Britney Spears loved the #FreeBritney movement — until things went too far!
As you may know, the movement began over a decade ago when fans worried about the 41-year-old pop sensation’s controversial conservatorship, which had her finances and other aspects of her life controlled by her father, Jamie Spears. But it wasn’t until 2020 that #FreeBritney really gained traction, making loads of headlines and taking over social media at times.
Despite this movement going on for years, Britney only found out about it in 2018… while she was in rehab. In an excerpt of her upcoming memoir The Woman in Me, published by The New York Times, she claims her dad pressured her to go to a treatment facility back then — against her will! When Britney pushed back on it, Jamie threatened to take her to court, embarrass her, and make her look like an “idiot” if she didn’t go.
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So Britney went to a $60,000 per month facility in Beverly Hills, California. While in rehab, the signer recalls being prescribed lithium and constantly monitored:
“The doctors took me away from my kids and my dogs and my house. I couldn’t go outside. I couldn’t drive a car. I had to give blood weekly. I couldn’t take a bath in private. I couldn’t shut the door to my room. I was watched, even when I was changing.”
Awful…
But it was also at the place she gained some hope for her future as she first learned of the #FreeBritney movement. According to Britney, a nurse at the center was “the only one who was real as hell” and showed her videos of her supporters questioning the conservatorship and demanding her freedom. Britney wrote:
“That was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen in my life. I don’t think people knew how much the #FreeBritney movement meant to me, especially in the beginning.”
The Crossroads actress even recognized how much the movement helped her “survive” and win her freedom during that time, explaining:
“Everyone who spoke out for me helped me survive that hard year, and the work they did helped me win my freedom. Toward the end, when the court hearings were going on, seeing people advocating for me meant a whole lot. But when it first happened, that got my heart, because I was not okay, not at all.”
Wow. It sounds like the #FreeBritney movement was such a source of strength for her during this dark time. Although Britney loved the public support, however, she recognizes how some of her champions crossed the lines at points…
The momma has been open about how much the documentaries released during her conservatorship, including the documentary Framing Britney Spears, upset her. But what “hurt” the most was the people in her life who participated in the projects without even asking her first! Even if they were only trying to help, Britney felt it was wrong of everyone involved. She wrote, per The New York Times:
“It felt like every day there was another documentary about me on yet another streaming service. Seeing the documentaries about me was rough. I understand that everyone’s heart was in the right place, but I was hurt that some old friends spoke to filmmakers without consulting me first. There was so much guessing about what I must have thought or felt.”
The movement did kind of work though. The public groundswell of support, partially from those docs, did change things. And Brit did get out from under her father’s thumb.
But now Britney finally can tell her story and share her feelings in her own words, all thanks to her new memoir. What a relief that must be after all this time. Reactions to the latest from the book, Perezcious readers? Drop ’em in the comments below.
[Image via Entertainment Tonight/YouTube, MEGA/WENN]
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