In the past several months, the #FreeBritney movement has grown exponentially, shedding light on the singer’s traumatizing conservatorship and the abusive nature of the conservatorship system as a whole. The recent interest in the movement has in part been spurred by Britney’s own (very public) denunciation of her conservatorship, after she issued a direct appeal to the court on June 23rd. During the appeal, Britney Spears read a very emotional statement, in which she explained that she was being exploited and ‘bullied’ by the conservatorship— and specifically by her father.
However, even with this direct appeal from the singer herself, the judge still denied her request to remove her father from the conservatorship, and Spears is still being denied her own autonomy. With that being said, the singer’s statement has now given substance to what began as an internet conspiracy theory— that Britney Spears was in a conservatorship against her will and being controlled by her father. Now that the theory has been substantiated by Britney herself, many other high-profile celebrities have decided to issue their support and stand behind the pop-star. From musicians to politicians, here’s a list of some of Britney’s most high-profile supporters.
Madonna
After hearing Britney’s statement about the traumatic effects of her 13-year conservatorship last month, Madonna took to Instagram to vocalize her support for the #FreeBritney movement. In a recent Instagram story, Madonna posted a photo of herself wearing a Britney Spears shirt, captioning the photo: “Give this woman her life back. Slavery was abolished so long ago! Death to the greedy patriarchy that has been doing this to women for centuries.” She then added, “This is a violation of human rights! Britney we coming to get you out of jail!” The icon of pop later posted an Instagram video with the caption #FreeBritney, just in case anyone was confused about where she stood on the issue.
Miley Cyrus
Back in February, even before Britney Spears vocalized her support for the movement, Miley Cyrus was still publicly denouncing Britney’s conservatorship. During her performance of “Party in the USA” during the NFL’s TikTok Tailgate Superbowl pregame live stream, Miley added a little shoutout for the movement. After singing the line “And a Britney song was on,” the singer exclaimed “We love Britney!” before moving into the chorus. This came only days after the explosive New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears was released, and was a clear indication that Miley stood behind the singer.
Christina Aguilera
Last month, Christian Aguilera spoke out on behalf of Britney Spears, who she co-starred with in The Mickey Mouse Club in the 90s. Aguilera went to Twitter to express her concern for her former costar, and issued a very strong statement about the matter alongside a photo of her and Britney. “These past few days I’ve been thinking about Britney and everything she is going through,” Aguilera tweeted. “It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish.” Aguilera isn’t the only Mickey Mouse Club co-star that has supported the singer. And recently, Justin Timberlake himself has publicly supported Britney. I guess that he’s done ‘crying a river’ over her?
Iggy Azalea
One of the most fascinating revelations that have emerged about Britney’s conservatorship recently, came out of the mouth of rapper Iggy Azalea, who claimed that Britney’s father made her sign an NDA before her performance. The rapper took to Twitter to issue her support for the singer, and backed up her claims with her own experiences working with Britney and her father. “During the time we worked together in 2015, I personally witnessed the same behavior Britney detailed in regards to her father last week and I just want to back her up & tell the world that: She is not exaggerating or lying,” Azalea wrote. “I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre & trivial things: like how many sodas she was allowed to drink. Why is that even necessary.” Azalea’s statement substantiated Britney’s allegations of abuse, shedding light on the inner workings of the highly-secretive conservatorship.
Ted Cruz?
Somehow, the only bipartisan issue in US politics right now seems to be the #FreeBritney movement, and politicians from both sides of the aisle have issued their support for the singer. One of the most interesting and unequivocal supporters of the movement is Senator Ted Cruz himself, who tweeted #FreeBritney and dedicated an entire episode of his podcast to the conservatorship. “I am squarely and unequivocally in the camp of #FreeBritney,” he stated, joining politicians on both sides of the aisle who have spoken out against both the singer’s conservatorship and the conservatorship system as a whole.
So while Britney Spears may have lost her latest court bid, the movement shows no sign of slowing down. Britney Spears’ conservatorship is somehow the only issue that everyone can agree on, and the singer has garnered unflinching public support in recent months. While Britney’s future is still uncertain, she is no longer fighting this battle alone. Instead, she is fighting it with thousands of fans, politicians, celebrities and Madonna on her team.
