Britney Spears, Lynne Spears

Lynne Spears has come forward to publicly contest claims made in her daughter Britney Spears’ new memoir, The Woman in Me.

According to Lynne, her eldest daughter’s representation that she had gotten rid of all of the singer’s personal effects from childhood–like her dolls, journals and other belongings–is inaccurate, and she has the photos to prove it.

In an open letter Lynne addressed to the 41-year-old pop star and posted to Instagram on Thursday, Nov. 9, the 68-year-old explained that the accusations she threw Britney’s stuff away are simply not true as she would never be so “cruel.”

“@britneyspears I’m not sure who told you I got rid of your dolls and journals but I would never do that! That would be cruel because I know how much they mean to you,” Lynne wrote. “They are special to me too because of the years we spent collecting them.”

“Of course I still have your things, and I am happy to send them to you if you’d like me to,” Lynne’s statement continued, “Please let me know and know how much I love you!”

Alongside the emotional statement, Lynne shared a slideshow of images that appeared to be of the pop star’s prized possessions. However, Britney has yet to confirm these are the belongings she described in her book.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to pick up a copy of The Woman in Me, in it, Britney suggested that items she was storing at her mother’s house during her 2019 visit to a mental health facility turned up missing upon her return the following year.

Britney said she first realized the objects—including “the Madame Alexander dolls [she’d] collected as a girl,” “three years’ worth of [her] writing” and “a binder full of poetry that had real meaning” to her—were “all gone” when she went home to Louisiana during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I saw the empty shelves, I felt an overwhelming sadness. I thought of the pages I’d written through tears. I never wanted to publish them or anything like that, but they were important to me,” the Grammy winner wrote. “And my family had thrown them in the trash, just like they’d thrown me away.”

The “Toxic” songstress went on, stating she “pulled [herself] together” and convinced herself that it wasn’t worth ruminating over, “I can get a new notebook, and I can start over. I’ve been through a lot. The reason why I’m alive today is because I know joy.”

As of writing, Britney has not publicly responded to her mother’s Instagram post.