I’m certainly no Lynne Spears apologist, but when she’s right, she’s right.

From a new interview with Newsweek:

You and Jamie Lynn got some negative press when she got pregnant so young. But more recently, 17-year-old Bristol Palin, and her mother, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, found themselves in a similar situation. And the public reaction has been different.

It’s a totally different reaction. It’s as if [Sarah Palin] became celebrated. I mean, the mother, Palin, was celebrated for this. Every woman in the world has applauded her strength and her convictions and poor little old Jamie Lynn—you saw how she was crucified. Everybody did, firsthand … I just feel like it’s been a very hypocritical situation.

Woman has a point. But I’m willing to wager that without a Jamie Lynn Spears gobbling up the headlines and tabloid covers last winter, the knocking up of Bristol Palin wouldn’t have gone over nearly so well. (Not that it went over perfectly smoothly, but the general reaction I witnessed seemed to be more along the lines of “oh, another pregnant teen in the spotlight,” instead of the collective disgust and horror that JLS endured.)

I disagree with all the media critics who said JLS glamorized teen pregnancy by talking about all the fun, cool parts of being a mommy, but she may well have legitimized it.

And of course, the Palins had the added benefit of some very media-savvy PR gurus masterminding the whole press rollout. Something that even Britney Spears bucks couldn’t buy.