[imagesource: Coleman-Rayner]

When Britney Spears’ socials went dark in 2017, podcasters Tess Barker and Barbara Gray of Britney’s Gram started the #FreeBritney movement.

What followed was something that Rolling Stone described as the “a pop-music version of Watergate” that would resurface on and off for the next few years.

On April 22, 2019, around 50 Britney fans gathered with signs, merch, and boomboxes to tell reporters that they were concerned about her health and her long-running conservatorship, overseen by her father Jamie Spears.

Britney then joined the movement, stating in court that she was perfectly capable of handling her own affairs.

That kind of worked out. Jamie Spears stepped down as her conservator, but he was replaced by Britney’s “care manager”, Jodi Montgomery.

Now she’s back in court and the #FreeBritney movement is alive and well again, with supporters saying that they will protest outside the Los Angeles court where Britney is expected to appear, remotely, today (July 22, 2020).

BBC with more:

In March 2019, her attorney, Andrew Wallet, resigned from his role as co-conservator, saying: “Substantial detriment, irreparable harm and immediate danger will result to the conservatee and her estate if the relief requested herein is not granted on an ex parte basis.”

Let’s look into why the courts thought Britney needed a conservator in the first place:

Spears began behaving erratically in 2007 after her divorce from Kevin Federline was finalised and she lost custody of their two children.

Many of her alleged mental breakdowns took place in the public eye – she made headlines for shaving her head and was photographed hitting a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella – and went to rehab facilities several times.

That’ll do it.

#FreeBritney campaigners are now asking the White House to end her conservatorship – a petition submitted this month has over 125,000 signatures. Fans have rallied at court hearings with #FreeBritney signs and the slogan has been trending on social media again.

To her credit, Britney has been busy while her father handled her finances, releasing three albums, holding a Las Vegas residency, and appearing on television a few times.

She has also apparently taken up interpretive dance while in quarantine:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Rihanna …… your music makes me FEEL like I’ve never felt before 💕⭐️🎀🌸🌸😉 !!!! “Never Ending” is my favorite song off of the ANTI album ….. I feel like I’m flying with this song 💃🏼 …… thank you 💋💋💋 !!!

A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears) on Jul 14, 2020 at 4:43pm PDT

Not sure how I feel about that.

She has been telling fans that she’s fine and healthy, posting videos like the one above on Instagram.

Then again, in April, she revealed that she had accidentally burned down her home gym.

Britney herself has asked people not to believe everything that they read on social media.

Just for fun, you should look into the weird connection between Britney and Tiger King, though.

Eh, why not?

#FreeBritney.

[source:bbc]