Madonna Defends Britney

Madonna defended the behavior in recent years of fellow diva Britney Spears in a radio interview, Friday.

Madonna sang with Spears on her 2003 track, "Me Against the Music," and famously shared a kiss with the troubled singer and Christina Aguilera at the MTV Movie Awards that year.

Ever since that point, Spears's life has been notoriously in a tailspin. But Madonna thinks she knows why.

"She never was allowed to have a childhood, you know, she was a star when she was a child," the singer said. "She didn't get to grow up and make mistakes privately . . . she's been under a microscope since she was a teenager, which I think is really tough, it's hard to evolve that way."

The interview was conducted with Jo Whiley on Radio 1, when Madonna also revealed she's a bit uneasy working with artists she admires, like Justin Timberlake.

"It's a little bit awkward," she said. "You don't really know them and you feel a little bit nervous and intimidated."