- 3 years ago
Jamie Lynn Spears discusses how 'Zoey 102' was brought to life, what it's like being back in Hollywood and where her relationship with her sister, Britney, is.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 - Amy Lynn Spears, thanks for coming to Just for Variety.
00:02 - Thank you for having me, happy to be here.
00:04 - You're back as Zoe.
00:06 So did you ever think you'd play Zoe again?
00:09 How did this all come about?
00:10 - Zoe is near and dear to my heart
00:12 because I had such a big part in creating her
00:14 when I was younger and making her someone
00:15 that I felt connected to.
00:17 And I always had this dream of being able to play her again
00:21 as an adult or just meet her as an adult.
00:23 And I wasn't sure if it could actually happen
00:25 because there's so much that goes into doing anything
00:27 in this business especially.
00:29 And it's been years of getting it right, getting it wrong,
00:34 figuring out logistically how to make this work
00:36 and putting a team together that really wanted it to happen
00:40 the right way.
00:41 So being patient worked out for us because we did it.
00:43 And it was, it was one of my craziest dreams coming true.
00:46 I couldn't believe, when I walked on set the first day,
00:48 I was like, "My God, we really did this.
00:50 "We're here, we're doing it."
00:52 - So let's go back to the original Zoe.
00:54 Do you remember your first day on set?
00:56 - I remember when we started creating Zoe
00:59 and having meetings about who she was gonna be
01:01 and what we wanted her to be as an overall,
01:05 over the whole arc of the show.
01:07 And for me, I remember that, those conversations happening.
01:11 And then when I walked on set the first day,
01:13 it was kind of familiar to how it was
01:15 when I walked on set this time.
01:16 I was like, "Oh my God, all these people are here
01:18 "and I'm supposed to be the star of this show."
01:19 I was kind of like a little bit, even at 12 or 13,
01:23 however I was a little overwhelmed,
01:25 but I was like, "I gotta do this.
01:26 "Everyone's here and they're expecting me to do my job."
01:28 So I feel like that just immediate step of me saying,
01:32 "Step up to the plate," was a big moment of growth for me.
01:35 'Cause it's like, you talk about it, you talk about it,
01:36 but then you end up being there and you're like, "Oh my gosh."
01:38 - But you're only 12 or 13.
01:41 What's the pressure feel like?
01:44 You're not only starring in the show,
01:46 but you're the title character, you are Zoe.
01:49 Did you feel the pressure to make sure that it worked?
01:53 - I think there's always a sense of pressure.
01:55 And when you're young, you're a bit more naive to that
01:57 because you're not realizing all these adults are here
02:00 working to provide for their families
02:01 and this needs to work.
02:02 You're not just here to have fun.
02:04 But I'd been on All That for years before,
02:06 so I felt like that was really good practice
02:08 of performing in front of a live audience.
02:10 And this was different because it was the first
02:13 single camera show that Nickelodeon was really doing
02:15 and we were at Pepperdine and it just felt really big.
02:19 So in my head, I was just so excited
02:22 to be doing something I love.
02:23 That outweighed the pressure part of it.
02:26 So I think that when you have a real love
02:28 for what you're doing, the pressure becomes second.
02:31 And that was kind of the magic, I guess,
02:34 of being that young and doing it.
02:36 'Cause maybe today, like I was with this,
02:38 I was like, oh my God, this better work.
02:39 You know, you have a lot more going on as an adult.
02:42 - When you were doing the movie,
02:45 was there thoughts about bringing it back to the series
02:47 or was it always you were gonna do a movie?
02:48 - I think there's conversations about both
02:51 and that conversation's ongoing.
02:53 I just think that this felt right, script-wise,
02:56 to kind of give them a real foundation
02:59 of where these characters are, like lay it out for 'em more
03:01 as opposed to engaging them week after week.
03:04 I think that they've been asking for a while, the fans,
03:06 and I think that we just needed to give them more
03:09 all at once and then go from there.
03:11 - Well, I have to say, when I was watching the movie
03:13 and I think at one point they say you're 30.
03:16 - Yeah, I know.
03:18 - I was like, what?
03:19 - I'm 30, I'm 32 though.
03:20 - I know, I'm not close to you.
03:22 I know you obviously professionally.
03:24 I've watched you grow up in the spotlight.
03:27 I'm like, Jamie Lynn Spears is 32.
03:29 - I think about that sometimes too.
03:31 - Is it wild?
03:32 - It is because I feel like, especially being a young mom,
03:35 it's almost like I was an adult then
03:38 but I was still of age, of a young girl.
03:41 And so sometimes I'm like, oh wow, I'm 30.
03:44 I'm my mom's friend's age,
03:46 but no, my mom's friends are older now too.
03:49 I often think when I'm driving my daughter
03:50 and her friends around, I'm like,
03:52 I remember riding around with my mom
03:53 and she felt like such an adult.
03:54 And I'm like, do they think that about me?
03:56 'Cause I still sometimes feel like I'm a kid.
03:59 - Do you feel like an adult?
04:00 - I do feel like an adult because I've proven to myself
04:03 that I'm capable and I'm responsible.
04:04 But there are times where I'm just like, wow,
04:06 I can't believe I'm the person to them
04:10 that my mom was to me.
04:11 It just feels like, I think everybody has that feeling
04:14 at some point or time.
04:16 But for me, I have that,
04:17 especially with my oldest daughter being a teenager now.
04:20 It's just a really weird--
04:21 - Teenager, it's so weird.
04:22 - It's so weird, it is.
04:24 It's like, what world are we living in?
04:25 She was supposed to not getting older than five.
04:27 - When did she realize that her mama was famous?
04:30 - I think that my kids' experience is very different
04:34 because it's all they know.
04:35 It's how can they know a different reality
04:39 if their reality's always been this?
04:41 I can remember when Maddie was younger
04:43 and she just kind of thought like,
04:46 everybody kind of did these things
04:48 and that was normal.
04:50 Everyone's in this environment
04:53 until she realized that it wasn't.
04:54 I think it was not so much realizing
04:56 that this is what her mom did for a living.
04:58 It was realizing that not everyone else does that.
05:00 It was kind of like, oh wait,
05:02 that's not everyone else's life.
05:03 So I think that was more of her reality.
05:05 And I did involve my children
05:07 and I do involve them with me so much.
05:09 It's good for them to understand our world
05:11 and also appreciate everyone else's world too.
05:15 - Would you want her to go into business?
05:16 - I don't think anybody wants to necessarily.
05:19 But there are, I mean, if there's so many,
05:22 when you see your kid light up about something,
05:25 everything else fades away.
05:26 And my oldest daughter is actually,
05:28 she's more of an athlete.
05:29 I don't think she has any interest in this.
05:31 She could be a model if she wanted to,
05:33 but she's an athlete and that's kind of where she is.
05:35 And I love that.
05:36 There's not, like watching your kid do,
05:38 I'm like, I can't believe the things that she does.
05:40 I'm like, wow, she's a really badass little player.
05:43 And I feel like that's tougher than what I did.
05:46 And she's like, no, getting in front of the camera
05:47 is way tougher.
05:48 Now my youngest one, she seems like she might have the bug.
05:52 She wrote at her preschool graduation,
05:55 like everyone holds up their sign
05:56 of what they're gonna be when they grow up,
05:57 like fireman, policeman.
05:58 She wrote movie star.
05:59 I was like, literally, it's like on the big screen.
06:03 I was like, oh my gosh.
06:05 Okay, well, I was like, I've never told her that.
06:08 But like, she just seems to maybe have the bug, I guess.
06:12 - What's amazing about the new Zoe,
06:14 Zoe 2.0 is what I keep calling it,
06:18 is you look at this, you know, a character
06:20 who's not identified as gender nonconforming,
06:22 but you sort of assume he is.
06:24 - Yeah.
06:25 - That's pretty amazing when you think of
06:28 where Zoe started and what you're doing now.
06:31 Talk to me about that.
06:32 - Being an executive producer for the first time,
06:34 I did think about like what I want to see on screen
06:38 or what I feel needs to be seen on screen,
06:40 especially for like my children and everything.
06:42 I just think in these times,
06:44 it's so important to continue that growth
06:47 and to see everyone to see themselves in our world.
06:49 And there was a lot of conversations about that.
06:51 I was like, I want to see representation for everybody here,
06:55 whatever that may look like.
06:56 And I feel like we did a really good job
06:59 and it was something that we were,
07:02 I was really conscious about
07:03 because we have to continue to move forward.
07:06 And I think that Zoe, even back then,
07:08 was we were always trying to, you know,
07:09 push for girls to be able to do anything guys could do.
07:11 And I just think that continuing to push that's important,
07:14 not only for me as the story of Zoe,
07:17 but also like me as a mom and in this world,
07:19 it's important that I am doing that truly and authentically.
07:24 And I was thankful as an executive producer,
07:26 I was able to kind of aggravate them
07:27 with a million emails and tell them that.
07:29 - We all know the story.
07:30 You got pregnant, but Zoe was going off the air.
07:34 It did not go off the air because she became pregnant.
07:37 - Yeah.
07:38 - And you left for about five years.
07:41 You said, "I'll see you later, Hollywood."
07:44 - Well, when I wrapped Zoe,
07:45 there was all of these plans of, you know,
07:48 let's go do movies.
07:49 There was things, scripts I was reading
07:51 and things I was excited about.
07:52 But I, you know, like a lot of young girls do,
07:56 thought I was in love.
07:57 And there I am pregnant at 16.
08:00 We all know the story.
08:01 I was so concerned about,
08:03 I'm really bringing another human being into this world.
08:06 I need to figure out who I am.
08:08 And two, the press wasn't exactly very nice.
08:10 I wanted to get as far away from it as I could.
08:12 So I got a house in Mississippi.
08:14 I put up a gate, put myself on a budget,
08:17 and I said, "I'm gonna raise my baby back here.
08:18 "And that's what I'm gonna do."
08:19 And that's what I did for a while.
08:21 But I wanted to also show her
08:25 I still could continue on to be what I wanted to be.
08:28 And that bringing her into my life
08:29 was not something that I regret or held me back.
08:32 Made it challenging, yes,
08:33 because I had to be accountable for the situation
08:35 I'd put myself in.
08:36 But I started going to Nashville, writing music,
08:40 and finding other ways to have a creative outlet
08:42 that made sense for me.
08:43 But it was a break I probably needed,
08:45 'cause I was very contentious
08:46 with the press and everything.
08:48 It was something I didn't wanna see.
08:49 I didn't wanna see a magazine with my face on it
08:51 and something mean.
08:52 And I didn't want my daughter to see that.
08:53 Can you imagine her when she hears a headline
08:56 that says, "Her life is over, her life is ruined"?
08:59 Even then I was thinking about,
09:03 "How would that make my 15-year-old feel?"
09:05 What am I gonna do to stay out of that narrative
09:07 or change it?
09:08 And I feel like that was really important to me,
09:11 was just to not be consumed in that world.
09:14 - So you said you were reading scripts,
09:16 you wanted to do movies.
09:17 Was there a role that you didn't get that you really wanted?
09:21 - I did read one of the "Twilights."
09:23 It was the first one, I'm pretty sure.
09:25 And I remember saying, and this is,
09:27 this was exactly what I said.
09:29 I was very silly.
09:31 But this, vampires had not really made it through.
09:33 Now we all know we love to watch stories about vampires.
09:36 I literally was like, "Vampires?"
09:38 I was like, "Are you kidding me?"
09:40 So I went and read for it.
09:42 And obviously all the roles are already
09:44 exactly who they should have been.
09:46 But I did go read for it.
09:47 And I mean, I wasn't necessarily offered,
09:49 I was pregnant, but I didn't know that at the time.
09:52 But I do know that I remember reading it.
09:54 I mean, "Who's gonna watch a vampire?"
09:56 Boy, was I wrong.
09:57 Boy, boy, was I very wrong.
09:58 - Did you read for Bella?
10:00 Or was it sort of in general?
10:01 - I think I was reading for that part,
10:03 but I think she was already cast.
10:05 I'm pretty sure they were just kind of seeing
10:07 what other characters and having us read parts like that.
10:09 - When you were living in Nashville,
10:12 then did the sort of the itch come back to say,
10:15 "You know, I really wanna be acting again."
10:17 - Acting's always, I think,
10:19 been something that feels really good.
10:20 I love telling stories,
10:22 whether that's me writing music for myself
10:23 or for other people,
10:25 or playing a role that's telling a story.
10:26 That's something I feel really good and comfortable in.
10:30 And I think that was somewhat of my first love.
10:32 I feel like music's very personal,
10:34 and I almost do that for growth and healing.
10:36 It feels good for me to play music.
10:38 But for acting, I feel like I was kind of afraid
10:42 to come back, 'cause I was like,
10:43 "What if it doesn't work out?"
10:44 It was scarier to step back into that immediately,
10:48 something that I love so much,
10:49 and maybe it doesn't work.
10:51 So I kind of found other ways to be creative
10:53 and have that outlet.
10:54 But it was something I always wanted,
10:56 but I think I was afraid to admit to myself,
10:58 because, boy, I didn't wanna give everybody
11:00 the satisfaction of saying,
11:01 "See? Yeah, it's not gonna happen for you.
11:05 "You had a baby, remember?"
11:06 So I kind of was just trying to find other ways
11:08 to feel that, but it was always, always in my heart
11:12 to want to find my way back in.
11:14 - After everything you've been through,
11:15 your family's been through,
11:17 was there ever a time when you were in Nashville
11:19 or when you were in Mississippi saying,
11:21 "You know what? I'm not going back there.
11:22 "I'm done."
11:23 - I definitely felt like it would probably have been
11:30 for my mental health a better decision
11:32 to say I'm never doing this again.
11:35 But it's all I know.
11:37 It's the only way I know to be.
11:39 It's a part of me.
11:41 It's like, how do you unknow something?
11:44 So I instinctively knew that being a mom
11:49 was what I had to do and was a part of who I was now.
11:52 So it was about figuring out,
11:53 how do I do this in a way that doesn't take away from that?
11:56 And I think a little bit of clarity of,
12:00 I was a child, but I was not a child anymore.
12:03 And having a different perspective on,
12:05 I can control the steps I take,
12:06 felt like I knew it was always gonna happen,
12:09 but I was scared.
12:10 I was scared of failing.
12:11 I was scared of not being what I felt I'd maybe ruined,
12:16 like they told me I had.
12:18 - People said your career was over.
12:19 - Oh yeah. I mean, it was everywhere.
12:20 I mean, it was grownups were telling a 16 year old,
12:24 who by the way, was having a baby
12:26 and trying to just do what I felt was right for me.
12:31 And they were just like, yeah, she's ruined.
12:34 She's just, I mean, they call me every name under the book.
12:36 It was, I mean, in today's world, that wouldn't fly.
12:38 The media had a lot more, they could be relentless
12:42 and nobody checked them for it.
12:43 And I think that today's world,
12:45 we wouldn't say that about a young girl
12:47 who was making a decision that was gonna change her life
12:49 in a true way that no one really wanted that for me,
12:54 but that's what I chose and I was standing by it.
12:56 And I think it's hard not to feel like,
13:00 especially I'm a people pleaser.
13:01 This was the first time I was like,
13:02 oh, this one's not gonna please people.
13:04 (laughing)
13:05 They were like, you know,
13:06 I really, really wasn't pleasing anybody.
13:08 So that was hard for me.
13:09 And I think it'd be hard for anybody.
13:11 - Well, I love, you know, especially in your memoir,
13:14 you're so open about mental health and seeing a therapist
13:18 and that you heal and find your voice.
13:22 I mean, I know for myself in the moment,
13:24 it feels like the world's falling apart.
13:26 It's over.
13:27 - It's several times in your life.
13:29 - Yeah, but you have sort of steadied your ship.
13:33 - And I think it's important to remember that like,
13:36 my ship might be steady now,
13:38 but there might be a time again where it's not.
13:39 There's a season for everything.
13:41 And for me, the first time I went to a therapist,
13:44 I kind of just told her what I thought she wanted to hear.
13:47 It was like, I was on test of like,
13:49 I passed today and she thinks I'm great.
13:51 And it wasn't really until I said, you know what,
13:54 this, I really have to, if this is gonna work,
13:56 I have to really tell them how I feel.
13:58 And when I did that,
13:59 that's when I started to see the change of like,
14:02 it was okay to feel this way.
14:06 And it was almost like I hated that feeling
14:09 'cause it made me feel really vulnerable,
14:10 but at the same time, it was necessary.
14:13 And I think if more people just say, screw it,
14:15 like, I'm just gonna let it all go
14:17 and find somebody they feel comfortable talking with,
14:20 it's, even if it starts by just being somebody you know,
14:23 but really having that time set aside
14:26 made a difference for me.
14:27 And I don't know what I would have done
14:31 if I wouldn't have taken that first step.
14:33 - What is it like owning your voice
14:36 and saying, this is me, this is what I want.
14:38 Even you were just saying as an executive producer,
14:40 this is what I want.
14:41 How hard was it for you to step forward
14:44 and say, this, I'm talking to the first person?
14:48 - Oh gosh.
14:49 I, again, am a people pleaser.
14:51 So it's like, I'll kind of try to read the room
14:53 and see what it is that's gonna be the popular opinion
14:56 'cause I want people to be happy
14:58 and I want to make them proud.
14:59 I've almost now have an instinct
15:01 of when everyone seems happy about it,
15:02 I'm almost like, maybe I should just go the other way,
15:04 just to see, just to see if I'm still gonna own
15:07 what I want or my voice.
15:08 Not to do it as a rebellion thing,
15:09 but like feeling like I have the strength in me
15:14 to say something that isn't going to just be
15:18 the one answer that makes everybody else happy.
15:20 So there's different things in life where you do that,
15:23 whether it's having a baby
15:24 or whether it's where you want to live,
15:27 what you want to do.
15:29 And even being an executive producer,
15:31 it's like I challenge myself to say the hard thing.
15:33 And when you start making yourself do that,
15:36 you start realizing that's how it's supposed to feel.
15:39 When you're really owning what feels true to your gut,
15:41 you're never gonna regret that.
15:43 Even if that one moment's uncomfortable,
15:44 you're never gonna regret saying exactly
15:47 or doing exactly what you know
15:48 instinctively feels correct to you.
15:50 - What I love, again, I'm going back to your memoir
15:52 'cause it's great.
15:53 - Thank you.
15:54 - As you talk about owning your voice,
15:56 and we know when the memoir came out,
15:59 there were Britney fans who said,
16:00 "You're only doing this book.
16:01 "You're only trying to make money
16:02 "off of your sister's issues."
16:04 How do you sort of sit back and say,
16:08 "No, this is me.
16:09 "This is my voice.
16:11 "Listen to me."
16:12 You said you can't help what family you were born into.
16:16 - For me, I had this goal of when I turned 30
16:20 to write a book that I was proud of,
16:22 and two, in my personal life,
16:24 really owning my voice as a 30-year-old woman.
16:27 I'm a grownup now, telling my story and leaving it there.
16:32 That had nothing to do with anybody else.
16:34 Was the timing just, of course,
16:35 in true fashion of just the way my life is,
16:38 the timing might have sucked,
16:39 but I also, once again, said,
16:41 I had this goal set.
16:43 I'm gonna stay true to that.
16:45 It might not be in popular opinion,
16:47 but this wasn't for anybody else.
16:48 This was for me.
16:49 I share a story about almost losing my daughter in there,
16:51 and it seems like everyone else can be fascinated
16:54 by anything else but what really matters.
16:56 And that, to me, was a really important part of it,
16:59 was me sharing my life and my story,
17:02 and I can't help who I bump into in my life,
17:06 but I'm allowed to speak my truth and my story
17:09 just as I encourage every single other person to do.
17:12 And last year was a very personal year,
17:15 and I, like I've said,
17:16 I will tell people what they wanna hear
17:18 because I'm like, that's what I feel like,
17:20 as a child star, you're kind of learned to do.
17:22 Last year, I said, nope, do it.
17:23 It's all gonna be uncomfortable.
17:24 It was very weird for me to be so openly personal
17:26 instead of letting people just see
17:28 the picture perfect everything.
17:29 That was scary for me.
17:31 And I did that.
17:31 I'm proud of it, but it allows me to move forward now
17:34 and focus on the family that I created,
17:37 the work that I've done,
17:39 and where I'm at in my life
17:40 because I can't help where I come from
17:42 or what family I come from.
17:43 All I can help is the one that I've created,
17:45 and that family is my husband and my two little girls.
17:47 The work I've created, which is this new era of Zoe,
17:49 which is "Sweet Magnolias,"
17:50 and that's all I can control.
17:52 And I have to learn that I can't hold on
17:55 or put the weight on my shoulders of where I come from.
17:58 All I can do is control where I'm going,
18:00 and I feel really proud of that.
18:01 - Who did you let read the draft of the book
18:04 before it was published?
18:05 - A lot of people.
18:07 I'll be like, I kinda always had it laying around every day.
18:09 (laughing)
18:10 My mom, and two, I would have to remember,
18:13 when you're writing stuff,
18:14 you kind of are forgetting things.
18:16 And I'm like, "Mom, didn't it happen that way?"
18:17 And I'd have to, "Oh, it did.
18:19 "No, it was actually this."
18:20 So I would ask my mom questions about things
18:22 because I wanted it to be factually correct.
18:25 And so I really feel like it was a part of,
18:28 I never kept it, it was a process.
18:32 It takes forever to write a book.
18:33 - I have a file on my computer that says book.
18:38 - Yes.
18:39 - It's been in the works for 25 years.
18:41 - Exactly.
18:41 I feel like I've always been writing,
18:43 and I would turn things in.
18:45 But you're always kind of writing your story,
18:47 especially if you're creative.
18:49 And it does feel weird to button it up and make it a book,
18:54 but it's almost too,
18:54 I've got now this yearbook of the last 30 years.
18:57 It's something that I am proud of,
19:02 but it's also something that is,
19:05 it's meant to stay there and I can reflect on.
19:08 But I felt like I had to do that
19:10 to be able to really just move forward on my voice
19:12 and just say, okay, this is Jamie Lynn, the adult,
19:16 in charge of her life.
19:16 And I feel like I had to be authentic for a moment,
19:21 even though it's so uncomfortable for me to be vulnerable
19:24 and say that I'm upset about anything ever,
19:26 'cause that's not, I don't like that emotion.
19:29 I feel like it makes me weak, but guess what?
19:31 Sometimes we're human, sometimes we're weak,
19:32 and that's okay.
19:33 - You say in the book that you did everything you could
19:36 to protect your sister,
19:37 that sometimes you thought maybe that was in vain.
19:40 Your sister now has said that she visited you
19:42 on a set.
19:43 Where are you now with your sister?
19:45 - I mean, I have nothing but absolute love
19:48 for every single one of my family members.
19:50 And I think if I learned anything from last year,
19:52 being so open and being so personal
19:55 and feeling like I had to defend myself at times,
19:59 that I do want to just focus on maybe,
20:04 you know, what it is that I've done and said
20:09 is already out there.
20:11 I don't feel like there's anything else
20:12 that I need to say in any personal aspects.
20:14 I just have to leave it where it is
20:17 because those conversations are meant to be personal.
20:20 And all I can focus on now is really what I'm doing
20:25 with my girls, my husband,
20:28 and obviously the work that I'm doing now.
20:31 But I think there's nothing but love there for me
20:34 in all areas.
20:36 - What is it like, though, to look back at photos,
20:38 like even in the book, you have those photos.
20:40 There's a photo of Mickey Mouse Club
20:43 and there's a photo with Reese Witherspoon,
20:45 you know, at Teen Choice Awards and all that stuff.
20:47 Do you ever look at those photos and say,
20:49 "God, I wish we stayed in Kentwood"?
20:51 - No, I look at those photos and I say,
20:53 "I had some of the most amazing experiences
20:56 "in childhood moments.
20:58 "I got to meet Reese Witherspoon.
20:59 "I got to meet Mary-Kate and Ashley, by the way."
21:01 And I thought, like, "Well, this is the best thing
21:03 "that's ever happened in my life."
21:05 And I grew up doing something that I loved
21:08 in such a special way and with my family.
21:12 And that's something that people dream of.
21:14 Without a state in Kentwood,
21:16 there would have been a big old hole missing
21:17 in my heart and probably my whole family's heart.
21:19 So everything comes with its challenges.
21:21 Everything has its demons.
21:23 But I feel like,
21:26 like who gets to say they were at the Mickey Mouse Club
21:29 with Brian Gosling, you know what I mean?
21:31 It's just like, it's one of those things
21:34 where I just feel like I feel really blessed
21:36 for the life that I grew up having,
21:37 'cause there were so many good moments
21:39 that I think most people would dream of having.
21:42 - How do you keep that head on your shoulders like that?
21:45 'Cause like you said, the last year was tough.
21:48 I don't even wanna say, like, I could only imagine.
21:50 - It makes me sad.
21:51 - 'Cause I can't imagine it.
21:53 You know, I'm not, that's not my world.
21:55 - Yeah, it was, I don't want my daughter to feel that way.
21:59 So I have to say, absolutely not.
22:02 Will I allow my children, especially my oldest daughter,
22:06 who was very affected by all of it,
22:08 I will not back down.
22:11 I will not allow her to feel this way in her life.
22:13 So it's not a strength for me,
22:14 it's a strength out of the love for my children.
22:17 And wanting to make sure that I do not give way
22:22 to anything but what I know to be authentic and true,
22:27 even if it's hard on those days.
22:29 I can just remember, like,
22:31 it just was, it was hard, you know?
22:35 But I feel like at the end of the day,
22:37 look where I am now, you know?
22:39 And that's, it just makes me sad
22:41 when I think about my kids.
22:42 Like, I don't ever want them to feel the pain
22:44 or the scrutiny that is not necessary
22:46 and it's not theirs to carry.
22:48 So I'll carry it, that's fine.
22:51 - How do you explain it to your kids?
22:53 - I explain it, well, my five-year-old doesn't care.
22:56 - She's five.
22:58 - And my 14-year-old, I think that every young girl
23:01 and every young person in this world,
23:03 on some level, deals with the way social media is.
23:07 I mean, like, we all, on some level,
23:08 are dealing with a public identity of who we are
23:13 and I think you gotta protect that.
23:16 - How do you protect it with your daughter?
23:17 - Well, she doesn't have any social media,
23:20 but she does play sports.
23:21 Like, I have a social media page
23:23 where I'll post her softball videos and stuff like that.
23:25 But I think it's so important
23:26 that I guard her creating her identity
23:28 without any outside noise
23:30 and explaining to her that, you know,
23:32 we are in a unique situation where people are fascinated
23:36 by the family that I grew up in,
23:38 but you don't have to do that.
23:41 You can be who you are,
23:43 exactly who you wanna be, without the outside noise
23:45 and I promise you, you'll thank me for it one day.
23:47 And I just, I think that that's the only way
23:51 I know how to do it, because I know the pain I've felt
23:53 and even though she might be mad at me
23:55 because I won't let her have anything,
23:57 but I know that I'm protecting her.
24:00 It's like the necessary evil.
24:01 You just have to do it if I'm going to give her the chance
24:05 to create her own independent thoughts
24:09 of who she should be and what feels right to her,
24:11 not what someone says or she saw.
24:13 - What do you say to her when she comes home
24:14 and says, "Some kid at school told me
24:16 "that my aunt is Britney Spears."
24:18 - I say, "Wow, you should be so proud.
24:21 "Like, look at what your family's done and accomplished.
24:23 "We came from a small town
24:25 "and now everybody's fascinated by the good end,
24:27 "especially the bad, but wow,
24:29 "look at what an example of a strong female you have."
24:32 And I admire it and I know that that's all I say,
24:36 is like, that is noise.
24:38 Like, you have something to be proud of
24:40 and you should have pride in that.
24:43 And kids are kids, so I'm sure there's a lot meaner things
24:47 that they're doing to each other in high school.
24:50 - So now you have to be terrified
24:52 that your youngest wants to be a movie star.
24:55 - I mean, I really hope it's a phase.
24:57 Do five-year-olds go through a phase like that?
24:59 'Cause it's sort of, I'm really hoping--
25:00 - When you were five, what did you want to be?
25:01 - It's all I've ever wanted to do.
25:03 It's all I've ever wanted to do,
25:04 is to be able to be in front of the camera.
25:08 And I also think going through the things I've gone through
25:12 makes me appreciate it.
25:13 It's like, wow, how lucky am I that I have a job
25:16 and I get to provide for my children
25:17 doing something I love.
25:18 So I do think that's the other necessary part with this
25:21 and what makes it, me feel so grounded,
25:24 is like, I feel like I've always fought
25:27 to keep my place at the table
25:28 and sometimes not anything that has anything to do with me.
25:31 And so I just feel like I appreciate
25:33 every single time I get a seat at the table.
25:35 - Did your desire to be in front of the camera
25:38 come first or after you saw Britney doing it?
25:41 - I just feel like I don't ever remember a time
25:43 where I didn't want to do it.
25:44 And I'm sure seeing someone, everyone has an idol
25:48 and mine just happened to be kin to me.
25:50 So I just feel like, of course,
25:51 you're gonna be inspired by what you're around,
25:53 but I don't remember ever thinking about doing anything else.
25:57 - Could you imagine you and Britney on stage
25:59 performing together again?
26:00 - I mean, I don't know.
26:01 I mean, I think right now I'm really just focused on me
26:04 and what I'm doing and I feel like I've worked very hard
26:09 to be able to be a part of shows like "Sleep Magnolias"
26:14 and the whole cast and a real ensemble cast
26:16 and then fighting hard to bring back a character
26:19 from my childhood, that is all I can think about right now
26:23 because my dreams are coming true again.
26:26 - Again, again.
26:27 - Like who gets to say that?
26:29 - What is that next project you want?
26:30 - Well, this baby of Zoe that I have literally carried
26:34 for years, delivering it successfully
26:38 is one of my biggest goals and I'm so proud of that.
26:42 But I would love to continue that story,
26:44 but I would also love to--
26:45 - So Zoe 103.
26:47 - Yeah, 104, 105.
26:48 (laughing)
26:49 I would love to continue that story,
26:50 continue to challenge myself as an actress.
26:52 And I think being an executive producer
26:54 and having that kind of understanding
26:57 of what it takes to make a movie happen
27:00 and how important it is, the people you put in place.
27:02 And we put all females, all the females executive producer,
27:07 all female writers, all my female director.
27:09 - Tell me about that.
27:10 That was a very conscious decision.
27:11 - I'm not saying that I went in there like no males.
27:13 That wasn't that.
27:14 I was just very drawn to every time that I read something
27:18 or a pitch that Nancy gave, I was just drawn to it.
27:21 It was better.
27:22 And they all were like-minded in the sense
27:25 of we wanted this working environment to feel good.
27:27 I just think that it just happened to be
27:29 that the women were the ones that just did that.
27:32 And I'm proud of that too.
27:33 It was amazing to see the script that two women wrote
27:38 and then finding a woman director,
27:40 I really think she was the game changer, I will have to say.
27:43 And we have Shana and Brynn who were,
27:44 and then Alexis, we really were the ones who were
27:47 digging in the ditch to get this thing out.
27:50 When we brought Nancy on board, I knew she was great,
27:52 but it wouldn't be what it is without her.
27:54 She really got it, she wanted it to be great,
27:57 she fought for it to be great,
27:58 and that was a game changer, 100%.
28:01 And I'm just thankful too that they allowed me
28:05 to have so much input.
28:06 It's my first time being an executive producer,
28:07 but I guess if you're just aggravating enough
28:09 and you're just like, no, no, no, it has to be this way,
28:10 it has to be this way.
28:11 - But it's not aggravating.
28:12 - Yeah, and it's funny.
28:13 - It's just with having your, even there, you're-
28:14 - Even there, I feel myself doing it.
28:15 - You almost have an apology.
28:17 - Exactly.
28:17 And so it's like, no, this is-
28:19 - This is what I want.
28:20 - This is what I feel is important.
28:22 And it also allowed me to ask questions.
28:24 Like I'd ask them things I didn't understand
28:27 or why we would do this and why would we spend money here?
28:30 We could spend money in knowing that
28:32 and being in a safe environment to ask that.
28:35 I don't know if I'd have felt as comfortable
28:36 asking a man that.
28:37 Like, why are we spending money here?
28:38 Why are we doing that?
28:40 It did feel good, and maybe I'm wrong.
28:42 I just feel like it allowed me, selfishly,
28:45 an environment where I was able to learn more
28:47 and feel comfortable doing that.
28:49 - Do you want to direct?
28:49 - I'm not ready there yet.
28:50 - But do you want to?
28:52 - I would love to direct.
28:53 I would love to.
28:54 I think this was my first time having that touch
28:56 of like on the other side of the camera,
28:57 of being on set when it wasn't necessarily
28:59 me shooting a scene,
29:00 but being there as an executive producer
29:02 and seeing how we want this to look on screen.
29:05 It was the first time I was like,
29:06 oh, I could see myself wanting to be a part of that world.
29:11 But to me, it seems like a lot right now
29:14 because I still feel like, with a really good director,
29:17 like they know everything about everything.
29:19 And like, that's what I still need to learn.
29:21 Like she knew what this camera's doing
29:23 and this action's doing,
29:24 and that's something that's like,
29:25 that was to me like watching a genius at work.
29:28 And she just kind of did it.
29:29 And I was like, I think you have to learn that.
29:32 That's a learned ability.
29:33 I don't think you just do it.
29:36 - Was it tough for you to walk into a room
29:40 where people expecting Jamie Lynn Spears, 16 year old?
29:44 Where it's like, you walked into the room,
29:45 it's like, oh, by the way, I'm 30.
29:48 - If it was, I didn't really recognize it.
29:49 I'm sure people did.
29:51 But I'm at a place in my life where it's like,
29:54 I have two children.
29:55 I'm kind of at the place where it's just like,
29:57 I don't have time to worry about what everybody's thinking.
30:00 It's like, I have a job due and I have to get it done.
30:01 I gotta get home to my kids.
30:03 So I think when I'm in that head space,
30:04 I'm not necessarily concerned about
30:05 what are they thinking about me.
30:06 It's like, and I'm tired too.
30:09 Like, I'm really tired.
30:10 (laughing)
30:11 So, even if that's what they're thinking,
30:13 I'm like, come on guys, let's get it together.
30:15 And let's just, and I'm just too thankful
30:17 to be where I'm at to worry about that.
30:19 I think you get to that place in your life.
30:21 - Have you thought about moving permanently back to LA?
30:24 - No, because nothing shoots in LA anymore.
30:26 What do you mean?
30:27 - Good point, very good point.
30:27 - See, my mom's in Atlanta.
30:29 - Spoken like a true executive.
30:31 - It's like, nothing shoots in LA.
30:33 Why in the world would I come here and be in Los Angeles?
30:35 I'm kidding.
30:36 (laughing)
30:37 No, I think, I love living in Louisiana
30:40 'cause that's where my support system is.
30:41 Like, when I'm here with you,
30:42 I know that my children are with my mother-in-law
30:44 and with my mom, and their schedule
30:47 does never have to change.
30:47 Now, my children typically travel with me a lot.
30:49 Like, when I was in North Carolina,
30:50 Ivy was with me the whole time.
30:52 And Maddie would come back and forth, or I'd go home.
30:55 But I just think that I, it's really fortunate
30:58 not everyone's in that situation
31:00 where they have such a family support system.
31:02 But I have that, and I fully take advantage of that,
31:05 being able to know I come home,
31:08 and I'm fully present there as a mom,
31:10 and just able to be there,
31:13 and with the occasional Zoom, and you know, whatever calls.
31:15 But when I'm here working,
31:17 I'm able to fully be present here.
31:18 And it makes you appreciate both worlds, I think, as well.
31:21 - How are you treated in Kentwood?
31:22 - No one cares about anything.
31:24 If anything, they do hear something,
31:26 I have to go, "We're praying for you,"
31:27 or, "We're this, we're that."
31:28 "Oh my God, we see this movie."
31:30 They're really excited about Zoe, though.
31:31 They are. (laughing)
31:32 And a lot of the Southern women love Sweet Magnolias,
31:35 which, like-- - Makes sense.
31:37 - Makes sense, and it's crazy
31:38 because I feel like I'm still a kid,
31:40 but I'm also like, "No, I'm a woman."
31:42 I'm a woman, and women are coming up to me,
31:44 and then their daughters are like,
31:44 "We can't wait for Zoe."
31:46 It keeps me very humbled in both worlds.
31:50 But I love-- - Do you remember
31:51 when the media would invade Kentwood?
31:53 - That was the craziest part for me.
31:55 It's like, I would go to the middle of nowhere,
31:57 minding my business.
31:57 I'm not walking down Rodeo Drive,
31:59 being like, "Take my picture."
32:00 I literally moved to the middle of nowhere,
32:03 and was like, "I'm gonna just stay here, guys, 'kay?
32:05 "So leave me alone."
32:06 And they would show up at a gas station,
32:09 and I'm just trying to pump gas,
32:10 and I'm like, "What are y'all, what are you?"
32:13 Maybe I just couldn't fathom it,
32:15 until I was a minor most of the time
32:17 when I was pregnant and they were doing that.
32:19 I just couldn't believe that, what else do I do?
32:22 Don't tell me that I want this attention
32:26 because I don't know where else to go.
32:28 (laughing)
32:29 - An island, somewhere in an island.
32:31 - In the middle, but it seems like they'd find me there.
32:32 - They'd find you there anyway.
32:33 - If they found me way back there
32:34 where I was at that time, they were,
32:36 I mean, I don't even know what hotels they stayed in
32:38 'cause there's no hotels in that area.
32:39 I was like, "Where are they living at?"
32:41 (laughing)
32:42 - Their cars?
32:43 - I don't know, I have no idea.
32:44 - That's really funny.
32:45 And music-wise, right now, someone came to you
32:48 and said you could work with anybody.
32:50 Who would it be?
32:51 - Anybody.
32:53 - Anybody.
32:53 - I'm trying to think what my daughter
32:54 would think was cool, too,
32:55 'cause I'll say the wrong answer.
32:57 I think that Billie Eilish is really great.
32:58 I love Kacey Musgraves.
33:00 There's a lot of great music right now.
33:02 I think, too, that I would love to work with somebody,
33:04 I feel like, probably in the country music area
33:07 because--
33:07 - I'm waiting for you to say one particular person
33:09 and you have not said her yet.
33:11 - Carrie Underwood?
33:11 I don't know.
33:12 Miranda Lambert?
33:13 - Keep going.
33:14 Dolly!
33:15 - Dolly Parton!
33:16 Yeah, but you know what?
33:18 I feel like you go and you just praise her.
33:21 She is all of our absolute queen.
33:24 I feel like Dolly Parton is the epitome of--
33:28 - She's a national treasure.
33:29 - She is, she is, and it just feels like--
33:32 - But you got stories to tell and she's a storyteller.
33:35 - Oh my gosh.
33:35 - So imagine you two sitting down
33:37 and writing a song. - Oh, I'd give anything.
33:38 I'd give anything to be in her presence.
33:41 All the women that I went through just then,
33:42 I'd give anything to be in any of their presence,
33:44 but I just think that for Dolly,
33:46 it's almost like she's the fairy godmother.
33:48 And it's like, is she,
33:50 her presence is holy to us.
33:52 And also, too, her goddaughter is Miley.
33:54 So I feel like them singing together is a thing,
33:56 but it's like, I don't know.
33:57 I feel like she's such a legend.
33:59 I would give anything to sing with her,
34:00 but I don't know if,
34:04 I don't know if I feel worthy.
34:06 She's just an actual queen. - Don't do that.
34:08 Do not do that.
34:09 You don't worth being. - I would be too scared.
34:10 I would be, I wouldn't speak.
34:12 I'd be like, mm-hmm, yeah.
34:13 - And what TV are you watching besides your show?
34:15 - Well, I watch mine only.
34:16 I'm just kidding.
34:17 (laughing)
34:18 Well, Succession's done now, but I love--
34:20 - You're a Succession fan, huh?
34:21 - Yes, I was a very big Succession fan.
34:24 - What'd you think of that finale?
34:25 - I'm like, are they really done?
34:26 - They're done.
34:27 - They're really not gonna do it anymore.
34:29 - No?
34:30 - I thought maybe there'd be a spinoff or something.
34:32 Love Euphoria.
34:34 - Do you?
34:35 - But I'm also like, is this really,
34:36 is this what's going on in high school these days?
34:37 Because--
34:38 - Do you ask Maddie, saying like, what's going on there?
34:41 - We have a really, I do feel like that was one thing
34:44 me being a young mom was to have, not be like her friend.
34:48 I'm very, like, try to really walk that fine line,
34:50 but I do know that she does feel like she can come to me.
34:53 And I don't think that's necessarily
34:55 what her high school experience is,
34:56 because she's like a super athlete,
34:58 but I know that that's probably, you know,
35:01 part of certain high school experiences.
35:03 And to me, it opens my eyes to like,
35:06 sometimes these young kids are dealing with
35:09 like grown up things.
35:10 And I know maybe I was in a certain way,
35:13 but like, that's hard stuff.
35:14 You know, that's really hard stuff.
35:16 And I think that's also, it's like--
35:19 - I couldn't, I'm in recovery myself, I'm sober.
35:22 I couldn't watch it when I first saw it.
35:23 - Oh, really?
35:24 - It was too, I was like, lived it.
35:26 Don't need to do it again.
35:28 - I think for me, when I, like, I love Zendaya so much
35:30 and the way she performs, I just was so fascinated
35:32 by the performance that I had to watch the next episodes.
35:35 But my mom was like, I just feel so dark, I can't watch it.
35:39 And I just was like, I had to, no matter what I was,
35:42 it did feel dark at times though,
35:44 'cause it felt like, oh,
35:45 this is maybe what it really feels like.
35:47 - What do you watch just for fun?
35:48 - Oh, Housewives, I mean like, and Vanderpump Rules.
35:51 I mean, I've been fully, I've been an original--
35:53 - Scandaval, let's talk about Scandaval.
35:55 Were you shocked? - Let's get into it.
35:57 - Let's get into it. - I was really shocked.
35:58 I genuinely, when I first read it, I was like,
35:59 this is not true, this is not happening.
36:01 But then I realized very quickly that it was true
36:04 and I was like, oh my God, this is the,
36:06 like, you can't write this.
36:07 Like, try writing this, you can't.
36:10 So, and it just seems like that group of people,
36:13 like even what happened with Stassi all those years ago
36:14 with Jackson, I was like, there's no way it's true.
36:16 And they're like, yes it was.
36:17 It's like, you can't write that kind of stuff.
36:19 So those things are wonderful
36:21 because I can just totally escape, you know, my reality.
36:24 - Are you excited that they're gonna come back
36:25 for another season?
36:26 - Well, of course, of course.
36:27 I can't wait to see what happens.
36:29 But I do think that we should also have compassion
36:33 that they're all humans.
36:34 - Well, I was just gonna say to you.
36:35 - Like, I don't know that like,
36:37 I think Ariana deserves to say and do anything she wants.
36:40 She's the one who's harmed in this.
36:41 But like, we also need to like,
36:43 remember to have a little bit of compassion
36:46 for the fact that like, I don't know.
36:47 I just think anytime there's an overload of hate,
36:49 like, yeah, you can have your opinion
36:51 and talk ass with your girlfriend on the couch,
36:53 but like, we don't need to, you know,
36:55 get to the point where people feel unsafe.
36:58 I mean, I've been there.
36:58 So I mean, like, I just think that like,
37:01 I don't know, it's TV and it's people's real lives.
37:04 And I don't know.
37:04 - But they did sign up for a reality show.
37:06 - I guess you're right.
37:07 I don't like to see anything horrible.
37:09 - You're a people pleaser, you said.
37:10 - Yeah, I'm a people pleaser.
37:11 I don't want anybody to like,
37:12 feel horrible about themselves.
37:14 But I do think holding people accountable
37:16 is extremely responsible.
37:17 There's a difference in holding people accountable
37:19 and then just being hateful.
37:22 And that makes no sense to me.
37:24 And I just feel like if I've learned anything in life,
37:26 it's like the good always last.
37:29 And it just feels like it doesn't matter if it's one day,
37:32 six months, a year, 10 years.
37:35 The truth always comes to light
37:36 and things that are done in the dark come to light.
37:39 And I know that I always tell my daughter,
37:42 I'm like, you always try to do the next right thing,
37:44 even if it's no one's watching.
37:46 Those are the things that really count.
37:48 So no matter what you think you get away with,
37:50 it will always come back.
37:53 It doesn't matter how long you think
37:54 you get away with something.
37:54 Like you have to always choose the right next thing.
37:58 And I think that that's a big part of it
37:59 because that accountability right in the moment,
38:02 as opposed to six months later when you get caught
38:05 or a year later, that's not the kind of accountability
38:08 you have to learn accountability right then in that moment.
38:10 And that's how you start growing as a person
38:14 is knowing to check yourself right then
38:17 so you can make that right choice
38:18 because it's just gonna save you so much of a hassle
38:21 than later on, I promise.
38:22 (silence)
38:24 (silence)
38:26 (silence)
38:29 (silence)
38:31 (silence)
38:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments