Britney Spears and Halsey fans are convinced that an online spat between the pair was actually a publicity stunt to promote Halsey’s new single “Lucky”.
The track interpolates Spears’ 2000 track of the same name, and the accompanying music video includes several visual references to the “Toxic” singer’s legacy and tumultuous rise to fame .
Within hours of Halsey released the song on Friday (26 July), Spears wrote in a social media post that she felt “harassed, violated and bullied” by the track’s video and would be taking legal action. She also claimed the video was “cruel” and portrayed her as a “superficial popstar”.
However, hours later, Spears deleted the post and said her phone had been hacked.
“That was not me on my phone !!! I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it,” she wrote to her 54m followers, to which Halsey responded: “and I love Britney!!!! I always have and always will. You were the first person who ever made me realise what it means to feel inspired. And you continue to inspire me everyday.”
While some fans debated whether the video paid homage to Spears or not, others sniffed out a potential publicity stunt.
“I love how @britneyspears still knows how to play the game! Obvious publicity stunt to bump Halsey’s song,” said one fan online. “LOVE this. This is what pop culture has been missing lately!”
Another added: “You see Britney really just showed everybody what a #real stunt is. Now people will actually watch the Halsey video and that means more money in her pocket.”
Halsey, real name Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, told fans last week that Spears had given her permission to interpolate “Lucky” in her own track, writing on X/Twitter: “I wouldn’t even dream of doing it without [Spears’] blessing!’
In Halsey’s version, she switched the chorus to: “But I’m so lucky, I’m a star, but I cry, cry, cry in the lonely heart thinking / If there’s nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?”
In the original, Spears sings: “She’s so lucky, she’s a star, but she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking / If there’s nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?”
Halsey’s video, directed by Gia Coppola, follows a young girl who idolises pop star Halsey. But behind the scenes, Halsey is dealing with health issues and problems in her personal life – suggesting that being in the spotlight is not what it seems.
The video shows Halsey receiving blood infusions and removing her wig to reveal a bald head, when she sings: “I shaved my head four times because I wanted to and then I did it one more time cause I got sick.”
“I thought I changed so much nobody would notice shit, and no one did. Then I left the doctor’s office full of tears / Became a single mom at my premiere / I told everybody I was fine for a whole damn year, and that’s the biggest lie of my career.”
Some fans took this as a direct reference to Spears, who famously shaved her head in 2007.
But Halsey has long been public about dealing with severe health issues related to endometriosis, which she was diagnosed with in 2016 . “Long story short, I’m lucky to be alive,” she wrote on Instagram in June.
In her original social media post about Halsey music video, Spears wrote: “For obvious reasons I’m very upset about the Halsey video.”
“I feel harassed, violated and bullied. I didn’t know an artist like her and someone I looked up to and admired would illustrate me in such an ignorant way by tailoring me as a superficial pop star with no heart or concern at all. I have my own health problems which is why I took down my IG account yesterday.”
“I will definitely be putting it back up now to show I CARE. I’m speaking with my lawyers today to see what can be done on this matter. It feels illegal and down right cruel.”
Spears released her own “Lucky” at the age of 19, and it appeared on her acclaimed 2000 album, Oops!... I Did It Again . The song’s narrative follows a famous actor named Lucky, who seems to have it all – fame, wealth and stardom – but is lonely and unhappy behind closed doors.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Halsey and Spears.
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