Crossroads was a big deal. The 2002 film was Britney Spears' film debut, its script was written by Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes — and it featured early roles from actors like Taryn Manning and Justin Long.
The movie was released on Feb. 15, 2002 — so it was surprising that Long recently did a throwback post on Instagram to offer some behind-the-scenes memories on making it. But we're glad he did!
"I remember being slightly nervous to work with Britney Spears — she was such a massive star in 2002 (as she still is)," he wrote.
"When she introduced herself to me in the makeup trailer, I was disarmed by how sweet and NOT famous she seemed — just a nice girl (not yet a woman) from Louisiana."
Long credited Spears for making him feel "comfortable" on set, and he also discussed how media attention made her "exponentially more tense."
"People would clamor to get to her and paparazzi were constantly lurking behind trees, in bushes, etc. Years later, when the tabloid frenzy surrounding Britney reached a fever pitch, I remember feeling so sorry for her."
"Nobody deserves to be hounded and harassed like that — least of all a very sweet person — one who behaved kindly towards a young nervous actor who occupied a much lower rung on the hierarchical ladder of that film set."
It's honestly beyond touching to see such an expression of empathy for Spears from one of her former costars — and Long's words offer some valuable wisdom about how we treat each other, too.
