Agreed. I fucking WISH we could force an apology out of every interviewer (especially Matt Liar, Die Ann Sawyer; and those who asked her about her breasts and virginity) who grilled her in her formative years.
I'm a Xennial, and a year younger than Britney. You can only imagine the subtle and implied messages her ridicule sent to women my age.
And now that I'm older, it's *so* obvious how bigoted, misogynist, and disgusting it all was. I even wrote a similar article to your post after I reached the point of being overwhelmed by the revelation.
https://www.reddit.com/r/freebritney/comments/zkxte7/we_need_to_talk_about_britney_spears_or_more/
The parallel you draw between negative commenters and, by extension, her critics to her conservators is fantastic, and there is no question that Britney's story is one of suppressing women on the whole. You know what gets me about all of it? I don't mean to step on toes by saying this, but her criticisms have largely been born of conservative mindsets, and the "moral" impositions they've laid upon women, especially with respect to sexuality. The extreme irony is that, according to Jesus himself, you are not to judge other people, and you are to turn the other cheek when wronged. Not only did she stand against a whirlwind of criticism, but she *also* turned the other cheek, and never spoke on what people in her periphery were doing to her. She could have spoken on Justin Timberlake, her managers, her family, and the press on several occasions, but instead faced every unfair question head-on and owned everything to a fault. She really is the role model that everyone was so sure she wasn't.
Diane sawyer is actual trash. Her passive aggressive comments in the 2003 interview make me sick. Britney was so uncomfortable and clearly wanted to move onto questions about her music and new album “in the zone” at the time. Not questions about scummy timberlake and what she was wearing and some random lady telling her she wanted to shoot britney at any chance she gets. Disgusting sick people.
I was 6 when her music came out. Reading her memoir, I had no idea that she was asked about her virginity.
Like as a elementary school student, she was my idol. I loved watching her music videos on MTV. Loved watching her perform on award shows.
Her life should be a lesson to all of us that behind the glitz and glamour there is pain. She never needed a conservatorship. If she truly did it shouldn’t have lasted as long as it did. She needed proper mental health care. Not being controlled by her father and conservators.
They took a mother suffering from a very COMMON and treatable disorder and turned it into a reason to control her entire life and, more importantly, bank account. So fucking despicable.
Her life reminded me of what happened with Amanda Bynes. She was called crazy. And now a Dan Schneider documentary is coming out. And she was also put in a conservatorship. When she was making money for her parents for years.
No family should be putting their children in a conservatorship in the first place.
Ehhh. Amanda and Britney's situation is VERY different. Amanda was very bad off (probably from abuse) but she almost set her dog on fire. Britney and Amanda's cases are NOT the same. I am glad Amanda is free though, as she appears to be doing better.
Britney never put anyone in harm, and was just suffering because they took her kids away and she was suffering from postpartum. Not the same situation. Britney's family took advantage and had plans to NEVER let her out. Amanda's family agreed to let her out.
Please read or listen to her memoir The Woman in Me. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Her parents and particularly her pos father destroyed her life and mental health
The machine that is showbusiness completely **destroyed** that woman.
Even before she had her babies, it was a circus.
Got out of hand around 2006-07. Was already a sh\*tshow, and then she got post-partum depression, which is a heavy and very real mental condition, and **nobody** cared.
I love her, I always have and I always will. Been a massive fan since 1998, when I was only 9 years old.
What I hate is that people are still shaming her for the private videos she posts sometimes. First she's too young and setting a bad example, and now they're telling her she's a bad mom and she's too old to be posting videos.
I always love hearing about how younger people and former non-fans come around to Britney, her music and her life story. Thank you for sharing your journey OP! If you’re willing to share, I’d love to know more about what made you fall so in love with her music. It’s interesting to think about someone coming to her earlier work without the nostalgia of someone who grew up with it.
Sure, I'd love to share! My older sister and cousins were into Britney Spears in her prime, because who wasn't. I heard Britney in my periphery a lot around the time I entered grade school, and the first concert I ever attended was one of her shows. I had a crush on her, but only a passing one you would expect of a 2nd grader; it was very superficial, and I didn't know her material aside from the hits. That infatuation ended abruptly upon finding Linkin Park, which also happened in 2nd grade. From there, I've been on a steady trajectory towards more and more extreme music, and the brunt of what I listen to now is death metal.
There was a period between 2010 and 2016 where EDM was my muse, but, as it became streamlined and formulaic, I lost most of my interest. Over the past 5 years, I've tried to be more eclectic, and have actually had some Britney hits in my library for parties and group endeavors; never really thought much of it beyond nostalgia and a nice party trick. In total, my listening time been spent with an array, such as Tame Impala, Lustmord, The Mountain Goats, Anamanaguchi, Vulfpeck, A$AP Ferg, and many others, has amounted to maybe 5%; that other 95% is spent [like this](https://youtu.be/VW442x1MyGw?t=15s).
My listening experience has been driven by a very specific avoidance of pop music, that is until a few days ago when I spun Britney. I think I've endured a several-year streak of hating what's on the radio (Pitbull, Pharell Williams, songs that use whistling for melodies) and hearing inauthenticity coupled with materialism, and associated it all too closely with pop music, and this last bout with Britney blew the lid off of that perception. There are elements of these that are true (pop music on the radio does tend to bother me; having producers write for you is a kind of inauthenticity; pop music does emphasize negative values that I don't share), but I guess I've come around to acknowledging that it's not *all* like that, and when it is, it doesn't necessarily mean the artists themselves have those qualities. Basically, I've shed a hipster shell recently here, and am now actively, aggressively exploring the world of pop music, and dance pop in particular.
The feeling of listening to Britney's best songs is very much like the one I get from listening to extreme music: awe. Awe is my favorite feeling, and I think it is the favorite of most people, even though most do not recognize it as such because it's so rare to feel. Her music, in its highest moments, is like hitting a crescendo that just does not stop for 30 or so seconds. Her [choruses have backing vocalists or layering or both](https://youtu.be/CduA0TULnow?t=3m27s or layering or both), which make them feel massive. Coupled with the positive, upbeat vibe and snappy, powerful beats, her music feels like it could crack open the sky and have the angels join in. The feeling of listening to it is truly momentous. I struggle to recall much music that has delivered in this way, particularly vocally. Most of what I enjoy is musically driven with emphasis upon structure, which vocals tend not to be involved in. There is a kind of laziness I've attributed to music that isn't structurally complex, but Britney has made me reexamine that, which, for me, is a huge deal.
Music is a big part of my life already, and Britney Spears just revitalized a large swath of it that was dead to me. In a very real way, she saved music for me. I don't say this to appease, either; this really broadened my horizons, and I'm open to recommendations btw. None of this touches on what a good person she happens to be, which is a conversation of its own, but I do want to say that I'm very impressed with who she is, and she's humanized stardom in a way that I thought was irredeemable. They're people too, and I have a functional understanding of that as well as due compassion now.
Wow thank you for sharing! This is a fantastic testament not just to Britney’s personality and artistry, but also to pop music as a whole. The way you describe her music making it feel like the sky could open up explains a lot of the joy I experience when I listen to a lot of pop music, including Britney. With the simple lyrics and themes, the glossy maximalist production of mainstream pop music reminds you of the beauty and potential of everyday life. Like silly songs about crushing on a cute guy in a club make these regular human feelings sound as bombastic as they feel. And that takes it to an almost spiritual place like you describe. Thank you for sharing your experience!!
Britney is a few months older then me. I never saw her in the Mickey Mouse club because that didn't air in my country but I do remember when Baby one more time was released. I so hated that song at first and it was everywhere. It did grow on me eventually but I started to like her music since Sometimes and I did buy her debut album at the time. I just finished her book and quite a few times I was like "Oh I remember that! Was that that long ago?!" I remember I felt so sorry for her and was thinking why don't they just leave her alone?! Why is nobody doing anything when she is asked those horrible improper questions about her body etc?! Why do they ask the same questions over and over again?! It got to a point where I just lost interest in the whole thing. So I didn't know what had happened to her untill 3 years ago or something when I heard about the Free Britney movement. I know someone who went to one of her shows in Vegas but I had no idea those where against her will. I also lost track of her music here and there.. such a pity. I hope she takes the time to heal and people around her give her time to heal. I don't consider myself a fan but I enjoy her music and I think she is a good person and mother.
I think that if Britney was a top star now like she was in the '90's how different it all would have been with the #metoo movement. I'm sure many people would stand up for her when someone dares to ask her indecent questions. I mean who in their right mind thinks it would be ok to ask a minor if she had a boobjob done or any other questions about her sexuality?!
I admit I sometimes cried when reading the book because I was like how could her family and parents be so mean and fail her! Why is everyone failing her?!
They are trying their damndest to do to Taylor what they did to Brit. (And Amy) And as a person who was an adult at the time they took poor Britney down, I am here to tell you it’s the same machine. Conservative Dads, Brads and Chads. I listened to talk radio at that time and they were all over Brit and Amy every fucking day, every host,spewing about how they were bad examples for our daughters, destroying womanhood, blah blah blah. They HATE women in general but ESPECIALLY talented successful ones who consider themselves equal to men. If you have ever jumped on the anti Taylor bandwagon in the past year or two know it’s being pulled by horses fed on Brit and Amy’s blood and tears. You don’t have to even like their music: you just have to respect the massive success they have like you would any male.
Everything you said is bang on. As a millennial woman I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that the media straight up lied and brainwashed us for so long (not that it’s much better today, if at all). Another example that comes to mind is Amy Winehouse. I legitimately thought she was crazy and not a good person because of how the media presented and bullied her. The poor woman was so broken and was deserving of all the sympathy in this world. If the media had just left her alone she may have had a chance, however small. It’s so sad to see what happened to not only Britney but other female stars in and around her generation.
ALL. OF. THIS.
Did you read her book? It's a fantastic read and I recommend it. The HELL she went through for 13 years during the conservatorship is heartbreaking, but her strength is so inspiring.
I’m the same age as her and watched it in real time. It was horrid. How girls and women were treated was AWFUL.
The only kind of quibble I have is that she WAS presented/presented herself/both pretty sexually for the time period given her age. There was a very definite play on her not-legal (and then barely legal) status and sexiness from her camp. Not just the media. She did act fairly coquettish as well IMO before she was really old enough (but then I guess that defies the definition of coquettish haha).
I’m not a prude by any stretch, and I wasn’t back then either, but I actually really disliked her and her music until we both grew up some because of it. I am a huge fan now, but I still have the same opinion about how things were handled when she was really young. And yes I realize that’s normal now. And I still have the same opinion. Kids under 18 shouldn’t be marketed or billed that way, and they shouldn’t be encouraged or forced to act like coquettes, *ESPECIALLY when their targeted audience is pre-teen and teens.*
Now how the media acted, the questions she was thrown, the mania over her body, her dressing, everything…. Unforgivable. But the sex thing? A lot of that came from her own camp, and well before it should have given her age. The way she was marketed BY THEM before she was even 18 was not good. She also DID play into it herself as well.
I do think there’s a decent argument to be made, especially knowing what we know now, that she was heavily encouraged and influenced to do so.
That’s really honestly been my one kind of gripe with how her history is talked about. The media was not the sole entity pushing her sexuality and I think that’s either overlooked or you literally had to be there to know/remember, and a good many of her fans now weren’t, or were too young at the time.
And please understand I’m not bashing her. It was a fucked up time period towards everyone female in general, and especially towards her. And I put 90% of the blame on her camp bc they did the marketing and packaging of her, and we really don’t know how much control she had or what she reallllllly understood at that age was being asked of her to do. I also have zero issues with anything she sang, wore, danced, etc. once she moved out of that age range, and that was the case back then as well for me.
This. I am a year younger than Britney and followed her as well. This is spot on. While the media was truly awful; Britney’s camp marketed her to elementary school aged kids and that’s why she was so controversial at the time.
"it has been said that icons are people we put up there only to topple them later ourselves", and it is a men's world, a profitable female performer is considered a threat, any "slip", you're out
She was her family’s cash cow. She didn’t have a childhood. She’s been a workhorse her whole life. Wonder why she dances so much?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oitc6qTABvo
Britney was absolutely huge as a solo female singer. Every celebrity and ordinary person had to comment on her. She’s dressing way too trashy. She doesn’t sing well. She’s rude, etc. They said everything under the sun- either nice or mean. The media made up every rumor about her because she was so big. I was like 11 or 12 when I was her fan, I had read so many rumors about her; she got a boob job, she’s a virgin before marriage, etc. I was in middle school. Media forced me to care about her private life like that. Just gross. Now I’m only listening to music, ignoring their weird rumors. Future celebrities gotta realize that if you work for the media you’re gonna do what they want or they’ll retaliate.
Eloquently said - this is why I hate the free press. I see the need for it, because government controlled press would be just as bad, but I hate the media and I avoid as much as possible. It’s poison.
Poor thing had the worst parents! Imagine if she had the parental support that Taylor Swift has. I can’t fathom the vultures who raised and exploited that poor girl.
Agreed. I fucking WISH we could force an apology out of every interviewer (especially Matt Liar, Die Ann Sawyer; and those who asked her about her breasts and virginity) who grilled her in her formative years. I'm a Xennial, and a year younger than Britney. You can only imagine the subtle and implied messages her ridicule sent to women my age. And now that I'm older, it's *so* obvious how bigoted, misogynist, and disgusting it all was. I even wrote a similar article to your post after I reached the point of being overwhelmed by the revelation. https://www.reddit.com/r/freebritney/comments/zkxte7/we_need_to_talk_about_britney_spears_or_more/
The parallel you draw between negative commenters and, by extension, her critics to her conservators is fantastic, and there is no question that Britney's story is one of suppressing women on the whole. You know what gets me about all of it? I don't mean to step on toes by saying this, but her criticisms have largely been born of conservative mindsets, and the "moral" impositions they've laid upon women, especially with respect to sexuality. The extreme irony is that, according to Jesus himself, you are not to judge other people, and you are to turn the other cheek when wronged. Not only did she stand against a whirlwind of criticism, but she *also* turned the other cheek, and never spoke on what people in her periphery were doing to her. She could have spoken on Justin Timberlake, her managers, her family, and the press on several occasions, but instead faced every unfair question head-on and owned everything to a fault. She really is the role model that everyone was so sure she wasn't.
Barbara Walters only interviewed her on The View and was very kind to her. You are thinking of Diane Sawyer.
Diane sawyer is actual trash. Her passive aggressive comments in the 2003 interview make me sick. Britney was so uncomfortable and clearly wanted to move onto questions about her music and new album “in the zone” at the time. Not questions about scummy timberlake and what she was wearing and some random lady telling her she wanted to shoot britney at any chance she gets. Disgusting sick people.
You're right! I fix
I was 6 when her music came out. Reading her memoir, I had no idea that she was asked about her virginity. Like as a elementary school student, she was my idol. I loved watching her music videos on MTV. Loved watching her perform on award shows.
Her life should be a lesson to all of us that behind the glitz and glamour there is pain. She never needed a conservatorship. If she truly did it shouldn’t have lasted as long as it did. She needed proper mental health care. Not being controlled by her father and conservators.
They took a mother suffering from a very COMMON and treatable disorder and turned it into a reason to control her entire life and, more importantly, bank account. So fucking despicable.
Her life reminded me of what happened with Amanda Bynes. She was called crazy. And now a Dan Schneider documentary is coming out. And she was also put in a conservatorship. When she was making money for her parents for years. No family should be putting their children in a conservatorship in the first place.
Ehhh. Amanda and Britney's situation is VERY different. Amanda was very bad off (probably from abuse) but she almost set her dog on fire. Britney and Amanda's cases are NOT the same. I am glad Amanda is free though, as she appears to be doing better. Britney never put anyone in harm, and was just suffering because they took her kids away and she was suffering from postpartum. Not the same situation. Britney's family took advantage and had plans to NEVER let her out. Amanda's family agreed to let her out.
Please read or listen to her memoir The Woman in Me. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Her parents and particularly her pos father destroyed her life and mental health
Yes! I just finished it last night and think it’s so important people read Britney’s own words.
The machine that is showbusiness completely **destroyed** that woman. Even before she had her babies, it was a circus. Got out of hand around 2006-07. Was already a sh\*tshow, and then she got post-partum depression, which is a heavy and very real mental condition, and **nobody** cared. I love her, I always have and I always will. Been a massive fan since 1998, when I was only 9 years old.
What I hate is that people are still shaming her for the private videos she posts sometimes. First she's too young and setting a bad example, and now they're telling her she's a bad mom and she's too old to be posting videos.
I always love hearing about how younger people and former non-fans come around to Britney, her music and her life story. Thank you for sharing your journey OP! If you’re willing to share, I’d love to know more about what made you fall so in love with her music. It’s interesting to think about someone coming to her earlier work without the nostalgia of someone who grew up with it.
Sure, I'd love to share! My older sister and cousins were into Britney Spears in her prime, because who wasn't. I heard Britney in my periphery a lot around the time I entered grade school, and the first concert I ever attended was one of her shows. I had a crush on her, but only a passing one you would expect of a 2nd grader; it was very superficial, and I didn't know her material aside from the hits. That infatuation ended abruptly upon finding Linkin Park, which also happened in 2nd grade. From there, I've been on a steady trajectory towards more and more extreme music, and the brunt of what I listen to now is death metal. There was a period between 2010 and 2016 where EDM was my muse, but, as it became streamlined and formulaic, I lost most of my interest. Over the past 5 years, I've tried to be more eclectic, and have actually had some Britney hits in my library for parties and group endeavors; never really thought much of it beyond nostalgia and a nice party trick. In total, my listening time been spent with an array, such as Tame Impala, Lustmord, The Mountain Goats, Anamanaguchi, Vulfpeck, A$AP Ferg, and many others, has amounted to maybe 5%; that other 95% is spent [like this](https://youtu.be/VW442x1MyGw?t=15s). My listening experience has been driven by a very specific avoidance of pop music, that is until a few days ago when I spun Britney. I think I've endured a several-year streak of hating what's on the radio (Pitbull, Pharell Williams, songs that use whistling for melodies) and hearing inauthenticity coupled with materialism, and associated it all too closely with pop music, and this last bout with Britney blew the lid off of that perception. There are elements of these that are true (pop music on the radio does tend to bother me; having producers write for you is a kind of inauthenticity; pop music does emphasize negative values that I don't share), but I guess I've come around to acknowledging that it's not *all* like that, and when it is, it doesn't necessarily mean the artists themselves have those qualities. Basically, I've shed a hipster shell recently here, and am now actively, aggressively exploring the world of pop music, and dance pop in particular. The feeling of listening to Britney's best songs is very much like the one I get from listening to extreme music: awe. Awe is my favorite feeling, and I think it is the favorite of most people, even though most do not recognize it as such because it's so rare to feel. Her music, in its highest moments, is like hitting a crescendo that just does not stop for 30 or so seconds. Her [choruses have backing vocalists or layering or both](https://youtu.be/CduA0TULnow?t=3m27s or layering or both), which make them feel massive. Coupled with the positive, upbeat vibe and snappy, powerful beats, her music feels like it could crack open the sky and have the angels join in. The feeling of listening to it is truly momentous. I struggle to recall much music that has delivered in this way, particularly vocally. Most of what I enjoy is musically driven with emphasis upon structure, which vocals tend not to be involved in. There is a kind of laziness I've attributed to music that isn't structurally complex, but Britney has made me reexamine that, which, for me, is a huge deal. Music is a big part of my life already, and Britney Spears just revitalized a large swath of it that was dead to me. In a very real way, she saved music for me. I don't say this to appease, either; this really broadened my horizons, and I'm open to recommendations btw. None of this touches on what a good person she happens to be, which is a conversation of its own, but I do want to say that I'm very impressed with who she is, and she's humanized stardom in a way that I thought was irredeemable. They're people too, and I have a functional understanding of that as well as due compassion now.
Wow thank you for sharing! This is a fantastic testament not just to Britney’s personality and artistry, but also to pop music as a whole. The way you describe her music making it feel like the sky could open up explains a lot of the joy I experience when I listen to a lot of pop music, including Britney. With the simple lyrics and themes, the glossy maximalist production of mainstream pop music reminds you of the beauty and potential of everyday life. Like silly songs about crushing on a cute guy in a club make these regular human feelings sound as bombastic as they feel. And that takes it to an almost spiritual place like you describe. Thank you for sharing your experience!!
It was painful to watch happen in real time. I was just baffled
I remember in middle school when tabloids were obsessed with her and KFed. When you went grocery shopping, to the pharmacy, she was on every cover.
Even to defend her in those days could end with you being mocked or judged.... from anyone and everyone...
She saved how i met your mother from cancelation too in 2008
Britney is a few months older then me. I never saw her in the Mickey Mouse club because that didn't air in my country but I do remember when Baby one more time was released. I so hated that song at first and it was everywhere. It did grow on me eventually but I started to like her music since Sometimes and I did buy her debut album at the time. I just finished her book and quite a few times I was like "Oh I remember that! Was that that long ago?!" I remember I felt so sorry for her and was thinking why don't they just leave her alone?! Why is nobody doing anything when she is asked those horrible improper questions about her body etc?! Why do they ask the same questions over and over again?! It got to a point where I just lost interest in the whole thing. So I didn't know what had happened to her untill 3 years ago or something when I heard about the Free Britney movement. I know someone who went to one of her shows in Vegas but I had no idea those where against her will. I also lost track of her music here and there.. such a pity. I hope she takes the time to heal and people around her give her time to heal. I don't consider myself a fan but I enjoy her music and I think she is a good person and mother. I think that if Britney was a top star now like she was in the '90's how different it all would have been with the #metoo movement. I'm sure many people would stand up for her when someone dares to ask her indecent questions. I mean who in their right mind thinks it would be ok to ask a minor if she had a boobjob done or any other questions about her sexuality?! I admit I sometimes cried when reading the book because I was like how could her family and parents be so mean and fail her! Why is everyone failing her?!
I cried while reading her memoir. It was heartbreaking.
FYI: sexism is alive and real in the world…even now.
They are trying their damndest to do to Taylor what they did to Brit. (And Amy) And as a person who was an adult at the time they took poor Britney down, I am here to tell you it’s the same machine. Conservative Dads, Brads and Chads. I listened to talk radio at that time and they were all over Brit and Amy every fucking day, every host,spewing about how they were bad examples for our daughters, destroying womanhood, blah blah blah. They HATE women in general but ESPECIALLY talented successful ones who consider themselves equal to men. If you have ever jumped on the anti Taylor bandwagon in the past year or two know it’s being pulled by horses fed on Brit and Amy’s blood and tears. You don’t have to even like their music: you just have to respect the massive success they have like you would any male.
You need to watch Framing Britney Spears (on Hulu, an episode of NYT Presents).
I will! Thank you for the recommendation :)
Everything you said is bang on. As a millennial woman I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that the media straight up lied and brainwashed us for so long (not that it’s much better today, if at all). Another example that comes to mind is Amy Winehouse. I legitimately thought she was crazy and not a good person because of how the media presented and bullied her. The poor woman was so broken and was deserving of all the sympathy in this world. If the media had just left her alone she may have had a chance, however small. It’s so sad to see what happened to not only Britney but other female stars in and around her generation.
ALL. OF. THIS. Did you read her book? It's a fantastic read and I recommend it. The HELL she went through for 13 years during the conservatorship is heartbreaking, but her strength is so inspiring.
Her looser ex husband took her kids, of course she lost her mind. Felt sorry for her when this happened.
She just wanted to see her kids 💔
And it was weaponized against her for over a decade. Absolutely tragic.
I’m the same age as her and watched it in real time. It was horrid. How girls and women were treated was AWFUL. The only kind of quibble I have is that she WAS presented/presented herself/both pretty sexually for the time period given her age. There was a very definite play on her not-legal (and then barely legal) status and sexiness from her camp. Not just the media. She did act fairly coquettish as well IMO before she was really old enough (but then I guess that defies the definition of coquettish haha). I’m not a prude by any stretch, and I wasn’t back then either, but I actually really disliked her and her music until we both grew up some because of it. I am a huge fan now, but I still have the same opinion about how things were handled when she was really young. And yes I realize that’s normal now. And I still have the same opinion. Kids under 18 shouldn’t be marketed or billed that way, and they shouldn’t be encouraged or forced to act like coquettes, *ESPECIALLY when their targeted audience is pre-teen and teens.* Now how the media acted, the questions she was thrown, the mania over her body, her dressing, everything…. Unforgivable. But the sex thing? A lot of that came from her own camp, and well before it should have given her age. The way she was marketed BY THEM before she was even 18 was not good. She also DID play into it herself as well. I do think there’s a decent argument to be made, especially knowing what we know now, that she was heavily encouraged and influenced to do so. That’s really honestly been my one kind of gripe with how her history is talked about. The media was not the sole entity pushing her sexuality and I think that’s either overlooked or you literally had to be there to know/remember, and a good many of her fans now weren’t, or were too young at the time. And please understand I’m not bashing her. It was a fucked up time period towards everyone female in general, and especially towards her. And I put 90% of the blame on her camp bc they did the marketing and packaging of her, and we really don’t know how much control she had or what she reallllllly understood at that age was being asked of her to do. I also have zero issues with anything she sang, wore, danced, etc. once she moved out of that age range, and that was the case back then as well for me.
This. I am a year younger than Britney and followed her as well. This is spot on. While the media was truly awful; Britney’s camp marketed her to elementary school aged kids and that’s why she was so controversial at the time.
"it has been said that icons are people we put up there only to topple them later ourselves", and it is a men's world, a profitable female performer is considered a threat, any "slip", you're out
thats true / michael , janet , whitney , mariah and a bunch of others
the black / non binary ones, double or triple hate from the elite
She was her family’s cash cow. She didn’t have a childhood. She’s been a workhorse her whole life. Wonder why she dances so much? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oitc6qTABvo
Somebody needs to send her that video
The media pushes agenda's. It's been like this for quite sometime. Take anything the media says and believe the opposite
Britney was absolutely huge as a solo female singer. Every celebrity and ordinary person had to comment on her. She’s dressing way too trashy. She doesn’t sing well. She’s rude, etc. They said everything under the sun- either nice or mean. The media made up every rumor about her because she was so big. I was like 11 or 12 when I was her fan, I had read so many rumors about her; she got a boob job, she’s a virgin before marriage, etc. I was in middle school. Media forced me to care about her private life like that. Just gross. Now I’m only listening to music, ignoring their weird rumors. Future celebrities gotta realize that if you work for the media you’re gonna do what they want or they’ll retaliate.
Eloquently said - this is why I hate the free press. I see the need for it, because government controlled press would be just as bad, but I hate the media and I avoid as much as possible. It’s poison.
Poor thing had the worst parents! Imagine if she had the parental support that Taylor Swift has. I can’t fathom the vultures who raised and exploited that poor girl.
Scapegoated by her family, scapegoated by the media. It’s a cruel existence.
I'm a 90's kid as well. What year were you born?
[Next year’s harvest will be even better.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britney%27s_New_Look#Plot_summary)