Britney Spears And Family Release Statements On Jamie Lynn Spears’ Daughter

Britney Spears and her family are speaking out regarding reports that the singer’s niece Maddie Aldridge, is in critical condition after being involved in a serious ATV accident. The child is the daughter of Britney’s younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. A day after news of the accident broke, Britney Spears took to Twitter and Instagram to ask fans to pray for her young niece.

Britney Spears promptly flew to Louisiana to be with her family after the accident, according to People.

In addition, Britney’s dad, Jamie Spears, told Entertainment Tonight that he asks fans to keep his 8-year-old granddaughter in their prayers.

“All I can say is pray for our baby Maddie,” Spears told ET.

Britney’s mom Lynne Spears, thanked fans for their prayers and asked them to keep them coming.

“Y’all are amazing and very appreciated. Love you all so very much,” Spears, 61, wrote on her personal Facebook page. “Thank you for your prayers, please keep them coming.”

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Britney Spears’ younger sister Jamie Lyynn issued a statement to celebrity gossip website JustJared.com through her rep.

“The details the media are reporting surrounding the incident regarding Jamie Lynn’s daughter Maddie are incorrect,” the Spears rep said. “Right now the Spears family asks that everyone respect their privacy during this time and appreciates all the prayers and support for their family.”

News reports have stated that Maddie Aldridge was seriously injured when the Polaris off-road vehicle she was riding on flipped over. Some outlets reported that the little girl was possibly underwater and unconscious for several minutes following the ATV accident and that she was airlifted to a New Orleans hospital. The rep did not clarify which part of the news reports are incorrect, but a police report has now been released.

Police reports now say the crash took place at the Spears’ property just 100 yards away from Jamie Lynn and her husband, who tried to rescue Maddie “to no avail.”

Britney Spears’ niece was driving the ATV and “overcorrected” while trying to avoid a ditch, but subsequently drove into a pond on the property. Per People, the police report states:

“The ATV and child were instantly submerged in the water right before their eyes. Within seconds the child’s mother, stepfather and other family members reached the pond, dove in and attempted to rescue the child to no avail. The child was trapped and secured by the seatbelt and the ATV’s safety netting. Within two minutes, Acadian Ambulance Services arrived and assisted in freeing the child from the cold waters.”

Britney Spears’ little sister stepped away from her Nickelodeon tween-themed sitcom, Zoey 101, in 2007 when she became pregnant with Maddie at age 16. The former child star later told Glamour that she was harshly judged for her “careless” teen pregnancy, despite the fact that she had been in love with her high school sweetheart, Casey Aldridge.

“I just wanted to go home to Louisiana and finish high school, be a cheerleader, all that,” Spears admitted to the magazine.

“Then I found out I was pregnant]. I was 16. I’d had one boyfriend. It doesn’t make it perfect or all right. But I was judged for something that probably most everyone does. I was young. I was in love. I was like every other teenager, except I had this last name.”

Spears admitted that she had been too embarrassed to go to a doctor to get birth control due to her Nickelodeon fame, and she later told OK magazine she was even accused of trying to glamorize teen pregnancy with her young love story. The young mom apologized to “the young girls and the mothers who I probably confused and let down.”

Spears and Aldridge ultimately moved to Mississippi to raise their baby, but they split up in 2009. The actress later married voice actor Jamie Watson in 2014.

Britney Spears’ mom has been vocal about the fact that she was blindsided by her younger daughter’s teen pregnancy. In last summer’s TLC documentary, When the Lights Go Out, Lynne Spears said she hadn’t even given her 16-year-old “the talk” yet when she found out she was pregnant.

“I mean, heck, we hadn’t even really gotten through the birds and bees talk yet, you know?” Lynne said. Mama Spears also revealed that she found out about her youngest daughter’s pregnancy via a note that her she left for her.

“Mama, please don’t get upset but, I’m pregnant, and I’m going to be fine,” the note read.

The baby was born in June 2008, and Britney Spears traveled to her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana to witness the birth of her niece. According to Access Hollywood, Britney Spears told OK magazine she was in awe that he baby sister was having a baby of her own.

“That was special, but it was also strange because she’s always been the baby, and now the baby was having a baby,” Britney told OK. “It was mind-boggling. I was shocked a little bit. “But it was really cool, and she was happy.”

Sources close to Britney Spears’ family say Maddie Aldridge is in critical but stable condition.

[Featured Image by Chloe Rice/Disney Parks/Getty Images]