Speaking about her conservatorship publicly for the first time yesterday, Britney Spears sent shockwaves around the world. Speaking at Los Angeles Superior Court, she claimed the arrangement - her father was granted control of her affairs in 2008 - is 'abusive' and that she wants her dad to go to jail. The mum-of-two also said she has been denied the right to have more children as she has an IUD fitted, and claimed she was put on lithium against her wishes. The revelations were truly shocking, and her allegations are much, much worse than what most people - even the most ardent Free Britney supporters - were expecting.
#FreeBritney started trending on Twitter, as people sent their well wishes and support to the star. Popstars Halsey and Mariah Carey led the famous fans, with Halsey writing on Twitter, 'Bless Britney and I hope with my whole heart she is awarded freedom from this abusive system. She deserves it more than anything. I admire her courage speaking up for herself today.' Mariah simply wrote, 'We love you Britney!!! Stay strong.'
There have also been other statements following the news, from people you perhaps wouldn't expect: Perez Hilton and Justin Timberlake. Perez received a huge amount of backlash yesterday for tweeting, 'It's official! #BritneySpears has DEMANDED that her conservatorship end. And that it end NOW. And she's impassioned! Speaking so eloquent about the mistreatment that she claims to have received from her father and her team. Wow. Wow. Wow. #FreeBritney.' Quickly, people reminded Perez that he was one of the main culprits in the continuing harassment of the star - a meme was even dragged out that he posted on his website in 2008 of a photo of Heath Ledger, who had recently died, saying: 'Why couldn't it be Britney.' This morning, Perez said in an interview on Sky that he takes 'full accountability' for how he treated Britney, adding that 'I can't say I was just young and dumb'. While people can, and do, change - it seems a bit insincere from Perez, when he's saying it on TV, in an interview he's probably being paid for, when he was one of the ringleaders in the global mistreatment of the star, all for his own gain.
One of the other stars to publicly show their support was Justin Timberlake, Britney's ex-boyfriend, which has prompted more. Following his tweets, people were quick to mention how Justin treated her following their split, as he indirectly accused her of cheating - hiring a lookalike actress in his Cry Me A River music video - to help his solo career. 'Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what's happening to her is just not right,' Justin tweeted. 'No woman should ever be restricted from making decisions about her own body No one should EVER be held against their will… or ever have to ask permission to access everything they've worked so hard for... We hope the courts, and her family make this right and let her live however she wants to live.'
Justin apologised for his behaviour towards Britney earlier this year, but as one person replied, maybe he should have kept quiet on this occasion. 'you kinda owe her. you two together made you both household names, then you did her dirty and contributed to what happened to her,' they wrote. 'don’t know if I would speak on this if I were in your shoes....'
Sympathy and public support is a welcome first step on occasions like this. But true support needs to go further: it needs to begin with earnest self reflection, private outreach and work toward rectification. Otherwise, it's all a bit empty, no?
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