Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean Reveals Heartbreaking Last Interaction With Britney Spears: She Wasn’t 'The Person I Knew'

Who better to weigh in on Britney Spears than a fellow ’90s icon?

Everyone who’s anyone is team #FreeBritney these days, which is a good thing, because the public pressure seems to have helped move the needle on her oppressive conservatorship. Fans and fellow pop stars alike have spoken up in support, but the statements from people who knew her way back when resonate even more deeply.

One of those friends is AJ McLean, who first met the singer back when she was on the Mickey Mouse Club. On Wednesday’s episode of SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, the Backstreet Boy told the host:

“My thoughts and my prayers are with her. I am 100 percent team Britney.”

He added:

“I’ve said this to a few friends recently that, you know, back in the beginning of this whole conservatorship, when everything happened about 13 years ago, you know, I could kind of empathize in that moment, maybe with her family, with how things transpired. … But for it to go on this long I think is absolutely asinine. I think it’s insane. I think it is completely brutal.”

Not only do the two artists have a history together, in the present, they apparently live quite close together:

“She’s pretty much my neighbor. I see her often. She goes to the same shopping center that I do. There’s this amazing cupcake shop that she goes through, that I go to.”

The 43-year-old then revealed:

“The last time I saw her, it broke my heart. … She was with a gentleman. I’m assuming it was security and/or maybe a driver because I know, based on her words — which I do believe 100% — you know, she’s not allowed to drive herself. She can’t do anything, like, literally. She can’t do anything.”

He went on:

“When I last saw her, my wife asked me to go in to get some cupcakes for a birthday party for one of my daughter’s friends. Went in, she was there, she looked right at me and I was like, ‘Hey, it’s AJ.’ And she just kind of had this glass face. Like, she just didn’t know who was there. It took her a minute. And then she realized it was me, and we hugged and we talked for a brief moment, but I could just see that this wasn’t her. Like, I’m not looking at the person I knew from years and years ago.”

So sad.

AJ offered a possible explanation for why she didn’t recognize him:

“I know a lot of that, in my opinion, could be whatever they’re keeping her on… which is just insane. It’s not fair, and I just don’t think it’s right.”

The I Want It That Way singer also commented on some of the abuses Britney brought up in her testimony, stating:

“The one thing that she shared that really really irks me is the whole IUD situation. I mean, that, to me, is physical abuse. Just the whole thing to me is just, it’s grotesque. And I pray for her, I really feel in my heart that she’s going to break free of all of this, and I really hope that she does. She’s a sweetheart.”

On an even more personal level, he brought up the fact that she had been isolated from friends in her AA program. The Dancing with the Stars alum shared:

“One thing that really grinds my gears, because I am sober and I am in an AA program, the fact that she cannot stay in contact with anyone from her fellowship, from when she was going to AA meetings, that is BS to me. Because that’s the whole core of what we do in this program, is fellowship. We lean on each other, we look up to each other for support and… if somebody were to take that from me, it would really be difficult for me to stay sober, honest to god. I just wish the best for her, honestly.”

He concluded:

“Free Britney. That’s my whole thing, man. All for it.”

We’re with you on that, AJ!

How scary and sad to see a friend and peer go through something so upsetting and violating. We hope recent events have truly been the beginning of the end for the conservatorship, and that Britney will be allowed to reconnect with old pals like this soon.

Check out his remarks for yourself (below):