Having been marketed as a virginal American sweetheart from her mid-teens, Spears was compelled to offer proof of her wholesome family ethos throughout her early career. Opinion: Britney fans angry at Justin Timberlake have a point (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images) VALERIE MACON/AFP/AFP via Getty Images Singer Britney Spears attends the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Apin Beverly Hills, California. As the media storm around Meghan Markle’s father has recently demonstrated, public efforts to “reconnect” tend to garner support, or at the very least, attention. Though familial estrangement appears to be on the rise, cutting off family members still carries immense shame - and was far more taboo just a decade or two ago. The fact that Jamie was able to reenter and quickly dominate Spears’ life with apparently minimal difficulty shouldn’t surprise us. Positioned as a doting father, Jamie’s depiction of his daughter as incompetent was accepted despite his lack of qualifications, and the fact that his colossal salary and those of his attorneys were allegedly funded by Spears’ own exceptionally demanding work. She recounts how Jamie - who she describes as an abusive, previously bankrupt alcoholic who’d been absent from her life for years - was deemed more capable of running her life than she was. “Anyone off the street would have been better,” she writes. Once Spears realized her conservatorship was inevitable, she begged the court not to appoint her father to oversee it. But her central problem of being gaslit into submission was embedded in hyper-normalized and potentially dangerous ideals. The specifics of Spears’ situation were bizarre. Empowered by California law to govern the most prosaic, minute aspects of her life and work, he subjected her to a regime so punishing that she writes: “I started to wonder if they did want to kill me.” Her mother, meanwhile, rode the crest of her public humiliation - and stratospheric fame - to promote her own book. In Spears’ chilling account, she says her father exploited that period of unrest to secure his position as conservator of her person and estate for 13 years. ![]() REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo Mario Anzuoni/Reutersīritney Spears says she’s ‘roaring back to life’ in her new memoir Unfortunately, that’s only half the battle.įILE PHOTO: Britney Spears poses at the premiere of "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 22, 2019. Either way, we have a language for mental health crises that didn’t exist then, plus (slightly) more empathy for famous young women. By Spears’ own admission, her behavior was concerning, but she remains adamant that it didn’t remotely merit what followed. We’d like to think that nowadays, the public and the media would have a more nuanced, sympathetic response (though for the record, “If Britney survived 2007…” merch is still on sale). The ridicule that met Spears’ 2007 “meltdown” has since been reevaluated. Like a monster who’d been lurking in the shadows, Jamie reappeared. In 2007, a bereavement, a vicious custody battle and the paparazzi’s relentless hounding saw her start to unravel. In 1997, at 15, she was signed by Jive Records and swiftly commodified as a pop superstar espousing hollow family values. Born in 1981, she describes her childhood in Kentwood, Louisiana trying to avoid her “ mean, apathetic, and cold” father Jamie, and waiting tables from 8 years old between efforts to break into show business. OK! editors chose not to use the photographs taken during the shoot for their article, instead just showing pictures of the troubled pop star arriving for the session and leaving, wearing items hired for the ill-fated interview.Spears’ own story is a howl of rage that appears more justified with every chapter. But what we experienced was a young girl who is in need of help." Smith concludes his OK! report by stating, "We'd love to have our old Britney back. Spears then donned a Zac Posen gown for the photoshoot portion of the OK! session, but appeared "disorientated" and "erratic" after one of many toilet breaks with Funk.Īfter a brief photo session, the Toxic singer suddenly stormed off, taking the Vera Wang dress she had just changed into and a collection of jewellery and accessories. Smith reports, "The hair and make-up people were ordered out so that Brit's friends could do the job, using the equipment brought in by the pros."įunk later took over as the pop star's stylist after complaining the designer outfits chosen by OK! weren't sexy enough.Īfter settling down for the interview in a pink Alisha Levine dress, Spears quickly opted to break for lunch - where she dined on fried chicken and used the dress to wipe her hands.
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