Jamie Lynn Spears Finally Has Something to Say

Jamie Lynn Spears spoke out publicly about her role in her sister’s conservatorship for the first time on Monday, primarily to defend herself against accusations that she has benefitted financially from the arrangement.

But the younger Spears’s message—that she has long supported Britney Spears and only wants the best for her—did little to convince #FreeBritney advocates, who believe Britney’s statement in court indicted Jamie Lynn as well.

“The only reason I haven’t before is because I felt like until my sister was able to speak for herself and say what she felt like she needed to say publicly, it wasn’t my place and wasn’t the right thing to do,” Jamie Lynn said in an Instagram video on Monday. “But now that she’s very clearly spoken and said what she needed to say, I feel like I can follow her lead and say what I need to say.”

She went on to explain that she’s “only concerned about [Britney’s] happiness” and that her sister knew how she felt even if fans were skeptical. “Maybe I didn’t support her the way the public would like me to with a hashtag on a public platform, but I can assure you that I’ve supported my sister long before there was a hashtag, and I’ll support her long after,” she said. “Know that.”

Jamie Lynn also said she’s been paying her own bills since she was 10, attempting to refute fans’ criticism that she was among the family members Britney supported through her conservatorship. These allegations gained more traction when court documents showed that some of Jamie Lynn’s travel had indeed been subsidized by disbursements from her sister. In response, one #FreeBritney supporter launched a Change.org petition demanding that Netflix remove Jamie Lynn from the upcoming season of the series Sweet Magnolias, arguing that she “is just as corrupt & responsible as the people who put her sister in that conservatorship.”

“…I’ve only loved, adored, and supported my sister,” Jamie Lynn maintained on Monday. “This is my freakin’ big sister before any of this bullshit. I don’t care if she wants to run away to a rainforest and have a zillion babies in the middle of nowhere, or if she wants to come back and dominate the world like she has so many times before. Because I have nothing to gain or lose either way.”

Unless Britney indicates otherwise, there’s little Jamie Lynn can say to convince fans that she isn’t complicit in her sister’s conservatorship. When, during her court appearance last week, Britney said she “would honestly like to sue [her] family” she didn’t make exceptions.