Over the past few years, we’ve seen a rise in interest with documentary series – or docuseries – for its extensive, yet short coverage of controversial topics and high profile cases. Especially so with the past year seeing most of us spending time inside, with little connection to the outside world past that we see through screens; docuseries seem to bring the outside world, inside. The latest in the slate is the release of ‘Framing Britney Spears’. It explores the Princess of Pops rise to fame, the extremely misogynistic media attention she had to endure (with interview questions ranging from asking her if she had a boyfriend at the age of 10 and later on, asking if she was a virgin), and the impact that fans have had on Spears’ fight against the conservatorship that has been holding her in its vice-like grip for more than a decade.
While the documentary manages to highlight the overwhelming pressure and sexist scrutiny that the ‘…Baby One More Time’ hitmaker had to face, it also shows how she held her own, with clips and moments littered through the documentary that gives us a glimpse at what a fiercely independent and strong-willed individual Britney Spears was. If anything, this lends to the #FreeBritney movement and helps to call out the farce that is her conservatorship. But let’s rewind, and breakdown what exactly has been going on in the life of one of the most beloved pop singing sensations of the ’00s.
What is the #FreeBritney movement?
The #FreeBritney movement is fan-driven and is based on the fact that Britney has “zero control over her day to day life”. It started back in 2019 when Britney Spears had to check into a mental health facility after refusing to take the medicine prescribed to her. She also had to cancel her Las Vegas residency, making fans even more sceptical about her well being. When details of her father’s tight control over the singer (aka a conservatorship), fans rallied together to support the mother of two. This past November, the superstar lost a bid to remove her father from her conservatorship. He now remains in control, as co-conservator with financial company Bessemer Trust, though the judge did not rule out future petitions for his removal or suspension. However, Spears took a strong stance, refusing to perform as long as her father remains in control. The 39-year-old’s attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III told the judge presiding over the trial in late 2020:
“My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father. She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”
What is a conservatorship and how does it affect Britney?
In America, a conservatorship is basically what happens when a person is appointed a legal guardian. This person is meant to help with day to day affairs but is usually only appointed to mentally or physically incapable individuals, senior citizens or those suffering from mental issues like schizophrenia or dementia. With Britney, her father – James Spears – has been managing all of her financial affairs and her daily life since 2008 (up until September 2019, when removed himself from the order). What was initially a “temporary conservatorship” after Britney’s very public meltdown after her break up with husband Kevin Federline in 2007, the conservatorship was later made permanent (her father claims she had an onset of dementia in her early 20s). Since then and for over 10 years, James Spears has had control over Britney’s estate, financial assets, visitors and career negotiations.
However, a lawyer for Britney has insisted that was an inaccurate accusation, saying: ‘She’s always involved in every career and business decision. Period.’ Her manager since 1999, Larry Rudolph, has also addressed the Free Britney movement, saying that Britney herself was focusing on getting better. Talking to Variety, Larry said,
“I understand how much these fans love her and support her and I love that. The part that concerns me is that it has no factual basis. The personal issues that Britney is dealing with are highly complicated and the conservatorship is there for a reason. The courts of the State of California take this very seriously. I hope people allow her to have her private time.”
Nevertheless, fans have argued over the need for a conservatorship, saying that the star wouldn’t have been able to release 4 albums and earn over USD 138 million if she was “mentally unwell”. They believe that Britney is being controlled in an effort to exploit her wealth and fame – after all, the pop princes is a musical icon. Diet Prada, an account on Instagram that calls out injustice in the industry, posted slides that detailed the sketchy details of the conservatorship, saying that,
“The world has made a joke of her existence to a certain extent, but this is a woman who is denied access to her own children, finances, and any control over her own life. The law is corrupt and so are the middle-aged men who are ruining a thriving, successful woman’s life.”
According to ‘Framing Britney Spears’ producer and director Samantha Stark, during an interview with Variety,
“The kind of conservatorship that Britney is under is the kind that is often used for people with Alzheimer’s — the point of it is to protect the person and act as the person would have acted as if they were in their right mind, so whoever is the conservative is supposed to know what’s in the person’s best interest and know how they would act. With Britney, it’s really odd because she was 26. This is usually for a person who is dying, and a family member is usually in charge, and it’s so hard to get out of a conservatorship because the person usually dies during it. Somebody, usually a family member, has to file for it and they nominate themselves or another person to do it. So, her father was the one who filed for it. From what we know, her mother wasn’t on the filing. That’s how the system works.”
Can Spears get out of it if the system is working against her? Stark explains:
“In order to get out, it’s your burden of proof, so if Britney wants to get out of the conservatorship, she has to prove that she is capable of managing her own life and handling her own money — but how do you prove that if you’re a under a conservatorship where you can’t handle your own life and your own money?”
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According to their slides, Britney had tried to go behind her labels back to create an album that was her own (rather than what her label had been forcing her to put out) called “Original Doll”. That plan was apparently scrapped after her label found out. Some of the control that the conservatorship is said to exercise over her and stop her from doing is:
- Drive a car
- Get married
- Have children
- See how her money is being spent
- Leave her own
- Hire her own lawyer
- Speak about the conservatorship publicly
- Do interview that isn’t scripted
- Use a cellphone without being monitored
Why were fans suddenly tweeting about #FreeBritney?
Last year, the hashtags “#FreeBritney” and “#SaveBritney” came up on social media after, what fans believe, are secret messages from the singer herself. Fans thought that she was asking to be saved after answering their requests to “post a flower” and “wear yellow” as a sign that she needed help.
This isn’t a coincidence anymore Britney Spears is sending messages for help. #freebritney pic.twitter.com/Qv2NnZyZhV
— All Aboard The #FreeBritney Bus (@touchofpisces) July 8, 2020
The 39-year-old has been active on social media during the quarantine period, posting on Instagram and uploading TikTok videos. A handwritten letter from Britney Spears resurfaced online last year after Britney’s former photographer, Andrew Gallery, took to TikTok to share a letter that the singer had written at the time. It is important to note that this letter was first released in May 2019 by the DailyMail, but has once again resurfaced after Gallery’s post. The disturbing note is said to have been written in the third person sometime between 2009 and 2010.
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Andrew shared,
“I’ve been seeing all the stuff about the #FreeBritney movement and I feel compelled to say something about this now. I used to work with Britney back in 2008/9 during her comeback. In that time, we became close friends. We were on tour together. We spent every day together for a while, and in that time, she gave me a letter that she wanted me to read to you guys.”
The letter is said to contain Britney’s claims that her ex, Kevin, “left her and the babies,” and “that most of their fighting back then was due to his problem waking and baking […] at 5-o-clock in the morning.” According to the letter, none of the issues with Kevin was ever talked about because “no one knows the truth”. Instead, all the focus was on Britney and how she was unable to handle being in the public eye.
What has Britney said about all this?
Britney herself (?) has debunked these conspiracies, saying that she is merely being “authentic and as real as it gets.”
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Britney appears to tell her fans,
“You may not know this about me but I am strong, and stand up for what I want!”
Whether she truly does, we will never know. Stark made it a point to say that because Spears’ has “such a tight circle around her”, it is unclear if anything we’ve seen from the pop star in recent years is really, truly from her.
“If you’ve done any interview with her for the past five to ten years, it was under careful watch from her handlers. We’ve heard from a lot of people in newsrooms that if you want to interview Britney, her team has final cut over what’s in the piece. A lot of news outlets wouldn’t agree to that, ethically — so you can’t have a journalist ask her how she’s feeling. The only thing you can see is her Instagram.”
And even then…
“The thing about that is you can’t ask Britney if she needs help because there’s such a tight cone of silence around her that is enabled by the conservatorship. [..] It feels like her Instagram is the only place you can actually hear from her. We don’t know what’s in her head, and she never talks about the conservatorship, so I understand why fans are wondering if she’s sending messages through her social media.”
Knowing that behind it all, there is a beautiful, talented, kind, sweet, strong, human being, makes the docuseries that much more heartbreaking to watch.
We hope that Britney is doing okay and that justice prevails.
*Cover image credits: Instagram / @britneyspears
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