Britney Spears publicly criticized her former spouse, Kevin Federline, for his forthcoming autobiography, accusing him of manipulating her emotions.

On Wednesday, the pop icon expressed her frustration towards Federline and their sons after he made a startling allegation that their children once woke to find her clutching a knife.

Expressing her feelings on Instagram, the “Toxic” singer shared her frustration, stating, “I’ve reached my limit.” She described Federline’s continuous emotional manipulation as deeply painful and exhausting.

Spears also opened up about feeling “demoralized” due to the strained bond with her sons, Sean Preston, 19, and Jayden, 18.

“I’ve always yearned for a life with my boys,” Spears confided. “Navigating relationships with teenage sons is challenging. I’ve felt demoralized by our situation and have consistently sought a meaningful connection with them.”

The heartbroken artist revealed she has only spent a mere 45 minutes with one of her sons over the past five years.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Federline’s representatives for comment. 

Britney Spears has slammed ex-husband Kevin Federline over his upcoming memoir, accusing him of ‘gaslighting’ her

Spears lashed out at Federline and their two sons, Sean Preston, 19, and Jayden, 18, following his recent shocking claim that their boys would wake up to find her holding a knife

‘The constant gaslighting from ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting,’ the star wrote in an emotional Instagram post shared on Wednesday

‘Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by own [sic] father for me,’ she went on.

‘They need to take responsibility for themselves,’ Spears added.

The hitmaker went on to say: ‘With one son only seeing me for 45 min in the past 5 years and the other with only 4 visits in the past 5 years. I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available.’ 

‘Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here.’

The singer concluded her statement with love for her two boys.

‘I will always love them and if you really know me, you won’t pay attention to the tabloids of my mental health and drinking.’

‘I am actually a pretty intelligent woman who has been trying to live a sacred and private life the past 5 years. I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same.’

It comes after Federline shockingly claimed their children would wake up to find her holding a knife.

Federline dropped the alleged bombshell in his upcoming memoir, You Thought You Knew, according to an excerpt obtained by the New York Times.

Spears reportedly has had a strained relationship with the two children she shares with her former spouse these last few years, and Federline alleges their sons no longer wanted to visit their mother at home in their teen years – citing fear as one of their reasons.

‘They would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep — “Oh, you’re awake?” — with a knife in her hand,’ Federline wrote in the excerpt obtained by The Times. ‘Then she’d turn around and pad off without explanation.’

Federline also wrote about his growing concerns about his ex after she began behaving erratically.

Spears also admitted she has felt ‘demoralized’ about her fractured relationship with her sons — Sean (R) and Jayden (L) — and has ‘begged’ to see them 

The devastated singer added that she’s only seen one of her sons for just ’45 minutes in the past 5 years’; Pictured with Jayden in an Instagram snap from 2025

He laid bare his fears Spears was hurtling towards an ‘irreversible’ direction: ‘The truth is, this situation with Britney feels like it’s racing toward something irreversible,’ Federline said in the book.

‘It’s become impossible to pretend everything’s OK,’ Federline adds. ‘From where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.’

Federline’s memoir also reflects on the night in 2008 when Spears was committed to the psych ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold, after she refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline.

Federline called it ‘one of the hardest nights of my life’ as he watched his partner in the midst of the ordeal.

‘I felt sick over what she was going through. This was someone I had loved. Someone I had built a life with. The mother of my children,’ he wrote.

The event came just before Spears was placed on her conservatorship, which was terminated after 13 years amid support from the Free Britney movement.

But Federline feels the movement had unintended consequences on the pop star’s current wellbeing.

While he says the support for ending the arrangement probably ‘started from a good place’, he notes it may have scared off professionals from helping his ex after seeing the backlash her inner circle received from Free Britney followers.

‘All those people who put so much effort into that,’ he wrote, ‘should now put the same energy into the “Save Britney” movement. Because this is no longer about freedom. It’s about survival.’

Federline admitted to The Times he has not spoken with Spears about what he has written.

‘I’ve never, ever, once, been against Britney,’ he told the publication. ‘I’ve only tried to help my sons have an incredible relationship with their mother. And it’s hard because when I really reflect on everything that’s happened — my kids do not know the woman that I married. And I’ve spent two decades trying to bridge that gap.’

Federline will be releasing I Thought You Knew on October 21; audiobook cover pictured

In her memoir, Spears said she ‘never had a drinking problem’ nor any desire to take hard drugs, yet she did admit to taking Adderall, an ADHD medication. She also described struggling with postpartum depression during their contentious split and custody battle.

‘Kevin tried to convince everyone that I was completely out of control,’ Spears wrote. ‘He started to say I shouldn’t have my kids anymore — at all.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Spears for comment regarding Federline’s claims but have not yet heard back. A spokesperson for the pop star declined comment to The Times.

Federline’s knife allegation is reminiscent to a claim Spears’s sister Jamie made in her 2022 memoir Things I Never Said, in which she claimed her scared sibling locked them in a room together while holding a knife – an allegation the Lucky singer denied as ‘crazy lies’.

Spears famously wed the back-up dancer in 2004 after a whirlwind romance and they welcomed two children together.

But the marriage fell apart just two years later, with Federline filing for divorce in 2006. They both became legally single the following year and Federline gained full custody of their kids after her 5150 hospitalization.