"I would like to be called an inspiration to people, not a role model - because I make mistakes like everybody else. When I'm offstage, I'm just like everybody else"
About this Quote
The subtext is boundary-setting disguised as humility. "I make mistakes like everybody else" isn't just relatability marketing; it's a preemptive strike against the tabloid logic that turns normal mess into cultural panic. Spears came up in an era when paparazzi photos, teen-idol purity narratives, and talk-show gotchas merged into a single machine that punished any evidence of adulthood. Saying "When I'm offstage, I'm just like everybody else" insists on a private self that the audience doesn't get to consume, even if the brand is built on intimacy.
There's also an implicit critique of the unrealistic expectations placed on pop stars, especially women: you're required to be both fantasy and babysitter. Spears reframes her public value away from moral authority and toward emotional impact. She's not auditioning for sainthood; she's asking to be seen as a person who performs a role, then steps out of it. That tiny insistence on ordinariness reads, in context, as a demand for permission to be messy without being condemned.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Wikiquote entry for Britney Spears: contains the quote "I would like to be called an inspiration to people, not a role model — because I make mistakes like everybody else. When I'm offstage, I'm just like everybody else." (listed on the Wikiquote page; original primary source not specified there). |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Spears, Britney. (2026, January 15). I would like to be called an inspiration to people, not a role model - because I make mistakes like everybody else. When I'm offstage, I'm just like everybody else. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-like-to-be-called-an-inspiration-to-45490/
Chicago Style
Spears, Britney. "I would like to be called an inspiration to people, not a role model - because I make mistakes like everybody else. When I'm offstage, I'm just like everybody else." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-like-to-be-called-an-inspiration-to-45490/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I would like to be called an inspiration to people, not a role model - because I make mistakes like everybody else. When I'm offstage, I'm just like everybody else." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-would-like-to-be-called-an-inspiration-to-45490/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.






