Britney Spears Clapped Back After People Called Her Topless Photo Fake

A few days ago, as news about her conservatorship and ongoing legal struggles continued to make headlines, Britney Spears posted a topless photo that showed her entire back. Given no other context but a trio of ballet slipper emoji, fans were left to interpret the shot themselves, but a few noticed that two of Spears's signature tattoos were missing from the photo. What ensued was a tangled web of conspiracy theories that claimed the photo wasn't of Spears at all. After her shocking testimony and subsequent resignation of her conservatorship attorney, it seemed plausible — until Britney explained the whole thing in her own words.

On Thursday, she posted a bold statement to her feed, saying that she had edited out a tattoo to see what she'd look like.

"While you're talking behind my back, feel free to bend down and kiss my ass," the post read. Her caption went a little deeper: "OK, so I edited out my tattoo on my neck cause I wanted to see what it would look like clean. And yeah, I like it better so while you guys are talking behind my back go ahead and kiss my ass, haters!!!!!!"

Of course, people dove deeper into her words again, noticing that she used "tattoo on my neck." Spears has two tattoos that would have been visible, a fairy on her lower back and a Hebrew symbol on her neck. The omission of the second piece of ink only offered more evidence to support conspiracy theorists' ideas. They continued to comment that the post wasn't Spears's own body, though she seems adamant that the whole situation has been overwrought.

After her statement in court, Spears apologized to her fans for presenting an Instagram persona that showed she was fine, even though she was struggling with her conservatorship and personal freedoms. In a post, she said she was "embarrassed" and just wanted to show "fun" pieces of her life.

"I apologize for pretending like I've been ok the past two years … I did it because of my pride and I was embarrassed to share what happened to me," she wrote. "But honestly who doesn't want to capture their Instagram in a fun light!"

That honesty should be enough for fans to accept that Spears wouldn't be trying to trick them into any false narratives, but it seems like some people continue to believe that there's more beneath the surface.