Just to clarify things, Neil Patrick Harris did not say he doesn't want Britney Spears back in "How I Met Your Mother."
The former "Doogie Howser, M.D." star has released an exclusive statement to Entertainment Weekly to explain his comment made to the Associated Press.
According to AP, Harris had said, "I'm in the minority that our show does not need much stunt casting in order to succeed... I worry that if they start 'Will & Grace'-ing us too much, that the show will suffer."
The news agency had stood by its story at first. Entertainment editor Jesse Washington said, "I respect his right to change his stance, but... Neil Patrick Harris told us unequivocally that he did not believe that Britney should be on the show."
However, AP had withdrawn their article on Friday with Washington saying, "Harris did not say that he opposed a return engagement for Spears, and our lede said that he did."
Harris, 34, hopes to clarify what he had said. He tells EW.com in a statement:
"It seems that yesterday a writer took some quotes of mine and speculated an opinion about their intent. I write to you to set the record straight."
"As I have said all along, Britney did a great job on the show. She really did. In fact, we are all hoping that she returns soon to reprise her role as Abby. Look, that episode garnered our highest ratings of the season - I would never ignore or disrespect that fact. 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 Television] 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."
"Britney Spears fits into our make-believe world very well - if she chose to return I can only imagine that Carter [Bays], Craig [Thomas], and the rest of the writers would create a humdinger of a storyline for her. We should be so lucky."
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