Oscar winner Octavia Spencer has apologized to Britney Spears after making a joke about how she should get a prenuptial agreement.
When Spears announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari this past weekend, Spencer commented on the social media post: “Make him sign a prenup.”
After Spencer’s Instagram comment went viral, the actor is now publicly apologizing for the joke and any misunderstanding. She also said she privately reached out to the newly-engaged couple to say sorry.
“Y’all, a few days ago Sam and Britney announced their engagement and me being me I made a joke,” Spencer posted on her Instagram on Wednesday. “My intention was to make them laugh not cause pain.”
“I’ve reached out to this lovely couple privately to apologize and now want to restore just a smidge of happiness they were robbed of,” Spencer continued. “Britney’s fans have seen her through a lot of pain and she’s found happiness. We’re thrilled for her. So let’s show them love.”
Asghari commented on Spencer’s post, accepting her apology. “You are very kind to clarify but I have had no hard feelings whatsoever. Jokes and misconceptions come with the territory.”
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When the couple announced their engagement on social media this past week, Asghari had poked fun at a prenup, clapping back at the haters, writing, “Thank you everyone who is concerned about the prenup! Of course we’re getting iron clad prenup to protect my jeep and shoe collection in case she dumps me one day.”
Spears’ engagement comes amid a long legal battle over her conservatorship. The pop star has been fighting to get out of the court-ordered arrangement, which she has been under since 2008, telling a judge earlier this summer that she is “traumatized” and making accusations against her father, Jamie Spears, of “conservatorship abuse.”
Spears’ father has been overseeing her conservatorship since 2008, and for the past 13 years, has firmly stated that his daughter needs to be under conservatorship. However, roughly one week ago, he petitioned to the judge to terminate the conservatorship — a shocking turn of events in the messy case, which will have its next hearing on Sept. 29.
Following Spears announcing her engagement news, the star’s Instagram account was deactivated, concerning some of her fans. But the same day the account was wiped, a tweet was posted on Spears’ Twitter account, stating, “Don’t worry folks … just taking a little break from social media to celebrate my engagement. I’ll be back soon.”
Over the past few months as her conservatorship case has seen more movement than it has over the past decade, Spears has been very vocal in thanking her fans and the entire #FreeBritney movement.
It remains to be seen whether the court will let Spears out of her conservatorship at the Sept. 29 hearing, or sometime after. However, a legal expert told Variety that while Spears is still under conservatorship, she technically does not have the right to wed without approval from her conservator.
“Technically, she can’t sign off on the marriage license while she is under the conservatorship,” attorney Sarah Wentz, a partner at Fox Rothschild, explained. “The conservator may likely invalidate the marriage, if they had not signed off on it.”
