Britney Spears Explains Why She Regrets Turning Down A Role In ‘Chicago’

Pop star Britney Spears is explaining why she turned down a role in "Chicago" after starring in the 2002 movie "Crossroads."

"Crossroads" returned to theaters on October 23 and October 25 for a two-day special fan event to promote her memoir, "The Woman In Me," which was officially released on Tuesday, October 24.

In her memoir, “The Woman In Me,” the Princess of Pop admitted that she took method acting way too far in “Crossroads” and was afraid of what would become of her if she took on the role of a killer in the movie “Chicago.”

In her memoir, she recalls being so wrapped up in her character of Lucy Wagner, that she “didn’t know what was real anymore” when filming had ended. At one point, she even alleges that her then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake asked her, “Who are you?”

“This is embarrassing to say, but it's like a cloud or something came over me and I just became this girl named Lucy,” Britney explained in her memoir, as per the Daily Mail. “When the camera came on, I was her, and then I couldn't tell the difference between when the camera was on and when it wasn't.”

“I know that seems stupid, but it's the truth. I took it that seriously. I took it seriously to the point where Justin said, ‘Why are you walking like that? Who are you?’” she recalled. “All I can say is it's a good thing Lucy was a sweet girl writing poems about how she was ‘not a girl, not yet a woman’, and not a serial killer.'

She went on to say that she “was someone else for months while I filmed Crossroads,” adding, “Still to this day, I bet the girls I shot that movie with think, ‘She's a little quirky…’ If they thought that, they were right.”

Britney went on to say, “I hope I never get close to that occupational hazard again,” adding, “Living that way, being half yourself and half a fictional character, is messed up. After a while, you don't know what's real anymore.”

Although she “blew away” movie producers with her emotional audition tape for “The Notebook,” she admits that she was glad that she did not get the role.

In her memoir, she revealed that she was also approached by producers to star in the 2002 film “Chicago” to star as the killer housewife Roxie Hart. The role eventually went to Renee Zellweger, who scored a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role.

“Chicago would have been fun,” Britney recalled in her memoir. “It's all dance pieces – my favorite kind: prissy, girly follies, Pussycat Doll-like, serve-off your-corset moves. I wish I'd taken that offer. I would have gotten to play a villain who kills a man, and sings and dances while doing it, too.”

“I probably could have found ways, gotten training, to keep from becoming a Chicago character the way that I had with Lucy in Crossroads. I wish I'd tried something different,” she confessed.

Britney Spears isn't the only one taking a look back at her past. “Crossroads” director Tamra Davis told Entertainment Weekly on Friday that she and writer Shonda Rhimes had to fight to keep the controversial sex scene in the 2002 film at Britney's request. “We definitely had to fight for some stuff,” Davis said, explaining how Britney “wanted to [challenge] that image that she’s this forever virgin girl."

Davis said that the sex scene was done “tastefully,” noting that “a kid would not know the heck is going on.” The scene was ultimately kept in the movie, prompting Davis to say, “That was a fight I’m happy we won.” She also noted that Britney would spend nights with the "Cry Me A River" singer while they were filming, but knew better than to ask questions.

“I would have to go knock on her hotel room door in the morning sometimes and be like, ‘OK, Britney, time to go,’ and Justin would be there,” Davis told the outlet. “It was during the height of, ‘Is Britney a virgin?’ I wasn’t even going to ask! Even waking her up in the hotel room, I was like, whatever is going on in your private life, that’s private.”

Britney Spears' memoir "The Woman In Me" was officially released on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.