Britney Spears Defies Taboos: Crossroads Director Reveals Surprising Sex Scene that Shattered her 'Forever Virgin' Image

Britney Spears made her first appearance on the silver screen in the 2002 film Crossroads, but several scenes faced potential exclusion.

"There were unquestionably some battles we had to fight," shared Tamra Davis, the director of Crossroads, with Entertainment Weekly on October 20. She specifically referred to a passionate scene between Spears' character Lucy and Anson Mount's character Ben. "She aimed to challenge the perception that she was always the innocent virgin."

Crossroads, a film written by Shonda Rhimes, depicts the journey of three high-school graduates - played by Spears, Zoe Saldaña, and Taryn Manning - as they travel from their Louisiana hometown to Los Angeles. On their trip, Spears' character Lucy forms a connection with Ben, who serves as their driver. Although their intimate scene takes place towards the end of the movie, it is executed tastefully, as confirmed by Davis. Notably, the film is rated PG-13, ensuring that younger viewers remain unaware of the explicit content. Davis, 61, amusingly expressed satisfaction in successfully navigating this aspect of the film.

Before Crossroads, Spears had already established herself as a well-known pop star and gained attention for her romantic involvement with Justin Timberlake, the ‘NSync singer. From 1999 to 2002, they were in a relationship, however, rumors of infidelity eventually led to their separation. Timberlake, who is currently 42 years old, controversially implied during an interview with Barbara Walters that he was aware of Spears not being a virgin despite her public image.

In 2003, Spears revealed to W magazine that she had only been with one person throughout her entire life, hinting at Timberlake.

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Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Spears discloses in her memoir, The Woman in Me, about who she lost her virginity to, and it was not Timberlake. Based on her book, she had her first sexual experience with Bryan Spears, her brother's childhood best friend. (Timberlake has not publicly responded to these revelations, but a source has reported that he is attempting to create some distance from the memoir.)

During the filming of Crossroads, Britney was in a relationship with Timberlake.

“I would often need to wake Britney up in the hotel room door in the mornings with a knock and tell her it's time to go," Davis shared with EW. "And there would be Justin there sometimes. This happened during the height of the speculation around Britney's virginity, but I didn't dwell on that. Respecting her privacy, I focused solely on waking her up in the hotel room."

In 'Crossroads,' Taryn Manning portrays Mimi, Anson Mount as Ben, Zoe Saldana as Kit, and Britney Spears as Lucy. Paramount/Getty Images. Davis, who found the Grammy winners adorable as a couple, included a subtle 'NSync nod in the movie. Notably, Lucy and her friends enthusiastically sang the band's hit "Bye Bye Bye" while driving away from a gas station with Ben asleep in the backseat.

Davis explained on Friday that the scene perfectly captured the state of the music scene at that time. It presented a juxtaposition of the music Ben wanted to listen to, which was Nirvana and alt-grunge, and the music the girls wanted to listen to, which was 'NSync and Backstreet Boys and boy bands. The radio broadcasted this contrasting mix, which we found intriguing. We were unsure until the last minute whether we would be able to include the song in the scene due to its massive popularity. Crossroads will be shown in theaters across the nation on Monday, October 23, and Wednesday, October 25.