Neil Patrick Harris, 34, plays the role of Barney on the ensemble sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He granted an interview to an AP writer after Britney Spears recent appearance on the show and from the tone of the story, his disdain for Britney was quite evident. In that interview it was suggested that Harris would like Britney Spears banned from the set of the CBS sitcom.
According the the article Harris was quoted as saying:
I’m in the minority that our show does not need stunt casting in order to succeed. I worry that if they start `Will and Grace’ing us too much, that the show will suffer. And we’re all really proud of the content of the show. I mean, viewership is not our game. It’s the network and the studio’s game, you know. It’s the promotion department’s game.”
Since that story broke Harris has apparently come under fire within his own camp. He has issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly in order to clarify his view. He wants it known that he feels Britney Spears did a really good job on the show and he’d love to see her come back again. His full statement is as follows:
It seems that yesterday a writer took some quotes of mine and speculated an opinion about my intent. I write to you to set the record straight. I am just very protective of our show, and its content. I have a high standard of quality, and hope to maintain it on every level. Television is big business, I understand that. I have great faith in our casting department, as well as Twentieth Century Fox and CBS, to find the appropriate person for every role on our show. I was remiss in speculating otherwise. My job description is to act, and I should really do just that.”
AP editor Jesse Washington has issued a clarification on their original story stating that Harris never said that he opposed another appearance by Spears on the show – which was insinuated in the original AP story lead.
Let’s recap this two fold dilemma. Harris was frustrated that How I Met Your Mother would stoop to gimmicks to improve ratings. He said as much to an AP writer who misconstrued the comments to mean that Harris is a Britney hater. This made good copy for the AP in the face of all the positive reviews the pop princess was receiving on the heels of so much negative press.
CBS exec’s then took exception to Harris’ second guessing their decisions. This was likely called to his immediate attention, prompting Harris to try to unravel the sh*t storm he had unleashed. After finessing what he really meant, he acknowledges that he should stick to what they pay him for – which is acting.