The Framing Britney Spears documentary, presented by the New York Times and Hulu, has forced the #FreeBritney movement into hyperdrive following its release on Feb. 5—and as a result of its deep dive into Spears’ multi-decade career, the women of Hollywood are calling for the pop star to be released from her conservatorship and demanding a string of fellow famous faces, namely Justin Timberlake, apologise for their treatment of the young star.
While Spears herself took no part in the project, the latest installment of the NYT Presents series follows the pop sensation’s life, focusing on her late-2007s breakdown, and the people around her that watched it unfold, and seemingly pushed the public narrative against her.
The documentary featured brand new interviews with Spears’ ex-assistant Felicia Culotta, the paparazzi who was famously hit by the entertainer’s umbrella in 2007, and Britney’s Gram podcast hosts Tess Barker and Barbara Grey, who have been behind the fan-driven push to restore the singer’s autonomy.
Of the revealing footage, Timberlake is perhaps receiving the most backlash online, with many demanding the former *NSYNC member apologise for the role he played in shaping Spears’ image following their 2002 breakup.
“After watching this Britney Spears doc, I’m realising (for the millionth time) how sh*tty Justin Timberlake has been towards women,” Grammy-nominated performer Chika tweeted. “And like… nobody says sh*t.”
While the documentary focuses on Spears’ ongoing conservatorship, the tumultuous legal battle with her father Jamies Spears, and the #FreeBritney movement, it also delves into how Timberlake pushed the narrative that the singer had cheated on him—claims that have never been proven.
“The way that people treated her, to be very high school about it, was like she was the school slut and he was the quarterback,” NYT critic-at-large Wesley Morris said in the documentary.
Morris goes on to suggest that Timberlake used his music video “Cry Me A River” to place further blame on Spears and cast him as the victim, only to later appear on a post-breakup radio interview where he bragged about having sex with her, followed up by another alleged diss track, “What Goes Around…Comes Around”, which was released four years post-breakup at the time Spears was publicly dealing with her second divorce and sobriety.
The documentary caught the attention of Sarah Jessica Parker, who tweeted “#FreeBritney” and “#FramingBritneySpears” on Feb. 7.
Country singer Kacey Musgraves took to Instagram to also voice her support, sharing a photo of young Spears, writing: “Everyone should watch the NY Times documentary on Britney Spears that just came out. Never has one person been so used and abandoned by every facet around her. My heart goes out to her. She has always been such an inspiration to me my whole kid/teen life.”
She added, “WE ARE SORRY BRITNEY.”
Hayley Williams, lead vocalist of Paramore, also watched the doco, claiming that the treatment Britney endured wouldn’t have happened today. “no artist today would have to endure the literal torture that media/society/utter misogynists inflicted upon her,” she tweeted. “the mental health awareness conversation, culturally, could never be where it is without the awful price she has paid.”
Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus, performing at TikTok’s Tailgate performance ahead of Super Bowl LV, told the audience, “We love Britney,” while performing her 2009 hit “Party In The U.S.A.”.
Cyrus has been vocal about supporting the #FreeBritney movement for a while, previously yelling out “Free Britney” while singing the song during a 2019 concert in Memphis, Tennessee.
Below, some more celebrity reactions to the Framing Britney Spears documentary.
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