Britney Spears Cited By Jim Parsons And Adam Rippon As A Source Of Inspiration

Jim Parsons appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Monday and explained something he said in the speech he made when he was given the Stephen F. Kolzak award during the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards program. When saying the usual thank yous, Parsons mentioned someone unexpected – Britney Spears. In fact, he said quite a bit about how important she is to him. He thanked GLAAD for putting him in the same room as Spears and said that he’s creating a film that he wants her to star in. But it wasn’t that part of his speech that he talked to Jimmy Fallon about.

Part of what Jim had to say about Britney in his GLAAD speech was how she had been an inspiration at a critical point in his life. The 45-year-old Big Bang Theory star explained that during the time when he was preparing for grad school auditions, Britney’s song “Baby One More Time” was out. The song was all over the radio, and the video was all over television screens. Parsons was obsessed with both the song and the video. He explained that the video especially inspired him. “Obviously not in a sexual way,” he joked, “I’m a good gay.” As reported by CBS8, Parsons went on to explain.

“It was just here in that Catholic school uniform marching down the hallway with all the confidence. I was like, ‘Yeah go out and kill it! Go get it!’ And I got into school and I eventually got a career. And so I give a lot of credit for my acting career to Britney.”

#JimParsons Gives #BritneySpears ‘a Lot of Credit’ for His Acting Career https://t.co/CBMcab8tiT pic.twitter.com/GyCBbmmrDP

— Parade Mag (@ParadeMagazine) June 12, 2018

Spears also received an award from GLAAD this year. She spoke about how society tells people what normal looks like and expects individuals to fit that image and how people who don’t fit that image are seen as unusual or strange. She continued by saying, “To be accepted unconditionally and to be able to express yourself as an individual through art is such a blessing.”

Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon also credits Spears as an inspiration. He told Keltie Knight of ET that he thinks she’s “incredible.” He especially enjoys how open she is in her Instagram account.

“I think it sends a really positive message for somebody who’s as popular as Britney to just show that you can just be yourself, you can post funny things. She’s so authentically herself that I think she is such a positive role model.”

You can view Jim Parsons’s full GLAAD acceptance speech below.