BY: Denver Sean
Published 4 years ago
Jamie Lynn Spears has some words for those critical of big sis Britney Spears amid the #FreeBritney controversy.
via People:
On Tuesday, the actress spoke out on Instagram about the importance of respect when discussing mental illness — and hit back at trolls who demanded information on her pop star older sibling.
Jamie Lynn, 29, shared her thoughts on the subject on Instagram, quoting Halsey, who discussed the topic on Twitter earlier in the day.
“??????????. ‘If you can’t offer understanding or sympathy, offer your silence’- HALSEY,” Jamie Lynn wrote in her caption accompanying a screen grab of one of the singer’s tweets.
The actress continued: “If you deal with mental illness or care for someone dealing with mental illness, then you know how important it is to respect the situation with privacy for the person, and the family trying to protect their loved ones, no matter how it may appear to the public, and as the public we must learn to do the same.”
“I pray this doesn’t bring shame to anyone dealing with mental illness, you are not alone, and you are loved. Sending all my love and prayers to all of you??,” she concluded.
Whereas neither Halsey or Jamie Lynn’s posts specifically named the rapper, the two women seemed to reference Kanye West after he posted a string of cryptic tweets Monday night, ranting about his wife, Kim Kardashian West, mother-in-law Kris Jenner and other topics. A source told PEOPLE earlier this month that West, 43, is struggling through a bipolar manic episode, which concerned his loved ones.
While many fans assumed that Jamie Lynn was also referencing her older sister, she clapped back in the comments and responded to a troll who asked her to discuss her sister’s mental health, as captured by Comments by Celebs.
“You have no right to assume anything about my sister, and I have NO right to speak about HER health and personal matters,” Jamie Lynn wrote.
“She is a strong, badass, unstoppable woman, and that’s the only thing that is OBVIOUS,” she added.
In response to another commenter who demanded that Jamie Lynn and the rest of her family “speak out and clarify all these assumptions,” she wrote, “I would never speak out just to clarify things to the public, when the person it pertains to does not want that to happen.”
She added, “I’d rather take all the hate, then speak about someone elses [sic] personal matter, that they want to keep private.”
Last year, Britney spent some time at an “all-encompassing wellness facility” and continued to receive outpatient therapy after her boyfriend Sam Asghari checked her out in late April, PEOPLE reported at the time.
A source told PEOPLE last May that the “Baby One More Time” singer was “dealing with debilitating emotional issues that need to be treated with medications” and that things for the star were “very up and down.”
For what it’s worth, Britney is still with us and she seems to be enjoying her moments. Let’s all take some solace in that.