Britney Spears, An Industry Horror story

It took me several attempts to sit down and watch this documentary in its entirety because I became so emotional, so filled with nostalgia as I was about 8 years old when Britney's 1st hit dropped. If you are around my age, you remember when Britney Spears was at the top of the pop charts with hits like ‘Hit me Baby one more time” and “Toxic”. Britney is someone a lot of us girls look up to through her music so when it became more apparent that she may be in danger, #FreeBritney became trending the long-awaited discussion of how misogyny can either empower a woman or lead her to her detriment. I am glad to be living in a time where we can look back at our mistakes and address them. We stood back and watched as the world gas lit Britney and probably many other artists, but now we can see how misogyny and complacency have led to where the discussion is today. Does Britney need to be on a conservatorship? I don’t know. I don’t know her personally however I do question if she is able to work as hard as she does, I don’t know if I can question her competency. Britney came from humble beginnings which leads me to question the motives of those around her. One would assume at least one family member would try to come forward and participate in the documentary, even if it is just to provide balance and attempt to clear the family name.

I am thankful to the NY Times for presenting this information to a new generation of people that can add to the conversations that this presentation has started. I could sense the tension of the participants when speaking about Britney’s father, Jamie. I want to also speak to the fact that I found it disgusting that the male photographer acted like he had no idea Britney did not like being photographed. I was a senior in high school around the time that Britney shaved her head bald and tried to attack the photographer with an umbrella. I felt something was wrong but was too young to understand it. Now that I am a 30-year-old mother who has felt the agony of a custody battle, it broke my heart to know that she had that meltdown after two failed attempts to see her children. People like Nancy Carson and Kim Kaimen remember her earlier days in the industry are her being “serious, and focused”. So, what has happened?

I also like how the NY Times brought reference to the mindset of the majority of that time by referencing the Clinton and Lewinski Scandal. They used clips of comedians who made sexual references, which wasn’t common on cable tv back then. Britney was inappropriately asked about her sexuality several times when we could clearly see on her face, she was not comfortable. She was traumatized repeatedly before our very eyes. When she was dating Justin Timberlake, they were "the all-American couple". Everyone wanted to know what was going on with them at all times, and this gave the paparazzi the excuse to violate and overstep boundaries that Britney could be paying for until this very day. “Cry me a River” by Justin Timberlake was hit and it allowed him to not only take control of the narrative of their breakup, it allowed him to capitalize off of it as well. The NY Times did a great job illustrating something that we as Britney fans have assumed for almost 20 years.

I see a lot of bloggers and content creators saying that we owe Britney an apology. We owe her and others in similar situations that, and so much more. We can be the voices that they do not have. Britney’s situation has started conversations on Mental health, the Law, the Entertainment Industry, Narcissism, Misogyny, and the list goes on. We have to continue these conversations even after they are no longer a hot topic. We owe to the “Britney’s” of the world who cannot speak up for themselves.