Watch: Shonda Rhimes recalls meeting Britney Spears ahead of 'Crossroads'
May 23 (UPI) -- Shonda Rhimes is looking back on the first time she met Britney Spears.
The 54-year-old writer and producer said on Thursday's episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show that Spears made a "spectacular" impression prior to working together on the 2002 movie Crossroads.
Rhimes confessed that she wasn't aware of Spears' star power before seeing the singer perform in concert.
"I was a serious nerd, so I did not know who she was in terms of who her music was. I just knew she was a pop star, but I didn't know anything about her music or anything," Rhimes said.
"So our first meeting was I went to her concert and I met her backstage. And that was the first time I saw that kind of power -- she would move her eyebrow and the audience would lose their minds," she added. "It was amazing to watch. Like, that kind of command, at that age? It was spectacular."
Crossroads was written by Rhimes and directed by Tamra Davis. Spears, Zoe Saldaña and Taryn Manning star as three childhood friends who reconnect on a cross-country road trip.
The movie marked Spears' feature film debut.
Crossroads was re-released in theaters in October 2023 to coincide with the release of Spears' memoir, The Woman in Me.
"Britney is absolutely breathtaking to watch, and Shonda is showing us her early expertise in writing complicated female characters," Davis said in a statement at the time.
Rhimes is known for creating the TV series Grey's Anatomy and Scandal. She presently serves as an executive producer on Grey's, Station 19 and Bridgerton.
