Britney Spears has an old friend ready and willing to lend support if she ever needs it.
Chris Kirkpatrick, a former member of smash hit boy band *NSYNC, knew Spears 25 years ago when they were both ruling the pop music charts, and now he tells Fox News Digital that even though they’re no longer close, he’s still here for her.
“I haven’t been close to her,” he admitted before saying, “If she ever needed to talk to anyone or anything, you know, I’m here.”
He continued, “Other than that, it is what it is. Everybody deals with things in their own way. And, you know, I just hope that she’s OK and everything’s all right because for a while, it was like, ‘Hey, free Britney, get her out of this conservatorship.’ And she gets out of it. And then, you know, she posts some crazy stuff, but it is what it is. And it’s her life. And it’s not my business to get involved in it.”
Kirkpatrick, who spoke to Fox News Digital with Brian McFayden, co-host of his “Name Drop” podcast, also recalled sharing a special moment with Spears back in the day.
WATCH: CHRIS KIRKPATRICK OFFERS HIS SUPPORT TO BRITNEY SPEARS
“I filmed something for one of her tours that she did,” he said. “I dressed in drag and acted like her hairstylist or something … or no, I think I pretended to be her. And when I turned around, and it was me, I’m sure [I] got a lot of gasps on that one because I’m not a very attractive woman.”
Spears hit the scene in 1999 with her debut single, “… Baby One More Time.” *NSYNC had released their debut self-titled album two years before, and with hits like “I Want You Back” and “(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You,” they had already firmly cemented their place in pop music history.
At the time, many pop stars ran in the same circles, and the same was true for Spears and *NSYNC. Spears had previous ties to two members of the boy band, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez – years before, all three had appeared together on Disney’s “The All-New Mickey Mouse Club” along with other stars like Ryan Gosling and Christina Aguilera.
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The pop star and the boy band had the same record label, Jive Records, and in 1998, Spears was reunited with her former friends when she opened for *NSYNC on a series of tour dates. The “Toxic” singer has said that it was around this time that Timberlake first began showing romantic interest in her, though they didn’t confirm their relationship to the public until 2000.
“He definitely asked me out,” Spears recalled in an interview with Andi Peters ahead of the 2001 Teen Choice Awards. “We were doing a radio show, and this was before ‘… Baby One More Time’ came out. … He knocks on the door, and he was like, ‘Can I see Britney?’ And [my assistant] Felicia didn’t know who he was, and she was like, ‘No. … Who are you?’ And I was like, ‘No! It’s Justin!'”
In 2002, rumors began swirling of a breakup between the two, and while they originally denied it, by spring they both confirmed that the relationship was done.
At the time, Timberlake told People magazine, “I honestly know what it’s like to have a broken heart,” adding, “I love Britney, and I’ll always love her.”
Meanwhile, Spears said the breakup was a mutual decision that came from both of them having hectic schedules, explaining to the outlet, “We’re climbing two different mountains. Of course, it’s going to kind of hurt sometimes, and you wonder things. But you learn from it and grow. I’m trying to get to that point.”
That same year, *NSYNC split up. Spears went on to record more albums, though her professional career was somewhat eclipsed by her personal life – in 2007, the same year her album “Blackout” was released, she had a series of concerning public outbursts. It was this year in which she shaved her head in front of paparazzi and went after another photographer with an umbrella.
The singer was placed under a conservatorship, which lasted until 2021.
More recently, Spears has begun to receive attention and concern from fans. Besides posting nude videos on social media, there was also an incident last month at famed Hollywood hot spot Chateau Marmont, where the singer received medical aid from an ambulance after an alleged fight with her boyfriend, Paul Soliz.
Officials with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a 911 call at approximately 12:42 a.m. “requesting aid for an injured adult female” at the Chateau Marmont Hotel, Capt. Erik Scott told Fox News Digital at the time.
“The caller did not offer specifics regarding the injury,” Scott said. “One LAFD Paramedic Ambulance responded to the location. At this time, it is not clear if the paramedic crew encountered the injured person, or offered any medical assistance. The paramedic ambulance departed the location at 1:17AM, without transporting anyone to the hospital. There was no law enforcement response to this call.”
Exact details surrounding the incident are still unclear, but a source told Fox News Digital that Spears “left on her own with security and is now home and safe.”
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Shortly after, Spears appeared to address the incident in an Instagram post saying “the news is fake.”
“I would like respect at this time for people to understand I am getting stronger everyday!!! Truth sucks so can someone teach me how to lie,” she wrote. “Goddesses out there, I’m reaching my higher power and furthermore, I hope you guys are too!!! I need a new toothbrush right now.”
She also wrote, “I also twisted my ankle last night and paramedics showed up at my door illegally. They never came in my room but I felt completely harassed. I’m moving to Boston!!! Peace.”
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Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick is living in Nashville with his wife and son, a place he told Fox News Digital is “beautiful.”
In addition to hosting the “Name Drop” podcast with McFayden, the singer is also working on opening a bar in the Tennessee capital with Jon Bon Jovi.
Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
