Britney Spears Laughs Off Janis Joplin Rumors  5/9/06

Pop star Britney Spears has laughed off reports she is vying to play Janis Joplin in an upcoming film on the tragic singer.

Spears was one of the big names, including Lindsay Lohan and Scarlett Johansson, tipped to play the Me and Bobby McGee hit maker in Penelope Spheeris' biopic The Gospel According to Janis.

Spears' chart rival Pink - who was Spheeris' first choice to play the sixties singer - dropped out of the casting race last month (APR06), accusing film-makers of turning the process into a "circus".

When asked about the film, Spears says, "No (I'm not going to play Janis).

"How many rumors about me are untrue? How long have you got? A tabloid even wrote that I was an alien."

Joplin died of a heroin overdose in a Hollywood hotel in October 1970.