Keep leaving Britney alone
This is a story about a girl named Lucky
Leave Britney alone.
You’ve heard it before, and I’m here to make absolutely sure you hear it again.
Leave Britney alone.
If you’ve been paying any attention to the tabloids and pop culture lately, you might have noticed that Britney has been… how to say this? Laying low.
Ever since canceling her lucrative and high-profile Las Vegas residency, the princess of pop has been busy with many things related to vacationing, nursing a broken foot (someone get her a plastic bubble, stat), and musing on the mysterious cheetah, which doesn’t speak English but can run 60 miles per hour. She has not, however, been busy making music, posing for photoshoots, or making press appearances.
In fact, if you’ve been paying any attention to the tabloids and pop culture lately, you might have noticed that the only news Britney’s making these days involves her personal life — again — or a movement known as #FreeBritney. It’s all very disheartening and deeply uncomfortable. She’s already been through hell and back, and now she’s going through it again.
#FreeBritney
Starting with the January 2019 announcement that her new Vegas show “Domination” was “on hold until further notice,” tabloids and blogs have been aflutter with rumors about why the show was canceled. The official narrative: Britney’s father, Jamie, was recovering from a ruptured colon and Britney wanted to spend time with her family while he recovered. Was it believable? Sure. Was it also very sudden and kinda fishy? Sure.
Cue the rumors that Britney was “off her meds” and her dad was pulling the plug on “Domination” as revenge. Cue the evergreen rumors about the 12-year-old conservatorship placed upon her, wherein her father and a lawyer retain all control over her assets. For those who are unfamiliar, a conservatorship is a legal matter in which a judge appoints someone to serve as guardian of someone’s finances and/or daily life because of mental limitations or health problems.
When the show was canceled and the dust had settled, Britney took a step back to focus on her family, and she more or less disappeared from the public eye for large periods of time. That’s when intrepid fans started loudly and publicly asking questions about her whereabouts, spurring the #FreeBritney movement. I won’t go into all the finer details of #FreeBritney, but suffice to say it’s been messy and sad. For a thorough analysis of #FreeBritney and anything related to Britney’s illustrious career, I highly recommend the “It’s Britney, Bitch!” podcast.
It comes down to this, though: We still know very little.
We only know what Britney and her representatives have told us, which isn’t much. We have crumbs of information gleaned from TMZ and a smattering of legal documents. But Britney and her team have done an outrageously impressive job of locking it down. We only know what they want us to know, and it turns out they don’t want us to know anything.
I have a friend who preaches this important tidbit: In the absence of information, people make up their own version of the truth. That’s what’s happening here; as Britney and her team withhold their truth, tabloids and fans alike invent their own versions of it.
This lack of information is frustrating to a lot of people; while Britney’s business isn’t necessarily our business, we happen to live in a celebrity-obsessed society that feels entitled to every aspect of celebrities’ lives as a tradeoff for living in the public eye — and it creates a vicious cycle in which we latch onto a star, build them up into superstardom… and then tear them down by inserting ourselves into their lives, assuming we were ever invited in the first place.
The cancellation of “Domination” and Britney’s subsequent withdrawal from the spotlight, unexpected and frustrating and worrying as it may be, was Britney’s declaration that the party was over and that we’d worn out our welcome. Time to go home and resume your lives. Thank you for coming, see you next time.
Shattered Glass
It’s been more than a year of messiness, and the questions about Britney’s health and whereabouts never really quieted down… but it got even messier in early March, when Britney’s 13-year-old son, Jayden James, created an Instagram account and posted a live video to answer fan questions. Jayden covered a myriad of topics, including his strained relationship with Jamie Spears and whether or not his mom will be returning to music any time soon (spoiler alert: she’s still considering retirement).
The video has been deleted, and supposedly Britney never even saw it, but the damage was done. One of Britney’s sons, who she has previously protected from the media, has been thrust into the spotlight, and he used the opportunity to air his family’s dirty laundry. This was not a tactful press release or “20/20” tell-all interview; this was a 13-year-old kid being a 13-year-old kid and making a messy situation even messier — emboldened and encouraged by a mob of reckless and passionate fans desperate for more information about their idol.
And it worked; Jayden broke through the Spears’ machine’s carefully crafted facade of silence.
Slave 4 U
If this doesn’t trouble you, it should. Jayden’s Instagram video doesn’t help the matter whatsoever, but neither does our reaction to it, our insatiable greed for more, our rabid response to any tidbit of information. Even if it comes from a place of genuine concern for Britney’s wellbeing, it’s still a massive overstep. Britney has boldly and explicitly asked us to give her some space while she deals with the ever-growing pile of bullshit on her plate. This is not an easy thing to ask for when you’re a public figure, and she should be commended for setting this important boundary for herself and her family. It does not feel hyperbolic to say that her family is in crisis; the court proceedings never stop, whether they’re related to the conservatorship or Jamie’s alleged physical abuse toward Britney’s sons, and that would be a lot for any family to handle, much less one that’s fronted by one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Unfortunately, our collective response to Britney’s plea for privacy and respect has been to pry harder and harder into her life. It’s entirely possible that the entire conservatorship scenario is a nefarious hoax or a manipulative scheme to keep milking an unhealthy woman for more money — but who are we to decide? She’s asked us for privacy, and we’ve disregarded her request. In an ideal world, if Britney was truly unsafe or was being taken advantage of, one would hope she would be able to say something and get the help she needs. I recognize this is also a naive view of things, but as outside viewers, we’re ultimately powerless. As much as we love Britney, her life is not our life, and this is not our fight.
Britney owes us nothing. Zero. Zilch. She’s lived her life in the public eye for more than 20 years, putting up with an endless stream of bullshit from invasive paparazzi, humiliating interviews and an otherworldly fanbase that just takes it too far sometimes. She’s grown up in the public eye, making mistakes along the way, and she’s grown into a loving mom who just wants to enjoy life and paint flowers while topless.
She’s put in the work (bitch), so let her take a much-deserved break.
Gimme More
I get it; you want more Britney. We always hope that our idols will live forever and continue to produce new material to keep us always wanting more, but it just isn’t realistic or sustainable. It’s certainly not sustainable for every star, and even less so for someone like Britney, who has struggled to adjust to adulthood in the limelight, while very likely dealing with some mental health challenges.
Luckily, there’s no lack of material to satisfy your appetite. If her eight studio albums, two remix albums, two greatest hits albums and 43 music videos aren’t enough to keep you busy, then head to The Zone in L.A. and immerse yourself in Brit’s iconic aesthetic. Hop on down to your local record store this April and pick up a copy of the limited edition “Oops! … I Did It Again” vinyl record on Record Store Day. Check out Urban Outfitter’s extensive collection of nostalgic merch. Hell… buy a bottle of one of her dozens of perfumes, which seem to materialize out of nowhere every year. See? The corporate media machine behind Britney Spears will make sure we never run out of Britney content.
But for goodness’ sake, leave her alone and stop demanding that she “come back.” She’s still here… she’s just more focused on her own happiness right now and less concerned with filling stadium seats or shilling iTunes singles.
Britney: I hope you take the time you need. Whatever you need, you deserve it. If you never release music again, that’s OK too. You do you, boo, and we’ll be here supporting you always.
