60 Minutes Australia airs controversial Kevin Federline interview

60 Minutes aired its controversial interview with Britney Spears’ ex-husband last night - and one moment has the star’s legions of fans seeing red.

60 Minutes Australia aired its controversial interview with Kevin Federline on Sunday night, after a fierce backlash from Britney Spears’ fans – and even the singer herself.

The sit-down interview, which was originally commissioned for the British television network ITV, also featured one of the couple’s teenage sons, Jayden, speaking about his estrangement from his mother.

And one line from Federline in particular has Britney’s fans seeing red, as her ex-husband says he believes the star’s controversial 13-year conservatorship “saved” her.

Federline said he “wasn’t involved in how the conservatorship came about,” but argued that it was put in place by a family that were “weorried about their daughter” and trying to “help her.”

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Federline with interviewer Daphne Barak.

Federline insisted the details of the conservatorship, in which Britney’s father Jamie controlled her life, finances and health, were not his business. To investigate the arrangement further wouldn’t have been fair to the couple’s sons or fair to Britney herself, he said.

Interviewer Daphne Barak asked if Spears’ father “might have saved his daughter” by placing her into the highly unusual legal arrangement.

“I feel like he saved her, back then,” said Federline.

Fans on social media fumed at this assertion, given the detailed testimony Spears has given alleging the conservatorship was an abusive and exploitative. Britney’s supporters flooded 60 Minutes Australia’s social media accounts last night after they posted a story about the interview with the headline “Exclusive: Britney Spears was ‘saved’ by conservatorship, says former husband Kevin Federline.”

“If this is “saving,” then I think she would rather not have been saved,” wrote on fan on Twitter.

“The only people saved by the conservatorship was Jamie and Kfed,” said another.

“Stripping Britney of her civil rights was and will not ever be justifiable Kevin!” wrote another.

Federline said Britney’s father Jamie (pictured) “saved” her.

Elsewhere in the interview, Federline described the early days of his relationship with Britney as “amazing”, before the pair’s marriage headed down a rocky path.

“We were inseparable. Everything was amazing. It really was … it was amazing, until it wasn’t,” he said.

Not long after having their second son Jayden, now 15, their relationship started to show signs of fractures, with Federline saying he was “completely shocked” when Britney filed for divorce in 2006.

He quickly met with his lawyer and said: “All I care about is getting 50 per cent custody of my sons.”

“Nothing else mattered to me. I’m not the person that will take money over family.”

Around the same time, Britney was facing pressures of pop stardom, with her breakdown playing out in front of the world.

“I was mortified for her. I really was for a long time, that people were watching. It’s been years and I still feel bad for her,” Federline said during the interview.

Segments from the interview had been leaking in the media in the days leading up to Nine’s Sunday screening – eliciting a response from Britney herself.

During the interview, 15-year-old Jayden spoke directly to the mother he has not seen in months when he said: “I love you a lot and I hope for the best for you. Maybe one day we can sit down … and talk again and have a normal conversation.”

Britney's son Jayden (left) with Federline and another of his sons.

Jayden also spoke out about his grandfather Jamie placing Britney into the conservatorship she was only freed from last year.

“I know everybody blames him for the conservatorship. It was a father caring for his daughter,” he said.

“Maybe the conservatorship took a little too long. That is why people developed a hatred for him.”

He also said animosity within his family had been “going on for years” and asked for a ceasefire from his mother: “I wish she would just be chill.”

Federline also spoke about when Britney was placed into the conservatorship in 2008 — and what he told his sons.

“They ask a lot of questions about it. I don’t know that I can answer all of them for them, you know, but I just try to explain to them that she … your mum needed help. And the people were in play to try and make that happen, to make it better,” he said.

Federline said he “wasn’t involved in any of it” or how the conservatorship came about, but felt his father-in-law “saved her back then”.

As snippets from the interview leaked, Britney responded to this on Friday with a lengthy Instagram post in which she heaped both praise and criticism on her teenage sons, while also criticising her ex-husband Federline for not having a job “in 15 years”.

Britney’s nude photos

Elsewhere in the interview, Federline spoke about his ex-wife’s penchant for posting nude photos on Instagram since being released from her conservatorship, saying that it has made for some difficult conversations with their children.

“I try to explain to them, ‘Look, maybe that’s just another way she tries to express herself.’

“But that doesn’t take away from the fact of what it does to them. It’s tough.”

One of Britney’s frequent nude Instagram posts. Picture: Instagram

Kevin Federline's 60 Minutes tell-all.

Federline, who now has 70 per cent custody of their two boys, was asked what he would say to Britney if she were sitting in front of him right now — to which he said: “I really don’t know.”

“I try to think about that question. Because there’s so many mixed emotions in there. You know? The father in me, the ex-husband, it’s hard to tie it all together. Because I would want to apologise and then give advice and then ask if there’s any way I can help.”

Federline has been in the headlines recently after he posted secretly recorded videos of Spears arguing with their children.

“This isn’t even the worst of it. I hope our kids grow up to be better than this,” Federline captioned one video – but later deleted the posts when fans rushed to call out the invasion of Spears’ privacy.

Nine’s decision to platform Federline – particularly given his recent public actions against Spears – did not go down well on social media, as fans flooded the program with thousands of angry tweets throughout the week.