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Bobby Brown has taken a swipe at pop icon Britney Spears, accusing her of “butchering” his 1988 hit My Prerogative in her 2004 cover version.
The 56-year-old R&B legend didn’t hold back during his appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast with host Shannon Sharpe, revealing his long-held disappointment over Spears’ rendition of the track, which was originally a chart-topping anthem of independence and attitude.
“Britney Spears butchered Prerogative,” Brown said bluntly. “I cleared it only because it was Britney Spears and I was thinking… Teddy Riley’s doing it too, so, you know? But I felt it was a butchering.”
Brown claimed he was under the impression that his original collaborator and co-writer, Teddy Riley, would be involved in the production of Spears' version. Instead, the cover was produced by Swedish duo Bloodshy & Avant, the team behind some of Britney’s biggest hits including Toxic. Brown expressed his regret, explaining that if he had known the full extent of the creative direction, he may have reconsidered giving his approval.
“It was a butchering that I could not take,” Brown continued. “I’ve learned now to listen to the full song before I allow people to sample or cover my music.”
Britney Spears released her version of My Prerogative as the lead single for her 2004 greatest hits album, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The cover received mixed reviews but found commercial success, particularly in Europe, where it topped charts in Finland, Ireland, and Norway. The music video, full of rebellious imagery and sexy choreography, became a staple of mid-2000s MTV.
For Brown, however, the glossy pop makeover of his original track—famed for its raw New Jack Swing energy and defiant tone—missed the mark entirely.
Brown’s criticism adds to the ongoing discourse about the treatment of classic tracks in the modern music industry, where covers and remixes often bring renewed popularity, but not always the approval of the original artists.
Whether Spears will respond to the remarks remains to be seen, but the comments are sure to spark debate among fans of both stars—and reignite attention on one of the more polarizing pop covers of the early 2000s.
