Britney Spears’ songwriter Claude Kelly says the singer is ‘not a prisoner’ and is a ‘professional’

The singer and songwriter Claude Kelly worked with Britney Spears in the early days of her conservatorship on her 2008 comeback album Circus.

And now he’s opening up about his working relationship with the 39-year-old pop star on the newest episode of the podcast Behind The Velvet Rope With David Yontef.

The 40-year-old singer–songwriter said that Spears is ‘not a prisoner’ during his interview and described her as being totally ‘professional’ while they collaborated in the studio.

Behind the scenes: Kelly co-wrote Spears' song Circus and also helped produce that 2008 comeback album; seen in 2016

Britney Spears’ Circus songwriter Claude Kelly, 40, said that the singer is ‘not a prisoner’ on Behind The Velvet Rope With David Yontef, which was released Thursday

Kelly, who is part of the band Louis York with his Chuck Harmony, began by sharing that he cowrote the title track Circus with Dr. Luke, who then sent the song to Spears, who was a fan and wanted to record it.

‘She’s very professional. There’s the media side of what they say about her. And then there’s the studio. I’m sure that’s how she is,’ he explained.

Kelly sounded surprised by the singer’s studio appearance, as she was focused on her dancing almost as much as her singing. 

‘And she’s dancing and stuff too. And preparing for tour. She almost looks like a dancer. So it’s like, where I gotta be? What’s my cue?

Like a boss: 'She's very professional. There's the media side of what they say about her. And then there's the studio. I'm sure that's how she is,' Kelly explained; Spears seen in 2018

Like a boss: ‘She’s very professional. There’s the media side of what they say about her. And then there’s the studio. I’m sure that’s how she is,’ Kelly explained; Spears seen in 2018

Staying busy: Kelly added that Britney seemed like a dancer more than a singer because she practiced her moves in the studio; seen in 2013

Staying busy: Kelly added that Britney seemed like a dancer more than a singer because she practiced her moves in the studio; seen in 2013

‘I know the whole [song], I have it memorized. And she works like that,’ he continued.

‘She’s not a train wreck or a mess, like people want her to be in the studio.’

He added that most professional singers carry themselves similarly to Spears when they’re in the studio, as studio time is expensive.

Circus was the first studio album the Womanizer singer recorded after being put under a conservatorship, but Kelly claims that her father wasn’t a presence during the recording.

‘It was no different than any other artists, honestly. I mean, Britney Spears was already a mega mega star — we were like five albums in. And so there was going to be bodyguards and security, no matter what. And that’s how she traveled. We’re in LA. So you’re not going to get anything but a guarded pop star at that point, whether she had a bad last album or a bad couple of years anyway,’ he said.

Nothing to see here: He said Britney was 'not a train wreck or a mess' and mentioned she had an entourage, just as most professional singers do; seen in 2016

Nothing to see here: He said Britney was ‘not a train wreck or a mess’ and mentioned she had an entourage, just as most professional singers do; seen in 2016

Kelly added that most singers come into the studio with the standard professional entourage, plus ‘boyfriends and… bad boyfriends and bad advice,’ though he didn’t appear to be referring to Spears.  

When the subject of the New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears came up, Kelly reiterated that he wasn’t a close friend and only had a working relationship with her.

‘Me and Britney are not friends like that. And I had have a good working relationship with them and the team, but I don’t know enough to comment on it more than just my experience with her was professional. And as a human being with empathy, I think we all feel bad for anyone that’s not in a good place or it’s not able to do what they want to do, but that’s kind of the extent of what I can say.’

Kelly wrapped up the segment on Spears by clarifying that ‘She’s not a prisoner.’

Can't say: When the New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears came up, Kelly reiterated that he only had a working relationship with her; seen in 2016

Can’t say: When the New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears came up, Kelly reiterated that he only had a working relationship with her; seen in 2016

Change of tone: However, Kelly's words departed from an interview with The Sun in February when he said she was 'being handled like a toddler who has no rights'; still from Framing Britney Spears

Change of tone: However, Kelly’s words departed from an interview with The Sun in February when he said she was ‘being handled like a toddler who has no rights’; still from Framing Britney Spears

However, Kelly’s measured words were a departure from an interview he did with The Sun in February in the wake of Framing Britney Spears.

The songwriter and producer claimed then that she was ‘being handled like a toddler who has no rights.’

‘The whole thing brings up a bigger issue of human rights and it doesn’t make sense to remove the right for people to live the way they want to live,’ he said.

He also mentioned how other celebrities have had public scandals and mental health crises that haven’t resulted in losing control of their estates. 

‘If that’s the case then we should all be worried because we are all going to f*** up, fall short and make mistakes,’ he said.

‘God forbid that someone can come in, whether it’s your father or your mother, your husband or your wife or whatever and decide, “You no longer have the right to decide how you live your life.”‘

Watch out: 'God forbid that someone can come in, whether it¿s your father or your mother, your husband or your wife or whatever and decide, "You no longer have the right to decide how you live your life,"' he told The Sun; seen in 2018

Watch out: ‘God forbid that someone can come in, whether it’s your father or your mother, your husband or your wife or whatever and decide, “You no longer have the right to decide how you live your life,”‘ he told The Sun; seen in 2018