“Free Britney b*tch. Her loneliness is killing me. The conservatorship is toxic.” These slogans derive from the Free Britney Movement. This coalition is fighting for the dissolution of Britney Spears’ conservatorship. A conservatorship is put into place when a person is deemed unfit to care for themselves. The conservator has complete control over the conservatee including their finances and daily lives. After a tumultuous few years struggling with alcohol abuse, mental health issues and toxic relationships; Britney Spears was forced into a conservatorship, giving her father, Jamie Spears, full control of her finances and career. This arrangement has been in place for twelve years. For a while now there have been suspicions circulating between social media and Britney’s fans as to whether this arrangement is needed and in Britney’s best interest. Between cryptic social media posts by Spears herself, and reports that Britney was scared of her father, the Free Britney Movement was born. ‘The New York Times Presents’ on Hulu is a series of one off documentaries. Their latest episode titled, “Framing Britney Spears”, dives into Britney’s life from her rise to fame, to her struggle for freedom.
Watching this documentary for the first time, I felt sick to my stomach for many reasons. I had to pause after clips were shown of her old interviews to take a breather and quell my anger. The way men would speak to her made my blood boil. They asked about her virginity and talked about her breasts. One interview with Justin Timberlake showed the interviewer asking Justin if he had sex with Britney Spears; to which everyone in the room starts laughing and Justin replies, “Okay yeah I did it.” I could smell the misogyny through the screen. I felt so dirty after watching I took a shower in the mid afternoon; which I never do. You have to laugh when the reality of it all was simply that men were uncomfortable with a woman being so confident and secure with her sexuality. Being a woman in a male dominated world means being criticized by men just about on a daily basis. In a horribly wrong way, being criticized by men was a part of Britney’s job. It was her job to sit down and promote her work and to have the men tear apart her clothes, her lyrics and her physicality. There was no one to truly defend her like there would be today. Social media and society weren’t advanced enough. We will never let people treat women today like we allowed Britney to be treated and while that itself is heartening, my heart will now forever break a little when I see a picture of Britney. I remember seeing her umbrella debacle on magazine covers in 2007. I was only six but I remember hearing the word ‘crazy’ a lot. Too much. Looking back now it brings tears to my eyes that this woman was struggling so deeply and no one truly saw it.
“At some point in our lives we stop trying to please everybody”
A quote that really stuck out to me in this documentary was from Britney’s former stylist Hayley Hill. She was talking about the scrutiny Britney was under as a woman in the spotlight compared to the boy bands at the time and how after a while she stopped worrying about the opinions of others. Hill stated, “That’s when she just really started becoming more free and less concerned with pleasing everybody. Which is also like a whole ‘nother metaphor for what women do right? At some point in our lives we stop trying to please everybody.” I paused and thought about this for a while. I personally can pinpoint a specific memory that changed my perception of women and the criticism they are constantly under in society and in the eyes of men. It had to do with a comment about my body and clothing from a close male figure. I talked to a few other friends and they all could recite a certain time where they stopped concerning themselves with pleasing others, more specifically men. It led me to think this may be a universal experience for a woman, and that itself broke my heart even more. Yet there are still men who will argue that there are no discrepancies at all in the world between how men and women are treated. I got too angry and in my head and I had to shut my laptop down to take a walk.
Britney has not had control of her life for twelve years. She is being held captive and it is legal. The documentary showed legal records from where her former co-conservator Andrew Wallet asked for a raise. The conservatorship was described as a ‘hybrid business model’ because Spears is well engaged in her work. A conservatorship is not a business; it is for people who are unfit to take care of themselves. I cannot begin to comprehend how she is still in this arrangement after mistakes made twelve years ago. Events that weren’t really mistakes at all; they were decisions made by a fearful woman crying for help that wasn’t being provided for her. Many people may wonder “why should I care about Britney Spears?” Great question. Firstly her situation opens up conversations about conservatorship abuse. The documentary highlighted how recent hospitalizations were against Britney’s will. With the amount of money tied to Britney’s name it’s hard to believe that the people involved in the conservatorship have no ill intentions. It also identifies even more issues with the justice system in America. If Britney is as ‘high functioning’ as the legal records say then she should not be in this situation anymore. She is not incompetent; not that she ever really was to begin with. The latest court hearing for dissolving the conservatorship was in November of 2020. The judge refused to remove her father as her conservator. It doesn’t make sense.
I’d say Britney Spears deserves the world but this world is simply not good enough for her. The world doesn’t deserve Britney quite frankly. One does not deserve to jam out to Baby One More Time on a throwback playlist without understanding what she has gone through; and the hell men put her through when promoting that song. It’s imperative that her story is shared and understood so no woman ever has to go through the same experience ever again. Britney, we all await you with a huge apology.