♪ don't you know you are never alone ♪ ♪ this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight, out of gaza. 74 more americans and hundreds of others given the green light to leave. their hellish ordeal. what they say about those still there. and in her own words. britney spears shooting to fame as a teenager with her hit -- ♪ hit me baby one more time ♪ >> britney was immediately a star. >> byron: opening up about some of her biggest heartbreaks in her new memoir "the woman in me." >> she held out her flip phone,

and i saw this text which said, "it's over." >> byron: finally telling her side of her public breakup with justin timberlake. >> this was an adult, fully realized, fully formed relationship that the two of them had. >> byron: the secret even her family didn't know. miss honored. one on one with mitty elliot. famous for edge ohio songs like "work it" revealing she's a little softer than she seems. >> you're shy? >> super shy. >> byron: opening up about her terrifying health crisis. >> that broke down my whole nervous system. i felt helpless. >> byron: and the award she'll be the first woman in hip-hop to ever receive. >> i'm still pinching myself. new nature's bounty hair growth. help grow thicker, fuller hair with just one capsule a day of advanced hair complex. conquer hair thinning... ...and fall in love with your hair all over again. only from nature's bounty. ah mornings!

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♪ >> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. word from the white house tonight, 74 americans have been allowed out of the horrific landscape that has become the gaza strip. here's abc's chief foreign correspondent ian pannell. >> reporter: tonight, a hellish scene lighting up the night sky over gaza. the flares and streaks of smoke from incessant israeli missiles it says are aimed at hamas. saying it surrounded gaza city with israeli soldiers attacking hamas militants in face-to-face battles inside.

the fighting described as urban, crowded, complex. ground forces backed by fighter jets and warships launching repeated salvos against what they say are hamas outposts and command centers. >> you can see the flare going down there into gaza. we've just heard the sound of a fighter jet dropping its payload into the city. they say that they're targeting hamas, but also we know there are still civilians in there who haven't listened to the order to leave, and many of them continue to die every day. israel says it's making headway, claiming it killed more hamas terrorists. but more than 9,000 civilians have been killed, according to the hamas-run health ministry. israel responding to the massacre of more than 1,400 people. hamas on the offensive too, launching at least a dozen rockets from gaza and lebanon into central and northern israel. thousands of foreign nationals hoping to escape this escalating war. hundreds of u.s. citizens among them. just today, president biden saying 74 more americans have

got out of gaza, amongst them lena and her family whose plight we've reported on for weeks. passports stamped and a brief, brave smile. >> i'm happy but sad at the same time. because i have friends here. they might die. maybe i won't see them ever again. >> reporter: we've also reported on maha el bana, an aid worker from new jersey. tonight she's safe and well in cairo, speaking to maggie rulli. >> i have ptsd. i've been through a lot. if i hear a loud noise, i jump. i had a panic attack. it's unbearable. you can't escape it. >> reporter: israel says there will be no cease-fire. and prime minister netanyahu saying today, nothing will stop us. >> byron: our thanks to ian. we'll have the latest from the middle east on "gma" in the morning. now to pop superstar britney spears. her long-awaited memoir released last week becoming an instant

bestseller. almost two years after gaining her freedom from a 13-year-long conservatorship, her fans finally hearing her side of the story. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> i would like to be able to share my story with the world and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them. >> juju: that plea so britney spears to a judge in 2021. the 41-year-old sharing her truth in her new memoir "the woman in me" saying in her author's note -- >> reliving everything that you're about to hear has been exciting, heart-wrenching, and emotional, to say the least. >> juju: her life defined by global fame and extreme scrutiny. now laying bare her heart aches and traumas. >> this book is an emotional experience. i mean, every page, there is a

revelation. >> reporter: in many ways her carefully crafted pop princess image began to crack. when her first love broke her heart. >> i walk into her trailer, and britney's not dressed for the next scene, she's not ready, her hair and makeup isn't ready. that's britney right there. she looks amazing. >> reporter: director chris applebaum witnessed the breakup firsthand while on set filming her music video "overprotected." >> in fact, she's in tears. she's crying. she's still like a juicy, couture sweat suit and i could immediately tell something was wrong. i asked her if everything was okay, and she said, no, things are not okay. because look. and she held out her flip phone. and i saw this text which said, "it's over." which was from her boyfriend at the time, justin timberlake.

>> juju: with time running out and a shoot day, applebaum had to make a decision. >> seemed like that was the end of the video shoot. and i acknowledged that with everybody. and said, you know, i completely understand. but on the other hand, if you feel like you want to get out there and show him that he just lost the best thing that he ever had -- let's do it. 10 or 15 minutes later, she came out and she was on fire. ♪ i don't need nobody telling me ♪ this was the britney that everybody knows and loves. ♪ overprotected ♪ >> juju: despite the strength she showed that day, she reveals now in the book for the first time the depths of the heartbreak she hid from the world. "i could barely speak for months. whenever anyone asked me about him, all i could do was cry. i barely left the house. i was that messed up. i lay in my bed and stared at

the ceiling." the two soon to be superstars first met when they were cast in the mickey mouse club remake from disney, abc's parent company. the tv show that brought 11-year-old britney spears of kentwood, louisiana, her first real taste of fame. ♪ baby baby when i'm with you ♪ >> she beats out thousands of kids to join the mickey mouse club. she's working with future superstars like christina aguilera, ryan gosling, and of course justin timberlake. >> juju: she snagged her first record deal at age 15. her first two studio albums among the best-selling of all-time. with hits like -- ♪ give me a sign ♪ >> juju: "baby one more time." ♪ oops i did it again ♪ ♪ i played with your heart got lost in the game ♪ >> juju: and "crazy." ♪ i just can't sleep ♪

cementing her status as the princess of pop. >> she was immediately a star. immediately. it was really stunning and it never stopped from there. >> the first time i met britney spears was at the rehearsal for the first music video i directed for her. i have to admit, i was a little nervous because she was the biggest star in the world at that time. back in the day, i would have, you know -- there were these wardrobe fittings. and i had these, like, cool polaroids of britney that we took. this is from "overprotected." some of her fans think this is, like, some of the best that she's ever looked in terms of wardrobe. >> juju: the child star turned pop superstar, applebaum says, was surprisingly down to earth. >> she was disarmingly pleasant. so, like, kind and, like, was really caring about, like, wanting to make me feel comfortable. there were couches and chairs in the room, but britney chose to sit on the floor.

and so i sat on the floor with her. >> juju: her work ethic, he says, unparalleled. >> i don't know if there's anybody else that i've seen that's like that, that just has this drive to perfect every performance. >> juju: she says she began noticing a sexist double standard in her personal life, especially when it came to her relationship with timber lake. at this point the front man in boy band nsync. ♪ bye bye bye ♪ >> britney says that she kind of envied how carefree justin got to be. she noticed that the questions that talk show hosts and journalists were asking him were wildly different from the questions that she got asked. >> when did you know that you wanted to do a solo album? >> um -- honestly, it's always been in the back of my head. >> i'm just wondering, how you feel about all the constant speculation about your virginity and whether you are a virgin or

not? have there been any changes on that front? >> that's a personal question. >> juju: at the turn of the century, the pair were teen pop royalty. their now iconic matching denim outfits at the 2001 american music awards plastered everywhere. >> she remembers it as a blissful time. two people who totally understood each other. two people who uniquely kind of got what the challenges of each other's lives were. >> one of the revelations that coming out in this book is that they had a home that they shared in orlando, florida. i think at the time, the world, perhaps, was really intent on painting this picture of virginity. of britney spears. and i think discovering that she and justin lived together really lets you know that this was an adult, fully realized, fully formed relationship that the two of them had.

>> juju: britney says she hoped it would last forever, but after three years, it was over. and she now says she was hiding a painful secret. >> byron: you can see more of juju's full report "it's bri britney" on this week's "impact by nightline" streaming only on hulu. new episodes drop every thursday. when we come back, missy elliott works it with robin roberts. ♪ flip and it reverse it ♪ ♪ you got a big let me search it ♪ ♪ you know how hard i gotta work ya ♪ the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. with one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. in studies, apretude was proven superior to a daily prep pill in reducing the risk of hiv. you must be hiv negative to receive apretude and get tested before each injection. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away.

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>> byron: missy elliott has had a career to envy. more than 40 million albums sold, four grammys, and dozens of awards including the one she'll pick up tomorrow in brooklyn. she calls it the highest honor in music. but the lady sometimes known as misdemeanor tells robin roberts herman tra "keep going" has sometimes been tough to follow low. ♪ this will be the name y'all should already know ♪ >> reporter: rap icon, songwriter, record executive missy elliott. ♪ lemme grab the microphone ♪ >> reporter: hailed the first lady as hip-hop. she would never call herself that. fill us in on your creative process. >> a lot of times i'm walking, working out, just thinking of stuff. boy, i could be on the phone talking to one of my friends, they start telling me some craziness that's going on. their life. i just come up with a song. those are the greatest moments because it wasn't planned.

>> this is what is so beautiful about you, in that you are such a sincerely humble person. >> oh, thank you. >> and you're shy. >> super shy. >> you wouldn't know by your music. ♪ get your freak on get your freak on ♪ >> reporter: known for hits like "get your freak on" and "work it." ♪ ♪ ♪ is it worth it let me work it ♪ >> reporter: after more than three decades she's sold over 40 million records worldwide and earned four grammy awards. missy "misdemeanor" elliot. now the first woman hip-hop artist inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. how honored are you? >> words cannot describe. i'm still pinching myself. when you are in the hip-hop world, it seems so far out of reach. but the rock and roll hall of fame -- that's like the highest honor in music. >> and you're the first woman rapper. >> yes. >> that's got to just add the

significance. >> yes. and, and it being the 50th year of hip-hop, when i think about my peers and i think about the females before me, i hope this opens a door for more female rappers. >> reporter: she was born melissa arnett elliot in portsmouth, virginia. what was it like growing up there? >> oh, man. v.a. is everything. v.a. has taught me strength. you know, faith. drive. everything. >> okay, you're about to go in the hall of fame. what would you tell this young woman? >> oh, geez. first of all, i would tell her, "please, girl, don't you ever wear your hair like that again." >> what are you talking about? >> what i would tell her, you know what, there is a bright future for you, and keep going.

>> reporter: keep going. something she says wasn't always easy in those early years. every family has hardships and some challenges to go through. how did you get through? >> well, my mother. you know, ended up coming up a single parent. and those were, like, the toughest times for me. you know. just watching her try to make ends meet. and, you know, that was one of the things that made me really say, okay, i'm going to keep going. >> reporter: she credits her family and hometown for helping her stay true to her roots. >> i've been through so many, so many ups and downs. but i feel like i have a gift. there's an anointing there. and those are the things that have kept me going. i have a strong family base. i feel very strong about that, you know. strength, drive, faith. humility. >> reporter: that strength helping her through depression,

anxiety, and an autoimmune disorder known as grave's disease. how did that impact you, going through a health crisis like that? >> that broke down my whole nervous system. i couldn't even hold a pencil. i felt helpless. but, you know, i come from a spiritual family. and they most definitely had to have been praying and praying and praying, and i was praying, you know. here i am. life is never going to be full of roses. those tests become your testimony. >> my mom always said, make your mess your message. >> absolutely. >> get it out there because lord knows someone else is going through it, and they can learn. you've really helped a lot of people, with your music but also with your vulnerability in talking about your anxiety and talking about the depression. was that difficult for you to share with folks? >> it was most definitely difficult to share. but it feels good to be in a

time now where you can talk about it, because you realize there's so many people going through the same thing. ♪ ♪ misdemeanor to the house ♪ ♪ how about a cute-faced chubby-legged ♪ >> reporter: the "lose control" lyricist not losing sight of her roots after all these years. the tune she lives by today? giving back. recently helping families on the verge of eviction with a $50,000 donation for past due rents. why was that so important to you, missy? >> giving back to my hometown is important because i was one of those kids that watched my mother, you know, struggle. and i believe that when you get blessings, they're not for you to harbor them for yourself. >> what do you want people to say most about you as your legacy? when it's all said and done? >> the giving. music is cool.

but i want to be able to know that i've helped people. that always resonates with me more than anything. i want to be able to rest knowing that i have helped people in any way that i can. yeah. >> byron: our thanks to robin. you can watch this year's rock and roll hall of fame induction ceremony live tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on disney plus. when we come back, remembering amazing als activist ady barkan.

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♪ and let the words fall out ♪ ♪ honestly, ♪ ♪ i wanna see you be brave ♪ ♪ just wanna see you ♪ ♪ just wanna see you ♪ but they lost ♪ just wanna see you ♪ not really. ♪ just wanna see you ♪ not where it counts. ♪ i wanna see you be brave ♪ ♪ i just wanna see you ♪ ♪ just wanna see you ♪ ♪ be brave ♪ ♪

>> byron: finally tonight, activist ady barkan has died. working tirelessly for a better world, starting with health care reform. that was ady barkan's mission. at 33, the ivy-educated lawyer was diagnosed with als, also known as lou gehrig's disease. he used his terminal disease to fight for change, confronting and pressing candidates to be a hero. the name of the pac he cofounded. in 2019, he talked to my coanchor, juju chang. >> juju: what's the legacy that you want to leave behind? >> at the end of the day, i want to be remembered as someone who fought to make the world a little more fair and just for all. >> byron: and so he will be. ady barkan was 39. that's "nightline" for this to the next. did they even send my lab work...? wait, was i supposed to bring that? then there's the forms.