Britney Spears, the 42-year-old young pop queen, recently posted on Instagram a poster of her admiration for Janet Jackson, 57 years old and a music star. What she had thanked Miss Jackson for in a post since deleted was for being an inspiration to her and keeping her dreams alive, herself describing her as a woman with depth and brightness who has faced challenges yet remains a beacon of inspiration.

In fact, Britney Spears’ post, in which she shared the cover of Janet Jackson’s 1993 album called “Janet,” was surely intended to be connected with the rapidly swirling controversy surrounding Janet Jackson’s performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII alongside Justin Timberlake. At the performance, Timberlake tore a part of Jackson’s clothes off, allowing her breasts to become exposed. It became a major scandal and forced both artists to apologize publicly, though it was Timberlake’s career that was relatively unaffected by it. Instead, however, Spears’ support for Jackson comes at a time when public opinion has dramatically turned against Timberlake during the height of the “Free Britney” movement.

In her memoir “The Woman in Me,” Spears revealed that she had an abortion when dating Timberlake during the early 2000s because he wasn’t ready to become a father. Even so, and quite recently, Spears praised Timberlake’s new song “Selfish,” demonstrating readiness to leave the past where it belongs.

Timberlake, however, answered her with an on-stage belligerent statement that lacked an apology. This led to a public interaction between the two on social media, with Spears challenging Timberlake and defining herself as independent.

In this image, the Spears tweet is a support for Jackson and represents a memory of solidarity, especially for women in the music business, regarding girls helping one another out.