#freeBritney

[BlueStarLizzard]

Not exactly normal APS fare, but I thought I'd see what you guys think of this one. For the record, I am not a Britney Spears fan and I always knew she (like all the other post Disney stars) was heavily managed from a young age. However, this is downright disturbing if true:

From Facebook:

PSA on Britney Spears and the #FreeBritney movement for anyone that needs or wants more information on what is going on with her. It’s a *expletive deleted*ing rabbit hole, so buckle up.
A little backstory first. Britney was a child star starting at the age of 4 years old on Broadway, and then worked her way to the Mickey Mouse Club, and eventually the solo career we know today. Her career has been on autopilot her entire life. If you look back at her music, she’s been telling everyone for years she’s too controlled and treated as a product if you listen to the lyrics of most of her hits. Examples include: Lucky, Overprotected, My Perogative, Circus, Piece of Me and Gimme More. Her music videos, social media posts, tour props and photoshoots regularly show her in a cage or in chains. If anyone has ever seen videos of her when she was younger, you’d know her REAL singing voice is very similar to Christina Aguilera’s. Her record label didn’t like it, as they were both on the Mickey Mouse Club and about to release their debut albums at the same time. So they had her voice retrained to sing in the baby voice we all know today because they believed it to be more iconic and would create a brand and career for her instead of her real voice. It’s unhealthy, and it’s been destroying her voice over the years, thus why she is known for lip syncing. She wanted to make an acoustic type pop album in 2006 titled Original Doll and reinvent herself using her real voice. The album was shelved and cancelled once her label realized she would be singing in her real voice. She isn’t allowed to sing live because she will either fail terribly, or she’ll have to sing in her deep voice that she isn’t known for. Her entire career she has been treated like a product meant to sell.
Now, for the real tea.
Everyone remembers the 2007 meltdown. Everyone. Leading up the meltdown Britney was going thru a public divorce, had two children under the age of 2 at the time and was VERY much the focus of the public. We all saw her on every magazine cover. We all also saw the photo of her with one of her kids on her lap while driving. Go on YouTube once and look up ‘Britney Spears paparazzi’. You’ll watch her be chased and followed by hundreds of them, even trying to get into a public restroom to photograph her, videotaping her in tears asking them to leave her alone, and even filming her thru the windows of an ambulance while she was naked being taken away for her final mental health hold.
After the public meltdown, shaving her head, locking herself in her home with her children, speaking in a british accent on regular basis, wearing the imfamous pink wig everywhere, and shopping naked, she was hospitalized twice. After the hospitalization, her father petitioned the courts to be a TEMPORARY conservator to her until she was mentally stable and for only one years time. 2 months after her hospitalization she did a guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother. 6 months after her hospitalization, she drops the Womanizer video and starts to promote her new album Circus with its worldwide tour that grossed $131.8 million. If she’s so unwell, why did she start working right away?
Her father after one year petitioned the courts for the conservatorship to become permanent due to her ALLEGEDLY having EARLY ONSET DEMENTIA in her TWENTIES. It passed and has been that way ever since. For 12 years to be exact.
Now for everyone that doesn’t understand what that means let me break it down for you.
Britney Spears is a now 38 year old woman who is not allowed to do the following without her fathers permission or he can legally lock her up in a mental health facility:
• drive a car
• vote
• get married
• have children
• spend HER OWN MONEY
• see how her money is being spent
• see her children (she has 30% custody of both of her boys due to her dad assaulting one of her sons)
• leave her home
• hire her own lawyer
• have any control over her career
• speak about the conservatorship publicly
• do interviews that aren’t scripted and all final cuts are approved by her father as well
• use a cell phone without being monitored
• use social media unmonitored
• contact ANYONE without being monitored or having them extremely vetted. (Iggy Azalea allegedly had her house searched for drugs top to bottom when they collaborated on a song together)
• go shopping
• go for a walk
• get Starbucks
A conservatorship is meant for people with mental health issues or decaying health. Most likely grandparents or people with actual dementia etc. They are meant for people who literally cannot take care of themselves. If she is so unwell that she isn’t mentally capable of doing anything for herself, why is she still working? Since the conservatorship began 12 years ago she has:
• released 4 albums
• done 3 worldwide tours
• did a FOUR-year Vegas residency
• was a full time judge on X-Factor
• released multiple perfumes and a lingerie line
• made $138 MILLION DOLLARS or so A YEAR
In January of last year, Britney was placed in a mental health facility for 3 months after being seen driving her car to In-N-Out with her boyfriend without permission and for refusing to take the sedating medications her father has doctors prescribing her to keep her under control. She testified to a judge in documents that she was held there against her will by her father. After it was leaked to the press that she was there against her will, the Free Britney movement picked up speed causing a judge to open an investigation into the impact and legality her conservatorship has on her life. Britney’s mother Lynn was also liking and commenting on Free Britney posts saying she agrees that Britney is trapped by her father. Britney’s team had Twitter disable the Free Britney hashtag, and regularly threatens any celebrity that speaks out using the hashtag with a lawsuit if they don’t remove their support for the movement. She was seen shortly after leaving a hotel thru the front door (99% of celebrities park underground to avoid paparazzi unless they WANT to be photographed) stumbling while carrying her shoes, and out of it. Her team used that moment to justify to the public that she needs this conservatorship. She is not allowed to have any say in the hiring or firing of anyone on her team. Every year she pays $1.1 million dollars in fees for the conservatorship to continue, including paying her father a solid $100k+ salary and paying a lawyer she isn’t allowed to choose. She is allowed an allowance of around $1,500 a week for bills, shopping and essentials. Her net worth is $250 million.
So, when everyone sees her on Instagram walking up and down her hallways like it’s a fashion show. That’s all she is allowed to do. She has NEVER had control over her life. I don’t care if you personally like her or her music, NO ONE DESERVES THIS. All this woman wants is to see her children, make the music she wants to make, and go get a frappuccino in her car. She is a light of sunshine in this world, and we must protect her at all costs. So please, do not make fun of her, support the Free Britney movement, and send good vibes her way. She has a court date this month to review the conservatorship and decide if it is abusive or will continue to be in place. There are so many details to this that i left out that would make this post entirely much longer than it is, but a simple search will show you what else is out there. Spread this far and wide. ❤️ Free Britney 

and from Buisness Insider:
https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-britney-spears-conservatorship-freebritney-movement-2020-2#to-end-the-conservatorship-spears-needs-to-prove-she-doesnt-need-it-to-get-through-life-16

I do find it really questionable that a woman that is supposedly so mentally ill could continue to accomplish so much or would be allowed to be given even $1,200 for personal expenses (why would she have personal expenses? If she can't be trusted to drive somewhere on her own with her boyfriend, why is she trusted to do her own grocery shopping?)

I also think it's sad they didn't let her use her actual voice. If it was anything like Aguilera's (who I also hate, but damn she has a voice) it's a damn shame.

[Viking]

I´ve read a bit about this actually, and it sure as hell stinks. Yeah, she has behaved a bit odd, but who wouldn´t considering the circumstances she has grown up in and was exposed to 24/7, always in the spotlight, always having photographers vultures circling around her.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I´ve read a bit about this actually, and it sure as hell stinks. Yeah, she has behaved a bit odd, but who wouldn´t considering the circumstances she has grown up in and was exposed to 24/7, always in the spotlight, always having photographers vultures circling around her.

Have you read anything about any sort of real third party ordered to review the situation?

It seems odd to me how easily the father has maintained control over her, her brand and her fortune. You'd think there would be some sort of documentation beyond what the conservators have provided in order to keep control of her like that, especially given how much money is involved.

[Viking]

Have you read anything about any sort of real third party ordered to review the situation?

It seems odd to me how easily the father has maintained control over her, her brand and her fortune. You'd think there would be some sort of documentation beyond what the conservators have provided in order to keep control of her like that, especially given how much money is involved.

Not that I can remember, sorry. Just bits and pieces in various threads over at reddit and probably elsewhere.

[French G.]

The disney TV thing must be a sick thing close to Epstein or the NXVIM cult level of sick. She is not the only child star from there that is AFU.

[Viking]

The disney TV thing must be a sick thing close to Epstein or the NXVIM cult level of sick. She is not the only child star from there that is AFU.

Same with Nickelodeon. One of the producers there seems to have a fetish for young girls´ feet. And also being Biden-levels of grabbiness and touching, or worse.

[bedlamite]

[230RN]

I was headed where Viking went.

I find it amazing that with all that money involved, no attorney or other party has attempted to penetrate the bulwarks around her.

On the other hand, maybe she's a victim of the Patti Hearst "Stockholm Syndrome" and feels comfortable being micromanaged.

On the third hand, general observation on my part indicates that it is fairly easy for a family member to gain legal control of a person with a few odd quirks and peccadillos.  It would seem to often be a matter of erring on the side of caution in granting control of the oddball person's life.

On the fourth hand, I was going to snark a bit about how there are stories half as long and twice as sad as Spears' one.

And I'm no expert on it, but I wonder how "Coogan's Law" or its later revisions might fit in this case, though she's not at present a "child actor."

Terry, 230RN

REFs ("Coogan's Law" and Coogan as Uncle Fester):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Child_Actor%27s_Bill

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/28/d9/bb/28d9bb203794f304e4af2b0ce998eb7e.jpg

[BlueStarLizzard]

I was also thinking in terms of some pretty significant abuse. She wasn't much more than a baby when she started out is show business. She was only 17 at the time her first "adult" album came out, for which her voice was retrained (supposedly to the point of damage) and the first single was "Baby one more time"
https://youtu.be/C-u5WLJ9Yk4

Can you imagine the creeps brought out by being an international sex symbol at 17 and being expected to control an empire at age 18 after being micromanaged your whole life?
Of course she hasn't fought Daddy too hard and what kind of father let's his 17 year old daughter perform that?

And to compare, Aguilara's first single, also released in '99 and who happens to be a year older than Britney, is Genie in a Bottle. Still sexy, but not nearly as demeaning.
https://youtu.be/kIDWgqDBNXA

[230RN]

I watched "one more time," did not think it was very sexy.  The choreography was pretty good, though.

Physical abuse?  Was that a guess/conjecture or is there evidence of it?

I did do an image search, and I thought a lot of her pix showed smiles on her lips, but not in her eyes.  Just struck me that way.

I don't know... "stories half as long and twice as sad" sticks in my mind about this whole thread.

I'm done with it.

[HankB]

Even though she seems to be "half a bubble off plumb" those restrictions are absurd for someone who isn't wearing a strait jacket in a padded room.

The biggest single red flag? Not being allowed to hire her own lawyer.

Denial of any opportunity for legal representation is odious.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I watched "one more time," did not think it was very sexy.  The choreography was pretty good, though.

Physical abuse?  Was that a guess/conjecture or is there evidence of it?

I did do an image search, and I thought a lot of her pix showed smiles on her lips, but not in her eyes.  Just struck me that way.

I don't know... "stories half as long and twice as sad" sticks in my mind about this whole thread.

I'm done with it.

I doubt there has ever been physical abuse. Or at least nothing that would leave a mark.

But psychological abuse? I can see that easily being the case.

[MechAg94]

I was also thinking in terms of some pretty significant abuse. She wasn't much more than a baby when she started out is show business. She was only 17 at the time her first "adult" album came out, for which her voice was retrained (supposedly to the point of damage) and the first single was "Baby one more time"
https://youtu.be/C-u5WLJ9Yk4

Can you imagine the creeps brought out by being an international sex symbol at 17 and being expected to control an empire at age 18 after being micromanaged your whole life?
Of course she hasn't fought Daddy too hard and what kind of father let's his 17 year old daughter perform that?

And to compare, Aguilara's first single, also released in '99 and who happens to be a year older than Britney, is Genie in a Bottle. Still sexy, but not nearly as demeaning.
https://youtu.be/kIDWgqDBNXA

I thought she was 16 when some of those music videos came out, but I never followed her too much. 

[BlueStarLizzard]

I thought she was 16 when some of those music videos came out, but I never followed her too much.  

She may have been. The first album wasn't released until January of 1999 and she was born in December of 1981.

This information comes following a late night Wiki search. I'm only a few years younger and 1999 was the year I started 9th grade. I avoided Britney (and the rest of the pop idiots of the time) as much as I could. Unfortunately, it was EVERYWHERE. 

[Perd Hapley]

She may have been. The first album wasn't released until January of 1999 and she was born in December of 1981.

This information comes following a late night Wiki search. I'm only a few years younger and 1999 was the year I started 9th grade. I avoided Britney (and the rest of the pop idiots of the time) as much as I could. Unfortunately, it was EVERYWHERE. 

One of our customers is really happy that his daughter is a Billie Eilish fan. Not so much because he likes the music, but because Eilish isn't doing the sex kitten Madonna-wannabe thing.

[230RN]

One of our customers is really happy that his daughter is a Billie Eilish fan. Not so much because he likes the music, but because Eilish isn't doing the sex kitten Madonna-wannabe thing.

But she really wants to and she isn't being allowed to... right?



Abuse ! Abuse !

 

Me: "I'm done with this one."  I  lied.

Terry, 230RN

[BlueStarLizzard]

One of our customers is really happy that his daughter is a Billie Eilish fan. Not so much because he likes the music, but because Eilish isn't doing the sex kitten Madonna-wannabe thing.

I didn't mind the "sexy" (nor did my parents) It's shitty music, especially too someone who was/is all about that grunge, rock, punk and alternative.

However, my adult perspective on Baby Do It Again preformed by a 17 year old is, well, change her outfit (and not even by that much) and it could be a featured film on FetLife...   That's fine for adults playing bedroom games. Not really the kind of attitude you want to encourage for teenage girls.

At least Genie in a Bottle makes the singer the one who is sexually empowered and saying to the boy "You got to woo me right to get anything".

[French G.]

One of our customers is really happy that his daughter is a Billie Eilish fan. Not so much because he likes the music, but because Eilish isn't doing the sex kitten Madonna-wannabe thing.

I discourage that in my daughter. The singer is nuttier than a fruitcake and the lyrics are way too adult for someone who was 17 at the time. She might make Miley Cyrus look normal in time. Also, Cyrus might be normal in time, hell of a voice if you can get past her antics.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Didn't even know who that was, so I looked it up.

It's pretty meh. Just another Dido type. Not bad, but not particularly original, either.

I guess I should point out that my favorite girly singer type was Poe, which started when I was in 6th grade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrygAv93Ick

  Probably explains more than I want to admit.