Britney Spears likely has plenty of photos with her sister Jamie Lynn Spears that she could have used to celebrate her baby sis turning 30. JL hit the milestone birthdate on Apr. 4, and Britney forgot to post about it. So the 39-year-old made up for it in a belated Apr. 9 Instagram post, and used a very odd choice of a throwback snapshot to celebrate. It showed Jamie Lynn as a child around 2000-2001 or so, as Britney and then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake cuddled together next to her in a pink booth. Justin, 40, just recently made a public apology to Brit on Feb. 12, 2021 following the Framing Britney Spears documentary, which showed him seeming to be publicly vengeful towards her after their 2002 breakup. Justin said that after all of this time Brit “deserves better” than how he treated her.
Britney and Justin in the time of the throwback photo were pop music’s reigning princess and prince, as he was the heartthrob of the boy band NSYNC. Justin still had his super tight ringlet curls in the photo, and appeared to be singing to his then-girlfriend’s sister. He had his hand over his brown leather jacket clad chest and his mouth open, looking like he was serenading Jamie Lynn with “Happy Birthday.” Fans also noticed that it appeared that actress Natalie Portman — who was friends with Britney around that time — was in the booth as well, smiling at Jamie Lynn.
Britney looked so youthful and fresh, with a huge bright open-mouthed smile on her face. She wore a plunging flesh colored tank top and had her hair in the straight, shiny locks of that time period in her career. As Britney and Justin smiled at Jamie Lynn, the pre-teen stared straight ahead with a look of surprise on her young face. She had on an early aughts-style long sleeved patterned shirt and wore clear, oval-framed glasses.
In the caption, Britney began, “Happy belated birthday to this beautiful soul!!! I love you so much and damn it I wish I was as smart as you at 30!!!! It’s weird to say that I was basically your momma when you were younger and yes I’m still older but your soul is and always has been wise!!!!”
“I’m truly and genuinely inspired by your path and the life you have created for your beautiful children and I’m so f**king proud to call someone as beautiful inside as you my sister!!!! the “Perfume” singer continued. So far, Jamie Lynn hasn’t left anything in the comments to thank her sister for her belated birthday wishes.
Britney’s fans were totally confused by her selection of a photo to use in her birthday tribute to Jamie Lynn. User @harjot_basra asked, “Of all the pictures to choose from…JT?!” and @tessdez1015 responded, “i thought it was just me thinking this.” Fan @sarahxsartaj commented, “not a photo with JT…whyyyy” while @jaggedlittlealan noted, “of all the pictures you could’ve used huh??” @joeykay observed, “What a strange picture to choose.”
Fans were divided if Britney was being sweet or shady about using a throwback Justin photo. User @phtevenstagram commented, “People crucify Justin, but you can clearly see she has no hard feelings,” but user @totallytara83 believed, “Lol she throwing shade with JT in the pic.” Fan @carol.spice01 actually loved it, writing, “Ohh God, nostalgic” with a smiling hearts for eyes emoji. Whatever Brit’s reason was for choosing this particular photo to celebrate Jamie Lynn turning 30, it is totally classic and left fans with plenty to talk about!