Jamie Lynn Spears is sharing her side of the story. In an interview that aired on Good Morning America on Wednesday, the 30-year-old actress speaks out about her sister, Britney Spears, after her 13-year conservatorship came to an end in November.
"That love is still there, 100 percent. I love my sister. I've only ever loved and supported her and done what's right by her, and she knows that," Jamie Lynn tearfully told ABC News' Juju Chang. "So I don't know why we're in this position right now."
Saying she was "happy" that Britney's conservatorship was dissolved late last year, Jamie Lynn added that she did not understand the extent of the conservatorship when it was put into place and she still doesn't fully understand it now.
"When it was put into place, I was a 17 year old. I was about to have a baby, so I didn't understand what was happening, nor was I focused on that," she said. "I was focused on the fact that I was a 17 year old about to have a baby. I understand just as little about it then as I do now."
Jamie Lynn, who has often been criticized for allegedly standing by while Britney was in the conservatorship, said for the first time that she worked to provide her sister with resources to potentially end the conservatorship.
"I've always been my sister's biggest supporter, so when she needed help, I set up ways to do so. [I] went out of my way to make sure that she had the contacts she needed to possibly go ahead and end this conservatorship and just end this all for our family," she said. "If it's going to cause this much discord, why continue it?"
Jamie Lynn added that in doing so, things didn't end well for her.
"I even spoke to her legal team, her previous legal team and that did not end well in my favor," she claimed. "I did take the steps to help, but how many times can I take the steps to help when... you know, she has to walk through the door."
As for her sister's current mental state, Jamie Lynn is not willing to comment.
"I can't really speak to anyone else's state of mind. I don't think that's fair, but I'm allowed to say how I felt in those because that matters," she said. "It matters that I was in pain."
Jamie Lynn also spoke out about Britney's July 2021 Instagram post, which criticized her sister's tribute performance when the pop star was honored with the Icon Award at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards.
"I don't like that my sister showed up at an awards show and performed MY SONGS to remixes!!!!! My so-called support system hurt me deeply. This conservatorship killed my dreams ... so all I have is hope and hope is the only thing in this world that is very hard to kill ... yet people still try," Britney wrote at the time.
When asked about these comments, Jamie Lynn told GMA, "Honestly, it was somewhat confusing to me about that, and I actually have spoken to her about that... I've cleared up with the fact that I don't think she was personally upset with me about that. Truthfully, I don't know why that bothers her."
Of the performance, Jamie Lynn added, "I was doing a tribute to honor my sister and all the amazing things that she's done."
Jamie Lynn has been the subject of public scrutiny for the past year as members of the #FreeBritney movement have criticized her apparent silence amid the singer's conservatorship battle.
In June 2021, she released a passionate video on her Instagram Stories, saying, "I can assure you that I supported my sister long before there was a hashtag and I'll support her long after."
In October, the mental health charity, This Is My Brave, publicly declined Jamie Lynn's offer to donate proceeds from sales of her upcoming memoir, Things I Should Have Said, to them.
A source exclusively told ET that Jamie Lynn was "extremely upset" by the situation.
"Jamie Lynn has been forced to stay silent for years and now she’s being attacked for finally speaking her truth. People fail to realize that Jamie Lynn has suffered some of the same trauma that Britney has," the source said. "This isn’t Britney OR Jamie Lynn. This is about a family trauma and how it affects each person differently. There is a bigger conversation to be had about supporting every voice."
The source added, "People are making assumptions about her book when this is not a Britney Spears tell-all. This is about her life and what she’s had to live and endure."
Jamie Lynn is currently promoting her book, Things I Should Have Said, which will be released on Jan. 18.
Britney has not publicly responded to her sister's recent interview or the upcoming release of her memoir. She did, however, post a typewriter to Instagram on Tuesday, with the message, "Shall I start from THE BEGINNING???"
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