In a recent interview, actress Melissa Joan Hart shared her regrets about taking Britney Spears to her first nightclub. Hart reminisced about their close friendship, which blossomed during a 90s era filled with mutual professional milestones.
Their relationship sparked on the set of the music video for “(You Drive Me) Crazy.” At the time, Hart was well-known for her television roles in “Clarissa Explains It All” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” while Spears was starting her pop career. The song was a key track on Britney Spears’ debut album, “…Baby One More Time,” and also featured in the movie “Drive Me Crazy,” starring Hart and Adrian Grenier, released in 1999 when Spears was just 17 years old.
Following the video shoot and promotional activities, Hart and Spears began to develop a bond. Hart enjoyed their shared press events and saw herself as a kind of older sister to Spears, who was six years her junior and constantly surrounded by handlers and managers. Hart felt sympathetic towards Spears, noticing her lack of opportunities to relax and enjoy typical teenage activities. This led Hart to invite Spears to a nightclub with friends, aiming to offer her a normal youthful experience. Despite being aware of Spears’ underage status, Hart believed they could still have a responsible and enjoyable night out.
However, Hart now carries a sense of guilt for introducing Spears to the nightclub scene, especially considering Spears’ later public struggles and frequent appearances at parties in the early 2000s. Reflecting on her actions, Hart wishes she had been more protective of Spears, likening her role to that of an elder sister.
As Spears’ fame escalated, her life encountered significant challenges, including a highly publicized conservatorship under her father, Jamie Spears, starting in 2008 after a series of personal and mental health issues. This legal arrangement controlled Spears’ financial and personal decisions for over a decade until its termination in November 2021, following a widespread #FreeBritney movement by her fans.
Hart mentioned that she lost regular contact with Spears over the years, though they briefly met at Spears’ “Britney: Piece of Me” Las Vegas residency a few years back, exchanging quick greetings backstage.
Melissa Joan Hart continues to pursue her acting career. Her latest project is a Lifetime movie titled “The Bad Guardian,” which draws inspiration from the conservatorship stories of Spears and talk show host Wendy Williams. The film centers around Hart’s character striving to protect her father from a greedy and corrupt court-appointed guardian. The movie is set for release on May 18 on Lifetime.
