News : Britney Spears’ Lawyer Sends Jamie Lynn Spears a Cease & Desist Over Memoir: ‘She Will Not Tolerate It’

The escalating war of words between Britney Spears and her younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, has escalated from pointed Instagram posts, interviews and podcasts to a warning of potential legal action. Britney’s attorney, Matthew Rosengart, sent a letter on Monday (Jan. 17) to Jamie Lynn referencing the media tour for her memoir, Things I Should Have Said, asking her to “cease and desist from referencing Britney derogatorily during your promotional campaign.”

The letter came after nearly a week of barbed back-and-forth between the sisters over revelations from the book, in which the Zoey 101 actress discusses Britney’s fight to end her conservatorship, the “Toxic” singer’s public mental health crises, the crush of paparazzi that greeted the pop star’s rise to fame, her own pregnancy at 16, and other family stories that have provoked pointed responses from Britney in a series of sharply worded social media posts.

“We write with some hesitation because the last thing Britney wants is to bring more attention to your ill-timed book and its misleading or outrageous claims about her,” reads a copy of the letter from Rosengart obtained by Billboard. “Although Britney has not read and does not intend to read your book, she and millions of her fans were shocked to see how you have exploited her for monetary gain. She will not tolerate it, nor should she.”

Jamie Lynn has done a number of interviews and appearances to promote the book — which was released this week — discussing such topics as father Jamie Spears’ struggle with alcoholism, an incident in which she claimed Britney locked the two of them in a closet while holding a knife, and Brit’s well-publicized split from Justin Timberlake. She also writes about her attempts to help Britney during the singer’s controversial 13-year conservatorship, during which father Jamie led a team that controlled the singer’s personal and professional decisions; the conservatorship was terminated in November.

“You of all people know the abuse and wrongdoing Britney had to endure during the conservatorship, after initially growing up with a ‘ruinous,’ alcoholic father. In fact, your own book reportedly states that your father ‘spent most of my life in that cycle of ruinous behavior. His bouts of drinking caused me periods of torment and sorrow,'” Rosengart’s letter continues. “As I have previously stated, having endured a 13-year conservatorship that stripped her of civil rights and fundamental liberties, Britney will no longer be bullied by her father or anyone else.”

In an Instagram post on Tuesday (Jan. 18), Britney described coming home after her split with Timberlake in 2002, writing, “I flew home to Jamie Lynn on the couch watching her tv shows right after Justin and I broke up… I was a ghost there [ghost emoji] !!!!!” she said of her sister’s lifestyle compared to her own at the time. “I had worked my whole life and I didn’t know how to be served by Mamma … Sit there and get served the chocolate milkshakes with the perfectly crushed ice with the secret chunky sugar meanwhile Jamie Lynn is 12, she indulges with the TV for hours then goes to lay out on a raft at the pool … I’m in shock because this was never my life !!!!”

Britney deleted the post shortly after, but not before also writing, “I’m sorry Jamie Lynn, I wasn’t strong enough to do what should have been done … slapped you and Mamma right across your f–king faces !!!!!”

The rant came after Jamie Lynn — a former Nickelodeon star of Zoey 101 and All That and currently on Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias — appeared on an episode of Spotify’s Call Her Daddy podcast on Monday (Jan. 17). During that interview, she described to host Alex Cooper what it felt like growing up in the considerable shadow of a famous older sister.

“I always felt like an afterthought, I literally was, I just learned to stay out of the way,” Jamie Lynn said. “I was so proud of her. I was, like, I know how hard she worked and I admired her, and it was so cool I got to witness the coolest things watching her live out her dreams. So for me it was like stay out of the way and let this experience happen because this was the goal everyone wanted, and they got it so I just need to not mess anything up for anybody.”

In the letter, Rosengart concluded, “Britney was the family’s breadwinner and she also otherwise supported you. Publicly airing false or fantastical grievances is wrong, especially when designed to sell books. It is also potentially unlawful and defamatory.”

Quoting former first lady Michelle Obama’s famous saying “when they go low, we go high,” Rosengart praised his client for taking the high road, saying that is exactly what she will continue to do “for the time being.” And though he noted that Jamie Lynn recently claimed the book was “not about her,” in reference to Britney, he insisted that the younger Spears stop speaking ill of the pop star on her book tour.

“If you fail to do so or defame her, Britney will be forced to consider and take all appropriate legal action,” he warned.

According to Variety, a source said that neither Jamie Lynn nor her legal team had received the C&D letter by the time it was first reported on.