NEWSBritney Spears Fans Disagree After Bobby Brown Shades Her for 'Butchering' Cover of His Song 'My Prerogative': 'It's the Superior Version'
Britney Spears covered Bobby Brown's song 'My Prerogative' in 2004.
Bobby Brown isn't a fan of Britney Spears' 2004 cover of his 1988 song "My Prerogative."
During a guest appearance on the Wednesday, April 16, episode of Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast, the 56-year-old shaded the Princess of Pop while confessing he disapproved of her remake that came out more than a decade ago.
Bobby Brown claimed Britney Spears 'butchered' the song cover.
"Britney Spears butchered 'My Prerogative,'" Brown harshly declared. "Teddy Riley produced it. But that was a butchering. I couldn’t take it."
Spears' cover, however, was notably produced by Swedish duo Bloodshy & Avant, not Riley, as part of her three-track compilation album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.
Britney Spears' fans rallied in her defense.
While the "Can You Stand the Rain" vocalist "cleared" the cover with high expectations, he later had second thoughts.
"I cleared it, only because it was Britney Spears!" Brown confessed after Sharpe questioned why he approved of the cover, arguing how he thought Spears was going to turn over an iconic piece of work and "wow" him.
Bobby Brown thought Britney Spears was going to 'wow' him.
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After disliking her track, Brown learned: "I gotta hear it [to clear it] because you don’t know what these kids will say these days."
"These kids say some s--- that… you don’t want your song associated with it," we went on.
After Brown's remarks went viral online, Spears' army of fans rallied in her defense — with many insisting they prefer the "Toxic" singer's cover over the R&B and hip hop legend's original tune.
"New headline: Bobby Brown, on the brink of being forgotten, brings up Britney Spears to stay relevant," a supporter of Spears quipped via X (formerly named Twitter), as another admirer wrote, "Britney’s version slaps though — maybe he just needs to give it another spin?"
Britney Spears stepped away from her career in the midst of escaping her 13-year abusive conservatorship in 2021.
"Everyone agrees Britney’s version is the superior version. I don’t make the rules," a third individual penned, as a fourth fan admitted, "Britney’s version is absolutely incredible. No idea an original version even existed."
At the time of Brown's 1988 release of "My Prerogative," which appeared on his second studio album, Don't Be Cruel, the song was a success — appearing on Billboard’s Hot 100 for an impressive 24 weeks.
Spears, 43, has yet to respond or acknowledge Brown's criticism, though it's not the first time she's been called out by a fellow celebrity in recent years.
In July 2024, Ozzy Osbourne snubbed the "Circus" songstress during an episode of his family's podcast, where he complained he was "fed up" with "seeing poor old Britney Spears" frequently sharing videos of herself dancing on social media.
The "Gimme More" vocalist later clapped back at Osbourne's rude message, telling the Black Sabbath lead singer to "kindly f--- off" while calling the Osbournes "the most boring family known to mankind."
