Britney Spears appears to have directly addressed the The New York Times-produced unauthorised documentary Framing Britney Spears. The film, released in February, sparked conversations about both the public and media's toxic treatment of women celebrities and more support for the #FreeBritney movement: the fight to end her father Jamie Spears' 13-year conservatorship over her.
In an Instagram post she shared on March 31, Spears dances Aerosmith’s “Crazy,” and explains in the caption that that she has felt that her life has been “speculated, watched, and judged.”
"I've always been so judged... insulted... and embarrassed by the media... and I still am till this day 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼," she wrote.
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Britney continued on to say that while she didn't actually watch the documentary, “I was embarrassed by the light they put me in … I cried for two weeks and well … I still cry sometimes! [...] Every day dancing brings me joy !!! I’m not here to be perfect … perfect is boring … I’m here to pass on kindness."
This is the first time that Britney has acknowledged the buzzy film. Many speculated that she had indirectly mentioned it in an Instagram post a few days after the documentary premiered, in which she did posted a clip from a performance of “Toxic” with the caption, “Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person’s life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens!”
Because Britney has mostly kept quiet thus far about the growing fervour for the #FreeBritney movement and her legal situation (her ongoing litigation would likely bar her from doing so), the public and fans closely follow and scrutinise her social media posts. One such post came on March 24, when Britney shared a carousel of photos depicting "the women that have truly inspired my life." Sharon Stone, the first woman pictured, recently shared on The Kelly Clarkson Show that Britney reached out to her during one of her most difficult periods, in February 2007.
"Britney wrote to me a very long and important, poignant letter during a very difficult time in her life, about the time when people would recognise her for when she shaved her head, wanting me to help her," Stone said. She didn't go into detail but she added that she was going through a dark time as well, and said that being overly controlled and taken advantage of is a problem that most women in Hollywood face.
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"The true fact of it is, it's very hard to be a very successful woman and not have everyone controlling you, taking your finances and handling you," she said. "I'm sure all of the young stars get handled. [...] There is a huge breaking point, and there's a point where you get broken."
She continued: "The thing with Britney Spears is so out of control and so awful. And certainly, I can say it's been very out of control and very awful more than once in my life, and I have certainly had it. And it's very complicated to take control of your life. It's very hard to get control of your finances."
Refinery29 has reached out to Spears for comment.