FWIW, they did the same in We Will Rock You (Britney Spears is now Victoria Beckham). According to Brian May's website, the WWRY team intend their jokes at the expense of living performers to be in good fun and didn't feel right about making fun of someone mentally ill.
I agree with CATSNY, the new lyrics don't flow as nicely but I definitely got a kick out of the first two lines "My love life is a mess, I've got constant PMS" haha
"Is Britney really mentally ill? I missed that..."
How much proof do you need?
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
Wouldn't it be cool if one day they were able to change the lyric back when Britney Spears is healthy again? They could make a big event out of it and invite her back as a way of celebrating her newly found health.
In the Vegas production when I saw it.....the Lady made fun of Jennifer Hudson. Is this true in all productions?
"I never had theatre producers run after me. Some people want to make more Broadway shows out of movies. But Elliot and I aren't going to do Batman: The Musical." - Julie Taymor 1999
I don't think Spears was removed from the lyrics as a "courtesy" to her or out of sensitivity... She just doesn't matter anymore.
It's a dated line, and it just strains credibility to think that ANYBODY would ever be replaced with her.
Britney on camera in Farenheit 9/11: "I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that."
Can't wait for her to just be "gone", whether through retirement, seclusion-- or whatever. Waste of space in the pop culture world. She ceased to be even amusing quite a while back...
In Newsday today there was a small article on the lyric change in the entertainment news section and what Eric Idle said about the change was "Because we don't laugh at sad people"
I read the article about this on Playbill. That Lady of the Lake dress is really something else. I don't care what she sings if she comes out looking like that.
i'm glad they changed the lyric because britney really needs mental health and people shouldnt make fun of her (though i agree that the old lyrics flow better, but im sure people will get used to the new lyrics)
although something tells me britney was never aware that the original lyric existed...
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES---
"THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
I'm glad they changed the lyric because the Britney Spears line was just never funny to me; it seemed more like a name-dropping. Getting replaced with Posh Spice is funnier for a myriad of reasons.