Oh Britney

I am clearly late to the party, as I had never looked into Britney’s story in depth until now; but having done so, it is hard not to feel strongly about it. It is both infuriating and inspirational in equal measures.

Having said that, her autobiographical book ‘Woman in me” wasn’t published until 2023, so the full picture was revealed not that long ago, hence why there might be some spoilers here for those who haven’t read the book, or closely followed her story.

What I was aware of, like pretty much everyone back then -was the fact that she was experiencing some emotional distress in 2007 , when the head shaving incident took place. I didn’t find it all that surprising though - finding success and fame of this magnitude at such a young age comes at a cost. To me, it seemed like a natural consequence of enduring the pressures of the show business since she was 16 years old, rather than a flaw in her character, or a lack of sanity, as was suggested by the media.

However I wasn’t aware of the bigger picture- the many factors that have led to that crisis, as well as the events that unfolded in the years that followed, and were only resolved (legally) few years ago.

I feel deep sadness for Britney. Not only were her talents and gifts exploited by those around her (including her family) for financial gain, her romantic relationships manipulated for for the career advancement of certain individuals, and her kids taken away from her; she was also made into a villain, portrayed as crazy, bullied by the paparazzi while dealing with a postpartum depression, and eventually subjected to a horrific 13 year long conservatorship. During that time, she was legally controlled, psychologically tormented and medically at the hands of her father, and those working with him.

Additionally, it is both shocking and disturbing that this was allowed to go on for as long as it did, and in the United States of all places, a country founded on the very ideals of liberty ame individual freedom.

Britney’s stardom exploded when I was a teenager myself , slightly younger than her, so naturally I idealised her , and who didn’t? The girl was iconic.Recently, I revisited some of her early perforomances and interviews, and saw with adult eyes just how very sweet and incredibly talented she was , as well as probably too naive for the music industry. She said so herself in her book, admitting that she was ‘a people pleaser’, a quality that may have made her a better performer, but over time also opened the door to abuse and exploitation. Eventually, the ‘good girl’ persona became impossible to maintain, as people would constantly violate her boundaries, and so she got angry - which was a natural consequence of all the crap she had been through.

While mental health issues are unden real, and I am a very passionate advocate for raising awareness around them, more often than not they are natural reactions to unnatural environments and cruel treatments. If someone is repeatedly hurt, it is only a matter of time before the wounds begin to show as symptoms. The society tends to pathologise these responses, so instead of support, victims oftentimes experience further mistreatment and retraumatisation. And that’s exactly what happened with this whole conservatorship nightmare - under the disguise of protection, serious abuse took place. Her family chose to legally control her and her finances by imposing a conservatorship that lasted 13 years, and basically stripping her of basic human rights, while claiming that she was unable to look after herself, yet forcing her to keep working and performing like a circus animal to keep making them money. How eerily ironic, given that one of the tour’s and songs names from that period was titled “Circus”. And while I hesitate to draw parallels with the song “I’m a slave for you”, as this hit belonged to an earlier period, the echoes are impossible to ignore.

It is painfully obvious as one watches her later performances under the conservatorship, that she doesn’t really want to do it - the fire in her eyes is gone, in some ways it felt as though this was a different person altogether.

I know I have said so earlier, but it is worth repeating to drive the point home - it is shocking that this kind of exploitation was legally allowed, especially in the USA - a country that was built on the values of declared freedom. And it would probably continue to this day had Britney not eventually found the strength to fight back. Well done her, especially considering the fact that at some point in the conservatorship, she was forcibly placed in an institution and medicated with lithium against her will - as a punishment for refusing to continue with her Las Vegas residency. That experience undoubtedly caused her further damaged, but it did not break her.

Fast forward to today and Britney is finally free, yet people still dismiss her, refer to her Instagram behaviour as ‘weird’, or better yet claiming that it is not even her, but a clone; not realising the amount of trauma she has endured , and that all things considered, she is doing ok. Her strength is admirable really.

What is not admirable is the way society continues to throw around labels like ‘crazy’ to describe people who are, in truth, hurt and in need of help, support and compassion, instead of a shaming label to amuse the masses with. The same masses who once idolised her, putting her on a pedestal -she is after all one of the brightest stars in the history of the music industry. Britney was truly iconic, I didn’t even need to use her full name in this article - 99% of people know exactly who I’m talking about by her first name alone.

When I first began writing this piece, I was under the impression that it was the stigma around mental health that has kept this prison like conservatorship drag on for as long as it did, but it quickly became obvious that mental health was merely an excuse, and at its core it was always about money and power. The fact that Britney was forced to keep working and generating big sums for people in charge of her ‘health and safety’, despite being exhausted and asking for the well deserved time off, is to put it mildly - mind blowing. To put it plainly, it was a criminal abuse of power.

I don’t know what is happening in her life right now, and while her Instagram posts can seem concerning, I genuinely hope that she is surrounded by people who care for her well-being , and that she can gradually from the nightmare of these past years. She deserves it.