In his autobiography released last year, Columbus Short claims the parents of pop star Britney Spears called him the n-word when he worked closely with the pop star.
The actor, dancer and choreographer worked closely with Spears in 2003, at the height of the singer’s popularity. While their relationship began as a working one, Short alleges the two eventually became romantically involved. In Short Stories: The Autobiography of Columbus Short, he detailed a story where he overheard Spears’ parents on a trip to Rome.
Short explains: “I was next to [Britney] while she was on the phone with them crying while she had it on speaker,” and then he alleges her parents said, on speakerphone, “Why are you f–king that n–ger?”
In an interview last month, Short went into further detail. “I wasn’t shocked when it happened,” he told Inside Hollywood hostess Jazzie Belle. “Look where they’re from … they’re from Louisiana. The way it came out was so effortless, like that’s how they speak. I wasn’t shocked, and I wasn’t hurt by it; I was just like, ‘Wow, this is … OK … I know who I am around here.’”
Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, has released a statement to Page Six in response to Short’s assertions, denying the racially-charged conversation took place. It reads: “I want to be very clear. Those terrible words are not remotely in my vocabulary. I would never say that to anyone, much less my daughter. Ever.”
As for her father, Jamie Spears, a source close to him reveals that he was not present in his daughter’s life at the time, saying: “Jamie was not there, and not involved. In fact, during this time period, Jamie was not involved in Britney’s business at all.”
Britney Spears and her relationship to her parents has been under intense media scrutiny since the release of The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears earlier this month, a documentary on her controversial conservatorship. She is currently trying to remove her father from her conservatorship and wants to place “a financial institution as the sole conservator over her estate.”
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