Britney Spears

Britney Spears is a singer-songwriter whose music is ubiquitous.  “Baby One More Time”, “Toxic”, and “Circus” are sure to transport anyone back to aughts for a few minutes. A recent documentary of her, Framing Britney Spears, shows many of the troubles that the pop star encountered throughout her career. As a young girl, she struggled with disrespectful questions from interviewers and the invasiveness of the paparazzi. The 2021 documentary focuses heavily on Spears’s conservatorship (the subject of the #FreeBritney movement that began in 2019). Many argue that Spears has been working throughout her conservatorship, indicating that she is mentally capable of making her own decisions. Spears and her lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, have filed to drastically alter or even end the conservatorship.  

Spears’ struggles have sparked more and more conversations about both autonomy (especially of mentally ill people) and how both the media and the audience treat public figures. Spears herself has been hesitant to do interviews or even comment publicly about her life. In spite of her reservations about publicity, Spears has continued to reach out to her fans, participating in the #DoYourPartChallenge and asking her fans to ask her if they need help during the pandemic. Spears’ actions and her story remind us to look out for each other, especially when we are facing trying times.