Everything You Need To Know About The #FREEBRITNEY Movement

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE #FREEBRITNEY MOVEMENT

By Stephen Weatherall for JOOCY NEWS 19/2/21

You have probably heard about the #freebritney movement a lot now, thanks to the power of social media. This hashtag has blown up all over the internet over the past six months or so, but what is it all about?

Iconic pop star Britney Spears has been in the limelight since she was just a child, when she starred in the Mickey Mouse Club at age eleven. She then went on to release her debut pop single “... Baby One More Time” in 1998 which sold over 88 million copies before she turned seventeen. Ever since then, she has been a global phenomenon and is easily one of the most influential pop stars of the media industry. She has gone on to release a whole catalog of pop music hits, but she has also made other endeavours such as releasing a range of perfumes, making appearances in movies and TV shows such as “How I Met Your Mother” and “Glee”, starring in her own movie “Crossroads” in 2002 and judging on “The X Factor USA” in 2013.

Over the past couple of years, things have seemingly started to go awry in Britney’s personal life. Fans became alarmed when she began to post strange images and videos onto her Instagram profile, things like obscure dance routines and answering questions in an odd fashion. People began to show their concern for Britney’s health and well-being, writing comments on her Instagram posts such as, “Praying for your well-being” “Her pictures like this give me anxiety” “Britney, are you alive?”

That’s right, some people even began to conspire that Britney was dead and that all of her social media content was pre - photographed and prerecorded. This conspiracy has since been debunked, with proof that Britney is in fact still alive with ongoing court dates and recent paparazzi photographs of Britney going on hikes with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari.

However, fans still believe that Britney isn’t responsible for her bizarre Instagram posts, but that they are being taken and uploaded by somebody else who controls her social media accounts against her will. This conspiracy is strengthened by “hidden meanings” that are being dissected from videos and images that are being posted on her Instagram profile. One of these being a video which was posted a few days after the Super Bowl, but also a couple of days after the premiere of a documentary made to shed light on the #freebritney movement, titled “Framing Britney Spears.” Britney says “The moment we’ve all been waiting for… the Super Bowl!” She then ends the video with a cut clip of her saying “I love sharing.” Some believe that this is actually Britney trying to say that the documentary is what we have all been waiting for but using the Super Bowl as a disguise. This again seems to add evidence to the claim that Britney is not in charge of what she can post onto her social media accounts, because if she could post whatever she wanted, she more than likely would have addressed the ongoing situation head on, but she is still yet to do so. Instead she is using code words. So, is she not in charge of her social media accounts? Or perhaps she is just legally bound to not saying anything?

Britney’s social media manager, Cassie Petrey, speaks out about these allegations in her own series of Instagram posts, saying “Britney creates her own posts and writes her own captions for Instagram. She finds the google images, Pinterest images, quotes, memes, and everything else herself. Nobody is suggesting any of that stuff to her. She generally edits the videos herself. If a video she sends in is edited by her social media team, it’s because she gave specific instructions and asked for it to be edited that way. Then she sees it and decides if she wants to post it or not.” She continues, “Britney is not asking for help or leaving secret messages in her social media. She is literally just living her life and trying to have fun on Instagram. She has a team to help strategize, like any major celebrity generally does at this point in her career. Almost every person has a social media team - just like they have a manager, publicist, record label, etc. My work on Britney’s social media does not involve her conservatorship in any way.”

Other things unbeknownst to the majority of the public have also been brought to the forefront, such as the fact that Britney has been in a conservatorship, controlled by her own father Jamie Spears, since 2008 after her infamous breakdown which involved her shaving her own head and hitting a car with an umbrella. She was just twenty-seven years old at the time and she is now thirty-nine, which means Britney has been in a conservatorship for a whole twelve years.

What does this mean for Britney?

A conservatorship is where an individual is put in place to care for somebody who is seemingly unfit to care for themselves. Fans argue against Britney needing to be in a conservatorship at all, stating that Britney has been mentally stable enough to continue with her career throughout the years, releasing numerous albums and performing vigorous dance routines all around the world.

The starlet’s conservatorship withholds her from being able to make many personal decisions. Such as not having control of her finances, not being able to see her children when she wants to, not being able to enter into contracts on her own, not being able to travel without seeking permission and not being able to drive without permission.

Paris Hilton, a long time friend of Britney’s, spoke up about her battle during an interview with Andy Cohen on “Andy Cohen Live,” saying “After just working your whole life and working so hard, she's this icon and I just feel like she has no control of her life whatsoever and I just don't think that's fair."

Hilton isn’t Spears’ only famous ally, with more and more public figures sharing their thoughts on the issue. Singer Charlie Puth tweeted “Britney Spears’ music was my first exposure to POP music. Her impact was/is profound and it always baffled me as to why people were so brutal to her when she was down. It’s great the world is more sensitive to mental health now, but upsetting it took this long in Britney’s case.” Actress Sarah Jessica Parker tweeted “#FREEBRITNEY.”

The statement that has truly grabbed people’s attention and made recent headlines, is one from Britney's own boyfriend, Sam Asghari, whom she has been dating for three years. Sam, 26, took to his Instagram story and wrote this revealing statement.

“Now it’s important for people to understand that I have zero respect for someone trying to control our relationship and constantly throwing obstacles in our way. In my opinion Jamie (Britney's father) is a total dick. I won’t be going into details because I’ve always respected our privacy but at the same time I didn’t come to this country to not be able to express my opinion and freedom.” Fans were glad to see that somebody who is truly close to Britney, finally made a statement. This statement also put to bed the rumour of which many were saying that Sam was actually in on the unfair treatment of Britney.

Last year, Britney’s brother Bryan Spears went on Drew Plotkins’ podcast “As NOT Seen on TV” and discussed his sister's conservatorship, saying "She's always wanted to get out of it. It's very frustrating to have - whether someone's coming in peace to help or coming in with an attitude, having someone constantly tell you to do something has got to be frustrating. She's wanted to get out of it for quite some time." This statement furthermore sparked the severity of the #freebritney movement.

Britney’s younger sister and actress, Jamie Lynne Spears, has also briefly spoken out on Instagram, writing “If you deal with mental illness or care for someone dealing with mental illness, then you know how important it is to respect the situation with privacy for the person, and the family trying to protect their loved ones, no matter how it may appear to the public, and as the public we must learn to do the same.”

In recent court documents that have been made public, It appears that Britney has been diagnosed with dementia, which is apparently one of the reasons why she is being held in the conservatorship. Many fans are claiming that the singer does not have dementia. Some of the symptoms of this syndrome are: memory loss, problems with understanding, difficulty in partaking in daily activities and difficulty with language. Fans are arguing that a person who is suffering from this syndrome could not have released an album, made numerous TV appearances and put on multiple live performances in the past few years.

In 2019 Britney’s Father, Jamie, stepped down as Britney’s main conservator due to health issues. The role was taken over by Jodi Montgomery who was originally the singer's care manager. This was only meant to be temporary until Jamie got his health issues under control, however, Britney is reportedly “strongly opposed” to her father becoming her primary conservator again, voicing that she strongly prefers Jodi Montgomery being in control of her personal decisions.

Thanks to the online strengthening of the  #freebritney movement, things seem to be positively changing. Britney herself has expressed her gratitude for the movement in a video posted to her Instagram page, saying "I can feel your hearts and I know you can feel mine. Thank you for your support." Britney's mother, Lynne Spears, also seems to be in her daughters corner. Lynne has shown desire in becoming a part of the conservatorship to protect Britney. A source told ET "She (Britney) feels her desires will be taken more seriously. She trusts her mother. They went through some tough times in their relationship but they are now closer than ever." Recently, Britney’s plea to expand her legal team has been approved in court. Britney posted a video to her Instagram accounts saying “I just want to let you guys know that I am fine. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. And I'm sending all of you guys a lot of prayers, wishes and a lot of love."

Whilst the court have still not granted Britney’s wishes of her father being “suspended immediately” from running her estate, things seem to be getting better. The pop star has world wide support from fans and celebrities, she has support from her mother and boyfriend, she has had recent success in the courtroom with her father losing a court bid to be the sole conservator of her estate and she has shared that she is the happiest that she has ever been.

Britney and her father will next appear in court on March 17th.

If there is one thing that the world knows about Britney Spears, it is that she knows how to make a comeback. Whether it be her career, or her personal life, she will surely rise again.