Britney Spears says it wasn’t her who called Halsey ‘cruel’ over song ‘Lucky’

Originally appeared on E! Online

Halsey might not be feeling so lucky.

Britney Spears offered clarification after a message on her X account claimed she felt “bullied” by Halsey’s new song “Lucky,” which samples Spears’ 2000 track of the same name about the difficulties of being famous.

In her version, Halsey—who said she got permission from Spears—details her journey as a “single mom” to son Ender Ridley Aydin, 3, as well as touches on her recent health battles with lupus and a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder.

Shortly after the July 26 statement appeared on Spears’ account, the “Toxic” singer deleted the negative reaction and called it “fake news.”

“That was not me on my phone !!!” read another July 26 message on X. “I love Halsey and that’s why I deleted it.”

The original post accused Halsey (real name Ashley Nicolette Frangipane) of creating a music video that felt “illegal and downright cruel.”

“For obvious reasons I’m very upset about the Halsey video,” read the statement on Spears’ X account. “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.”

Noting that the “I’m a Slave 4 U” singer, 42, has her “own health problems,” the post continued by threatening legal action against Halsey.

E! News has reached out to reps for Spears and Halsey for comment but hasn’t heard back.

Following Spears’ clarification, Halsey responded to the sweet support.

“And I love Britney!!!! I always have and always will,” the 29-year-old wrote on X. “You were the first person who ever made me realize what it means to feel inspired. And you continue to inspire me every day.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1180564072

According to Halsey, she had received permission from Spears to record the track.

When one fan asked if she had “involved” Spears at all, the “Without Me” singer replied on X July 18, “yes of course! I wouldn’t even dream of doing it without her blessing!”

Halsey shared how Spears initially responded to her request in another July 25 tweet, noting, “I wrote her the longest, sappiest, stan letter of all time and she was soooo nice.”

Earlier this week, the “Bad At Love” artist also explained just how much the original “Lucky” impacted her growing up as a kid who idolized Spears.

“I remember the first time I heard her sing lucky,” Halsey tweeted July 25, “and it hitting me at such a young age that I had no idea what her life was really like. and that feeling resonates with me so much still. I found myself singing it when I started treatment and then I knew I had to do it.”