LeAnn Rimes Relates to ‘Soul Sucking’ Treatment of Britney Spears: ‘Parents Managing a Child Is Always a Recipe for Disaster’

LeAnn Rimes shows sympathy for Britney Spears.

Rimes, 41, spoke out against people “cashing in” on Spears, 41, in a new interview in which she talked about the singer’s difficult career that was all too similar to her own.

“I was watching a documentary about Britney Spears and I was thinking that all these people are making money off of her and she has nothing to do with it,” Rimes told The Times. “It’s just soul-sucking. That poor girl. That poor woman, really.”

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Rimes shared her crush on Spears in a new interview.

Image Group LA/Disney Channel via Getty

Like Spears, Rimes became a successful artist in her mid-teens and found herself battling for control of her career against her father, Wilbur C. Rimes, in the years following her parents’ divorce.

Spears’ best-selling memoir, The woman in mereleased in October, sheds light on the highs and brutal lows of the icon’s life, chronicling her incredible journey from teenage superstar to one of the best-selling artists of all time, her past relationships and her struggle to escape her father’s controlling custody, which she called “crushing souls”.

In 1998, the singer and actress filed a lawsuit against her father and Lyle Walker, who were her co-managers at the time, alleging that they stole $7 million in earnings.

Rimes’ father filed a countersuit before the case was settled. Father and daughter later reconciled before Rimes’ wedding to husband Eddie Cibrian in 2011.

Rimes was embroiled in a legal battle with her father like Spears in 1998. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic LeAnn Rimes recreates a famous scene from Coyote the Ugly: ‘Do we serve water in this bar…?’

Reflecting on the legal battle with her father, Rimes said, “Looking back, I think my dad did the best he could. Parental guidance of a child is always a recipe for disaster. It became a job for me and I ended up without my parents.”

At the time, Rimes was also involved in a legal battle over her record deal with Curb Records, having signed to the Nashville label at the age of 12. The singer sued to be released from the label after signing a 21-album deal, according to The. times.

“I was very brave but I had a contract that was quite unfair and crazy. I just wanted honesty, Rimes told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Rimes reconciled with her father. LeAnn Rimes LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian Relationship Timeline

The Coyote the Ugly star – who is performing in London for the first time in six years next May – discussed the frustrations she has had in her career outside of the legal battles after stepping into the limelight as a young teenager.

“I was the love of America. People didn’t want to see me grow up and explore my sexuality,” Rimes explained.

The singer also opened up about how busy she was as a young artist performing all over the world while juggling homeschooling.

“Good thing I was a teenager and had so much energy. Now I would be curled up in bed, not moving for days,” Rimes told The Times. “Sometimes when I have busy days I get so excited. It brings me back to not being able to say no, not being in control.”

The singer added: “I don’t feel like I really stepped into my womanhood until the last five years. Learning to say no was probably the best thing in the world. I started to realize how disappointed I was in myself when I was doing things I just didn’t want to do.”

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Source: HIS Education