Britney Spears’ Lifetime biopic does not have singer’s blessing, rep claims

A day after Lifetime announced that it is gearing up for a biopic about pop star Britney Spears, her representative revealed that the singer is not on-board with the made-for-television film.

The network dropped the news about the two-hour film, simply titled “Britney,” just before the 34-year-old singer drops her comeback album “Glory” on Friday. Sydney-born actress Natasha Bassett, who made her movie debut earlier this year in “Hail, Caesar,” was tapped to play the title role. “Britney,” which begins production in September, centres on what is described as Spears’ “tumultuous true story.”

According to Lifetime, the movie follows "the tumultuous story of pop icon Britney Spears' rise to fame, fall from grace and eventual triumphant resurrection, firmly securing her position as one of the world’s greatest entertainers." The project will also touch on her relationship with former Mickey Mouse Club co-member turned boyband star turned solo artist Justin Timberlake, as well as Spears’ marriages with Jason Alexander and Kevin Federline.

However, it seems that “Britney” is off to a controversial start, after Spears’ rep said that the singer will have no involvement whatsoever with the film. “Britney Spears will not be contributing in any way, shape or form to the Lifetime biopic nor does it have her blessing,” Spears’ rep said in a statement to Access Hollywood.

This is not the first time that Lifetime has become controversial for its biopics, which to date include “Whitney,” about the late Whitney Houston and “The Brittany Murphy Story.” The movie about Spears will be directed by Leslie Libman and written by Anne-Marie Hess, and will be filmed in Vancouver.

Spears is all over the media these past weeks. In addition to her album launch, she just appeared on CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” for his highly popular segment Carpool Karaoke. Her fans are also eager to watch her grand return at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.