Britney Jean Spears. A young teenage girl who entered a whirlwind we call the music industry, at the age of fifteen and took it by storm. Selling over 100 million records worldwide, she claimed the title of a pop legend, someone who impacted music in an inexpressible way. A born performer, she raised the bar exceedingly high for everyone in the industry. Britney’s style, confidence and suave has empowered women across the world to express themselves freely, without anyone or anything holding them back. Without her influence, the female music scene in present times would be vastly different and unimaginable. She’s an icon, someone who cannot be forgotten. A billion dollar business, eight Grammy Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as an adoring fan base, it’s hers. All her fame and success ended up in her becoming America’s sweetheart, their prized national sensation. However behind the bright smile and the twinkling eyes, lay a woman whose heart ached and whose face was streaked with glistening tears.
Britney's life is not all light as one would expect. The documentary ‘Britney vs Spears’ that debuted on Netflix dives deep into her life, looking past the mask she bravely wore for the world; revealing the dark side of fame and how it traumatically affected her life. After more than a decade, the truth is finally out in the open.
Kevin Federline and Britney Spears fell in love. They got married, had two children but were divorced two years later. The divorce was an extremely difficult time for the pop star since she had no one to trust. To add to her pain, the unsympathetic paparazzi chased her everywhere she went. It reached to the extreme extent of the paparazzi sitting outside her house, waiting for the opportunity to pounce on her. Overwhelmed, Britney started taking Adderall. Adderall is a drug that enhances the amount of dopamine inside a person’s brain. Dopamine is a chemical found naturally in human bodies. It is released by the brain when you do things that make you feel good or pleasured. In 2007 it became clearer than ever that Britney needed help. The media plastered her face on tabloids giving mocking headlines such as ‘meltdown’ and ‘rock bottom’. As the court battle between Britney and her ex-husband continued regarding the custody of their two kids, a saddening incident occurred.
One day at home, Britney locked herself in a bathroom and refused to turn over her children. The police were called and the media flooded her house, making Britney feel like she was caged. After this desperate attempt of hers to keep her beloved children, she was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold. As she was there against her will, her father Jamie Spears appealed to the court for a change in her life.
On February 1, 2008, the judge placed her under a temporary conservatorship. A conservatorship is a legal process for taking someone’s ability to make their own decisions away from them and giving the right to make those decisions to a third party, aka the conservator. The conservatee can't decide anything related to their healthcare, treatments including drugs and they lose the right to decide who they will visit and communicate with. The conservatee’s money is no longer in their control, the control goes to the conservator. In Britney’s case her dad got to make all these decisions for her, without her consent despite her being an adult. Furthermore, Britney was deprived of her five days notice regarding the conservatorship which by law, she was supposed to receive. She made several attempts to break free and make her voice heard. She kept being silenced but she did not give up and fought harder each day.
2019 was a turning point in her life. She was supposed to do another tour in Vegas. But she mustered up the courage and told the management that she would not do it. In retaliation, she was placed in a mental health facility against her will and was being forced to take medication that she did not want. This was when her fans noticed something was wrong. She uploaded videos on TikTok that fans interpreted as a cry for help. The comments of her TikToks were flooded with concern such as “She keeps looking off to the side like someone is making sure she’s on point, at one point even looks terrified.” Her fans' unsettlement continued to grow. At first the matter was not given too much thought. That was until one fan commented “Britney wear YELLOW if you are being held captive and PURPLE if you don’t feel safe.” To everyone’s shock, in her next upload, she wore a yellow coloured top. In the video in which she wore yellow, various users commented asking her to wear red in her next video if she was feeling unsafe. On 11th May, she uploaded another video in which she wore red. On 21st may she was seen clothed in yellow once more. On 29th May she word red again. This incident was the tip of the iceberg for her fans and it tipped them off to start a movement for their idol. In 2019, a Free Britney movement started and spread like wildfire to every corner of the earth. Millions of fans raised their voices in protest against the inhuman treatment that Britney had been getting.
June 23, 2021. The day of Britney's court hearing. A mob of supporters stood outside the courtroom, chanting in support of the pop star. Standing in front of a judge, Britney took a deep breath and said it all, everything that she had had inside her for thirteen years. “I have a lot to say so bear with me. I don't think I was heard on any level when I came to court the last time. The people who did that to me should not be able to walk away that easily, my own management could sue me if I didn't follow through with the tour. It was very threatening and scary and I couldn't even get my own attorney so out of fear I did the tour. After I've lied and told the whole world I'm okay and happy, it's a lie. I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry, it's insane. And I'm depressed. I cry every day. My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship should be in jail. I just want my life back. It's been 13 years and it's enough. I feel ganged up on and I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone. And I'm tired of feeling alone. I deserve to have the same rights as everybody does, that's all I wanted to say.”
After thirteen long years, Britney has received what she wanted. Her needs have finally been fulfilled. Her voice has finally been heard. On July 6, Sam Ingham resigned as her court-appointed attorney. On July 14th, Matthew Rosengart became her new attorney immediately filing for the removal of Jamie Spears as her conservator. On September 7th, Jamie Spears formally asked the court to be removed from his role as conservator and recommended the conservatorship be terminated. Now, the court will decide if the conservatorship should be terminated. This is one huge step towards her freedom.
The resilience Britney has shown as she witnessed her human rights being stripped away from her is outstanding. She was forbidden from expressing her thoughts, and was restricted to be her true self for thirteen whole years. But even in utter despair, in a situation that gave no hope, she did not give up even for a second. Brave at heart, she fought each battle that life threw at her. Britney has been fighting for so long, never letting the oppressors win. Her bravery shows us all that no matter how bad the situation seems, it always gets better. In the words of a wise person, “She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures or doubts but, because she continued despite them.”
Comments
Post a Comment