Kevin Federline: Criticism's a bum rap

Britney's hubby doesn't care if people hate him

Thursday, 26 October 2006

Kevin Federline has gotten his share of criticism, but the aspiring rapper takes it all in stride.

"If you want to hate me, cool, hate me," Federline, 28, tells PEOPLE in its new issue. "You know why? Because all it's going to do is help me."

You can say this much for Britney Spears's other half: He is willing to go to the mat to promote – and defend – his debut album, Playing with Fire, due out at the end of the month.

Case in point: On Oct. 16, Federline signed on to be the celebrity punching bag – literally – at the WWE Monday Night RAW, where he talked up his album and, amid boos from the audience, got slammed to the canvas by bruiser John Cena.

But Federline shrugs off the naysayers. "I know who I am," he says. And despite frequent reports of marital discord since he and Spears married in 2004, Federline insists, "Our relationship is strong. ... We are going to last a long time."

Now, he's on a campaign to prove he's more than just Britney Spears's husband. While Spears was partying with friends last week in Las Vegas, Federline was promoting his music on The Tonight Show.

On the album, he says, the public will see his "edgy side." And he's proud
of his acting debut last month on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

"I shocked myself," he says. "It looked good. It looked perfect."