamie Lynn’s interviews about the memoir. Vulture obtained a copy of the letter, first reported by “Page Six,†which references Jamie Lynn’s alleged “misleading or outrageous claims about†Britney in recent press. “Although Britney has not read and does not intend to read your book, she and millions of her fans were shocked to see how you have exploited her for monetary gain,†wrote Mathew Rosengart, Britney’s lawyer. “She will not tolerate it, nor should she.â€
The letter escalates a tension that up until this point had taken place in back-and-forth social-media statements between the sisters. Britney first called out Jamie Lynn over a Good Morning America interview in which Jamie Lynn spoke about calling her sister’s behavior “erratic†and “paranoid.†Britney later disputed an ABC Nightline interview in which Jamie Lynn said Britney once locked her in a room while holding a knife. Rosengart did not reference specific claims, writing that “publicly airing false or fantastical grievances is wrong, especially when designed to sell books. It is also potentially unlawful and defamatory.â€
Britney previously claimed on social media that Jamie Lynn “wants to sell a book about me at my expense 🤔📚,†a sentiment echoed in Rosengart’s letter. Jamie Lynn, meanwhile, said Things I Should Have Said, released January 18, is “to set the record straight myself†and “is not about†Britney. Rosengart referenced this quote in the letter, asking Jamie Lynn to stop discussing Britney in her book interviews. “You recently reportedly stated that the book was ‘not about her,’†he wrote. “She takes you at your word and we, therefore, demand that you cease and desist from referencing Britney derogatorily during your promotional campaign.†Representatives for Jamie Lynn Spears did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Part two of Jamie Lynn’s interview on the podcast Call Her Daddy is set to air January 19, in the wake of the cease-and-desist letter. Britney and Jamie Lynn have previously bristled during Britney’s fight to end her conservatorship, with Britney testifying that she “would honestly like to sue†her family over the now-dissolved arrangement.