Britney Spears’ childhood may have seemed like a dream to the young fans who saw her in the Mickey Mouse Club, and in many ways it was.
The former Mouseketeer, 41, writes about her time on the Disney show working alongside future greats Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake in her new memoir, The Woman in Me.
In an excerpt shared by People“The Circus Singer writes: ‘Attending the show was a boot camp for the entertainment industry: extensive dance rehearsals, singing lessons, acting lessons, time in the recording studio and school in between.’
The Piece of Me artist talks about the hierarchy among the cast members.
“The Mouseketeers quickly split into our own cliques, divided by the locker rooms we shared: Christina Aguilera and I were the younger kids, and we shared a locker room,” she wrote.
Dream: Britney Spears writes about her time on The Mickey Mouse Club in her new memoir. The singer describes her experience as ‘a kid’s dream – incredibly fun, especially for a kid like me’ (pictured with Ryan Gosling)
“We looked up to the older kids: Kerri Russell, Ryan Gosling and Tony Lucca, who I thought were so good looking.”
“And I quickly hooked up with a guy named Justin Timberlake.
The structure and work ethic on set seemed to appeal to the young performer, who said it was “truly a childhood dream – incredibly fun, especially for a kid like me.”
“But it was also extremely hard work: we performed the choreography thirty times a day, trying to get every step perfect.”
Behind the scenes, the cast continued to hang out even when they weren’t working.
“(One time) at a sleepover we were playing Truth or Dare, and someone dared Justin to kiss me. A Janet Jackson song played in the background as he leaned over and kissed me.”
Britney worked on The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to 1994.
After leaving the show, she returned to Kentwood, LA.
Connection: Britney and Christina Aguilera were assigned the same dressing room. She writes: ‘We looked up to the older kids – Kerri Russell, Ryan Gosling and Tony Lucca… And I quickly connected with a boy named Justin Timberlake’
No offense: After receiving backlash about some of the revelations in the book, Britney released a statement on Instagram, writing, “The purpose of my book was in no way to offend anyone!!! ‘
‘There was already a push-pull in me: part of me wanted to keep building the dream; the other part wanted me to live a normal life in Louisiana.”
“For a minute,” she admitted, “I had to let normality win.”
After receiving some backlash for writing articles about the book, which will be released on Tuesday, Britney took to social media to calm her critics.
‘The purpose of my book was not to offend anyone in any way!!’ she wrote.
‘Most of the book is from twenty years ago… I’ve moved on and from here it’s a beautiful clean slate!!’
Release: The Woman in Me will be released on October 24
The Grammy winner said, “This is actually a book I didn’t know needed to be written…while some may be offended, it has given me closure on all things for a better future!!!”
In her memoir, Spears revealed that she was devastated when Timberlake broke up with her via text message.
“I was in a coma in Louisiana, and he was happily running around Hollywood,” she recalled.
Additionally, the mother of two finally admitted to cheating on the NSYNC member with dancer Wade Robson after years of rumors.