Drew Barrymore detailed her “secret exchanges” with close friend Britney Spears on Monday night’s broadcast of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
“I became friends with Britney about a year and a half ago and we had sort of secret exchanges. And I know that sounds mean. It was the exact opposite,” said Barrymore, 47.
“It was very connecting and honest and we have both been through a lot.”
The daytime talk show host went on to say that she and Spears, 40, discussed their “parallels” and “unique circumstances” in the entertainment industry.
“The feelings of growing up, struggling, all the things we’ve both been through, is something I felt connected to her [about]Barrymore explains. “And I’m not really the kind of reachable person, you know, I’m not Hollywood Bob, I’m not smooth.”
The Charlie’s Angels star said she was “forced” to contact Spears because of the “humanity in what she was going through, trying to regain her freedom” as the singer fought to end her controversial conservatory. (It was finally discontinued in November 2021.)
“We found a deep connection there,” she said. “People are central, so we made friends. Like real friends.”
Barrymore was one of the notable names invited to Spears’ June 9 wedding to Sam Asghari. Madonna, Paris Hilton, Donatella Versace and Selena Gomez were also in attendance.
“It was intimate, it was magical. It was very sweet, there was no press. It was the way [Spears] wanted to do it,” Barrymore said of the pop superstar’s home wedding. “She did the ceremony, we went straight to the dance. We had the best time.”
The former child actress previously discussed her communication with Spears during a September 2021 interview with “Entertainment Tonight.”
“[I wanted to] really show her that I’m someone who has understood what a journey is – and I’m not comparing myself to her – but I’m here to support her if there’s anything she needs privately,” she said at the time.
Barrymore said she offered Spears “encouragement and just” [told] her that I think she is the key to her freedom.”
Pressed by the Grammy winner’s response at the time, Barrymore said there had been “little smoke signals.”
“I have invested a lot in it. I think everyone deserves the chance to get their lives right, wrong and everything in between,” Barrymore said of her interest in the #FreeBritney movement. “This has become such a public interest because it’s about something bigger.”
Barrymore, like many of Spears’ ardent fans, told “ET” she was “invested” to see the pop icon freed from the restrictive legal regime that governed her personal, medical and financial affairs for nearly 14 years.
“It’s about getting to live your life,” she said.