Britney Spears finally had her conservatorship removed in the fall of 2021. “Free Britney” worked, and Britney has been enjoying her newfound freedom ever since. Because Britney’s fans were so instrumental in helping Britney seek and achieve freedom, those fans believe they’re entitled to monitor her health and well-being. Those fans even went so far as to recently send police to Britney’s home to do a welfare check. The thing is, once Britney’s conservatorship was done, Britney can now make her own decisions about her medications, her doctors, her treatments and how she lives her life. Mine is not a pro- or anti-conservatorship stance, just a recognition that Freed Britney was always going to have a difficult time managing her own life after more than a decade of microscopic control exerted on her.
That’s what we’ve been seeing for more than a year now: a fanbase with a parasocial entitlement to “monitor” Britney; a woman with a history of mental health issues now in charge of her own treatment and medication; a victim of financial, medical and parental abuse trying to understand and process that abuse. Of course it’s messy and of course people have legitimate concerns about Britney’s well-being. I’m not entirely sure that briefing People Magazine is the answer though.
Those in Britney Spears’ life are worried about the pop star as she goes through a difficult time, multiple sources close to the singer tell PEOPLE. Spears’ inner circle had an intervention planned for the “Hold Me Closer” singer, 41, but it was canceled at the last minute. She did, however, meet with a doctor on Wednesday night — and while the meeting went well, the next steps are unclear.
“Britney has been acting increasingly erratically and those around her have grown more concerned,” a source says. “She is often up all night, sleeps during [the] day and has a lot of anger.”
Another insider in Spears’ circle tells PEOPLE that things behind the scenes have been “very difficult” and “absolutely chaotic” as those close to her encourage her to get help.
“Everyone had hoped Britney could be convinced to seek treatment before things got any worse but they knew it wouldn’t be easy,” the source says. “She’s been going through a lot and has been increasingly combative.”
The insider adds that Sam Asghari, whom Spears married in June after six years of dating, “is being as supportive as possible.”
This sounds familiar to anyone who has any experience with someone dealing with bipolar disorder. It sounds… a lot like Kanye West too, only Kanye is allowed to just exist in whatever harmful Nazi state he wants with his bros around to insulate him. As for Britney, she isn’t a monster and what’s happening is not some new thing. Now, am I concerned that she doesn’t seem to be taking her meds, or that her meds don’t seem to be working? Yes. Do I wish that Britney had better people in her life overall, people whom she can trust, people who will help her without their own agenda? Yes. I hope she’s well and I hope she finds medical professionals who can help her. I hope she has people in her life whom she trusts no matter what.
Photos courtesy of Britney’s IG.
She is allowed to be angry. Why do people think that she should magically be over the almost 20 years of abuse she endured because she isn’t in that position for a couple of years. I don’t think she’s bipolar. That was something her dad and Kfed pushed to the media. Being on medications you don’t need causes serious issues as well. Let her be angry.
My thoughts too. Of course she is angry. Anger is a pretty big symptom of C-PTSD. Leave the woman alone to process at her own pace.
This!! If anything, anger seems to be a really rational response to the stimuli!
Do none of you remember all the things she was doing before the conservatorship. The fake English accent. The driving with the infant in her lap. The partying all the time. The various marriages and divorces. She is bipolar. She needed the conservatorship or she would be dead by now. There is no proof her father did anything illegal. Everything is Britneys word. Which isn’t worth much. But I guess all of you won’t be happy until she harms someone else or herself. When that happens look in the mirror. Because people like you will be the cause of it.
Yep. Let her live.
A woman diagnosed with Bipolar & CPTSD deserves just as much as a man who society helps to evade the same fate. Any human being in her situation, under such scrutiny, post abuse, could present in this same manner. The thing is, folks involved/family etc always want a diagnosis beyond Complex PTSD, because CPTSD is by definition a disorder that was ‘caused’ by ‘harm’. Folks don’t want to be determined to be the ‘cause’ – bipolar makes it the fault of the sufferer
I support you Britney. I’m sending love and live long and prosper vibes your way into it infinity ♾️ lady. 💕 🖖 Thank you for the music 🎶 also.
Reply to MadMangoGal.
If the conservatorship had been purely about keeping her alive and safe, they wouldn’t have been trotting her out to perform and make money. The problem is that she’s clearly mental ill enough to need help, but nowhere around her are people who can be trusted to do it. It’s an ugly and frankly tragic situation overall.
Agreed. She’s 💯 allowed to be angry. VERY angry. And she’s allowed to go through a period of adjustment to her new found freedom.
I think this whole situation is being exaggerated because the same people who were controlling her life before want her back under their control again because they’re terrified she’s going to come after them legally and get her money back that they stole from her.
And people like TMZ prefer a crazy Britney narrative over a getting her shit together Britney. It’s a better profit model.
I only fear for Britney’s life because some of them might start thinking she would be more profitable if she was dead.
Madonna and Gwyneth paltrow have used fake British accents, should they be under a conservatorship too? Massive eye roll 🙄
I think she probably is bipolar, but I also think that doesn’t preclude her being mad as hell about how horrifically she has been controlled and manipulated. Having a mental health condition does not mean it’s okay to take away autonomy except in very extreme circumstances. I’m speaking as someone who has been on both sides of the spectrum – unwell but still able to make decisions, and also too unwell to be able to. Thankfully when I was too unwell, the people who were opted to make decisions for me truly loved me and had my best interests at heart. I don’t think this is the case for Britney.
THANK YOU. EXACTLY.
Leave Britney alone!! Why can’t she be angry? She was held captive for a decade➕! And if she’s weary of therapists right now, I don’t blame her. She needs to find a team she can trust first!
It was pretty clear long before the conservatorship that her mental health issues are far more complex than bipolar. They started while she was in her teens and became worse over time. This is quite common, puberty is often the trigger point. Her parents are not her problem. She just got unfortunate genes.
Her behavior now is all predictable. The intervention that led to the conservatorship at least saved her kids and gave her some semblance of normalcy for a while. It will be a rough road for her and is likely to not end well. Judgment is trashed in such illness and it is very difficult to convince the person that they need help. We are still in a primitive era concerning proper treatment, and meds that can help often have side effects that are difficult to bear. But going off meds just makes that judgment even worse. The choices are not great.
I think the “Free Britney!” promoters have no idea how complex her issues really are. Her illness was not caused by the conservatorship and it did not end when the conservatorship ended.
I think we need to be careful about analyzing anybody else’s medical condition and especially its causes. I do know people can live with bipolar without having their father direct their every move. That is harmful in itself.
In any medical treatment there are times when the medication stops helping for whatever reason. That is a precarious time. The doctor needs to find a new medication that works and that can take experimentation and time.
Family and friends can express concern but they are not doctors. Their advice can even be harmful. Threatening to take away somebody’s freedom is just plain cruel.
Isn’t it also possible that this is her father, mother, or sister planting these stories so they can gain control of her again?
It’s possible, but I’d argue that if you look at her social media that will tell your everything you need to know. You can see she’s not mentally well from her posts
Her posts are concerning for sure, she is not well.
If that’s the case, they’re in cahoots together. Her own social media has posts that back this stuff up.
Who are these “concerned” sources?
Of course she’s angry. I’d be furious if I were in her position and it would take me a lot longer than a year and a half to “get over it.”
As for her behavior being erratic – even that makes sense to me. Think about her life. Even before the conservatorship, how micromanaged was she, how much control did she have over her life? She’s been a commodity to everyone around her for decades at this point. Having some freedom and control over her life now isn’t just new bc of the conservatorship, this may be the first time in her life she’s experiencing independence etc.
Take those issue and then factor in bipolar disorder, and of course things are going to be rough and there’s going to be a big adjustment period. I hope she has people around her who support her and want to help her without controlling her, you know?
ITA – the adjustment from the conservatorship to independence was never going to be smooth sailing. She’s having to learn and unlearn a LOT as well as deal with ongoing MH issues and intrusive press/fans. She’s stated several times she has serious trust issues esp with medical professionals – it will take time to for her to build a positive and trusting relationship with a Dr. Remember she was forced to go to therapy and take powerful meds – those things in themselves have caused more damage than anything else.
I feel Sam is supportive and that she does seem to have people around her who are looking out for her – she is angry and has every right to be, having moments where you lose it is natural.
Exactly re: medical professionals. I can’t imagine how she can trust one again. When I go to a doctor I always start from the assumption that a doctor wants to help me. She probably starts from the assumption of “who in my family has already talked to this doctor and told them what meds I need” or something similar. It’s going to be very hard for her to recover from her past trauma.
Amen Becks.
I just hate that we know this. I’d really hoped that her new freedom would keep her private life and mental health decisions locked down. Sure, her family could have leaked but it does “sound” like someone in the know. Ugh.
Agreed.
I think Britney has been deprived of freedom for a long time. I also am really confused by what’s being put out on her social media. It makes me wonder if it’s actually her? Someone with access to her account? It does not feel like a true representation of whatever her life is really like, but it feels chaotic and it kind of stresses me out.
But I would not ever infringe on her life, as a random person. I do not know if she has safe people around her who actually care about her, and that is sad. I hope she is healthy, happy and free. Her social media doesn’t seem to reflect that, but it’s not my business.
People need to leave Britney alone. She’s suffered enough without everyone prying into her business. Let her heal.
The fact that her family approved her relationship with Asghari doesn’t suggest he’s some “hero” who helped rescue her from her abuse, but the only member of the “old gang” who has able to stay in her good books through everything. That should be reassuring, but it’s not. The fact that the only real condition her folks put on the relationship were 1)he couldn’t marry her and become her legal NoK, and 2) he couldn’t get her pregnant, makes me feel like he’s just a hanger-on that they tolerated initially and now actively need to monitor/control her.
Amen Ohno. I wouldn’t trust Asghari if my life depended on it.
If you follow her on insta you will know that she is definitely not well. She posts long rambling nonsensical updates and posts videos of her seductively dancing to camera whilst pulling her skirts down; all with mascara smudged down her face and tangled messed up hair. I think she thinks it looks sexy and disheveled but honestly she looks messy. I just don’t think she really knows how to exist – it is terribly sad. I think her husband is in over his head and doesn’t really know how to deal with her, she is estranged from her family and has understandable trust issues. I don’t know the answer but whatever she is doing now does not seem healthy.
This. TBH, I really don’t get all the folks who excuse away her online behavior as simple self-expression after being under the conservatorship all these years. Yes, there is an element of that., but Britney is not well, point blank period. The stuff she posts (prancing around naked with messy hair and 2-day-old makeup, rambling posts that honestly don’t make a whole lot of sense) is not that of a stable individual — it’s concerning and frankly cringy. Admitting that is not condoning her being controlled — it just continues the sad reality that she is not getting the help she needs.
Or the people who claim it’s not actually her posting and someone else is doing it to make her look crazy. People have a really hard time accepting Britney for Britney.
I don’t know what I’d do if I were in her life. She’s not going to trust anyone that suggests therapy or medication after what happened to her, but I think she’d really benefit from a good therapist. Working through all of it alone must be incredibly isolating and difficult.
Totally agree. I was worried with the way the conservatorship ended so abruptly. No doubt that was a result of how brutal it had been, but we can’t forget that Britney needed that conservatorship originally. It turned into abuse, which is the issue. Her social media is a cry for help. I can’t imagine what she’s been through or how she could even process it. I don’t think I would trust anyone, which leaves her totally isolated and vulnerable to her own demons. The day the conservatorship ended, my husband said she would be dead within 5 years. I thought that was awful and yelled at him, but I’m beginning to wonder if he was right. I worry for her.
The thing with mental illness, is that it’s never cured. Sometimes it’s under control, and sometimes it’s out of control. And there are external forces (like meds) that affect it, and internal forces. I don’t know what the answer is here. I just wish she had people in her life who genuinely cared for her and not just people who are looking for a pay day.
Anyone else here been in a lockdown for 13 years, having your career, life, and BODY abusively controlled by sicko family and manipulative, religious extremist managers (Lou Taylor)? Ever have the media forced onto you — your home and personal space — and made to do interviews for People magazine and Diane Sawyer, who would then criticize and sanctimoniously ask you questions about your mental health and sexuality, while slut-shaming and white-trashing your image to the public?. Let me also bring TMZ into this mix — the mouthpiece of Jamie and Lou and the SOURCE of this latest Britney article (People mag article is rehashing latest TMZ gossip). Tell me how is anyone supposed to act after surviving hell like that? I really hope and pray she gets the support she needs to get her money back, her life away from this shit, and justice against those who exploited her.
I know I’ll probably get yelled at for this but I think she is bipolar- my husband is and when not medicated exhibits similar symptoms. The compulsion to spin, her “tick” of always pushing her skirt/shorts down till she’s nearly exposed and her writing on her Instagram are to me all signs of mania. Note I am not a medical professional and I am not discounting the trauma she may have from the conservatorship. But I remember when the free Britney movement started that her family more or less said that the public had no idea how bad her mental state really was if she wasn’t on the proper medications.
Sadly she is clearly not well and I hope she gets better soon
Why would you get yelled at for saying that? Kaiser says that in the post that she’s bipolar.
I am a medical professional. You bring up good points.
I completely agree. My ex was bipolar and her behavior is upsettingly similar to his when he was not taking his meds, denying it, and that he was just “being himself.” Not to center it on the caregiver/partner, but it is a real challenge as you feel kind of…gaslit. You want to be supportive and let people be themselves but…ugh it’s tough. I’m not president of the Sam fan club but it isn’t easy when they’re struggling.
And I think JustMe said they might get yelled at because the Britney fan base is…passionate.
I had a bipolar family member – I feel that people who have not lived with someone with a serious personality disorder underestimate how intense and complex that is. IMHO it is akin to a disability, there are good days and bad days, but there’s no cure.
I hope she can find some support – but regular people are not equipped to support her, she needs professional help. Love and care help, but they’re not enough.
1000x this! I also remember Brittany’s original breakdown and the circumstances of the conservatorship. Unless you’ve lived with someone who is bi-polar it’s hard to wrap you head around how dangerous it can be. Someone here talked about not being allowed to have caffeine due to medication interactions. I have a lot of mental health issues in my family, including bi-polar and the bi-polar is often accompanied by other things like severe OCD, anxiety, depression. Therapy is critical but to manage bi-polar especially you HAVE to treat it with medications and even something as seemingly harmless as caffeine could make things worse or life threatening. Even her forced IUD. It sounds horrible but I understood the why. The medications to stabilize a bi-polar person could harm a developing fetus. Getting pregnant, you have to come off some of those medications and that could be extremely dangerous for both mother and child. Brittany has been exploited, no doubt. Watching this is like witnessing a perfect storm of family dysfunction, clear mental illness, extreme wealth which brings out the worst kinds of people and even the worst in decent people. I always hear people say to leave Brittany alone, but clearly Brittany herself doesn’t want that. Her posts are near constant. She has spent her life in the spotlight and doesn’t know anything else. Child stars particularly struggle when that spotlight goes away. Ultimately none of us really know the details. I do think that there is way more to this than anyone knows. Anyone with that knowledge would legally not be able to to make it public. What is clear is that she is in pain. The worst part is, even if there were honorable people in her life that she does trust, if you stop taking your medication or aren’t being constantly assessed by a team of medical professionals to stay on top of medications, in a manic state, she wouldn’t have the ability to do as those loving, good people that would say. I have a niece who is bi-polar and in a manic state she thought she could fly. Literally tried to jump off a 21 story building. Her parents had to pull her down. There’s no reasoning in that state no matter how much you trust the people are around you. It’s hard to wrap your mind around until you go through it. Start to finish. It’s tragedy unfolding before our eyes.
This story has come from several outlets, so it is doubtful it is fake. Meaning, she did go to see her doctor for treatment. Meaning, she has been off her meds and has been using other substances to self medicate. Meaning she might very well be in crisis and in need of intervention. That doesn’t make her a bad person or someone in whose life strangers on the internet need to inject themselves. It does mean that she is not well and might be alienating her loved ones. Like a Kanye, since that’s the comparison we seem to be using. Kanye imploded and is losing everything and people seem to be happy about that. Britney might be imploding and there is such concern for her and her finances. Half the time people say let her live her life and lose her money—it’s hers to lose and the only difference between her and those on Skid Row is her bank account: without it, no one would care. The other half says she/her money must be protected at all costs and others must intervene to protect her/it. I personally think she needs help from others, as much but no more than any other homeless or mentally ill, suffering individual. And we should devote our time to helping all of them, not just this one.
I hope things are not going so badly and that these are just stories planted by people who want Britney back under their control. If she truly is doing so poorly, I can imagine that convincing her to get help could be extremely difficult. At this point, could she even recognize whether or not someone’s concern for her is genuine? Because it seems like every person who has ever claimed to be in her corner has just wanted to manipulate and exploit her.
Healthy or unwell, her life just seems so very sad. She’s clearly bored and lonely with too much time and not a lot to fill it.
Her husband appears to have a pretty full life with a job, hobbies, travel, social interactions, and it’s unfortunate Britney doesn’t have the same.
She “has a lot of anger”?? No sh!t, Sherlock. What she’s been put through would cause anyone to Hulk out. I expect that anger will also increase as she faces more obstacles to have that much-wanted baby after being forced to have an IUD for the majority of her prime baby-making years. I really hope she can navigate to some peace but it’s going to be rocky and people need to respect that.
It makes ME angry when people say “oh she’s so angry” like that’s not acceptable.
Anger is an emotion. It’s not good. It’s not bad. It just is. How we articulate that anger is important, but we live in a society where showing anything other than total happiness is deemed unacceptable. It’s a total crock.
My whole life people have “accused” me of being angry. To which I would reply, “of course I’m angry. I’m tired of dealing with this. I’ve hit my limit. I’m angry with how you’ve treated me but I’m also angry with myself for allowing it.”
People don’t like that. Makes them uncomfortable.
In the Before Times I blew up social media and called out some PTA moms who had made my life hell for years. It resulted in the new PTA President whom I had known for 7 years texting me to concern troll me. She even texted “I’m worried about you. People are talking. They’re concerned. I run a LegalShield business. You could get sued! I love you.”
(I laughed out loud when I read the text “I love you.” The first time she had ever said that to me – of course it wasn’t genuine. You don’t text an “I love you” to someone you’ve known but socially excluded for 7 years.)
I called her, she answered, I said “I find that people who claim to be concerned about me but don’t reach out are only gossiping. But thanks for the heads up. I’m in the middle of a bike ride, so I gotta go.”
Never talked to that bitch again. 🤷♀️
Never really talked to any of them again, because after that call, PTA President called up all our mutual “friends” and we were excluded from everything.
I’m not hurt by it anymore, just sharing my experience. I agree with you. Women are especially judged for even saying the words “I’m angry”, and I’m sick of it.
Leave Britney alone, ffs.
Let’s remember that her family, including KFed, would love to get their hands back in her money, and they know that framing her as mentally incapacitated is a pretty good method if all of the elements can align.
She wasn’t even allowed to drink COFFEE.
Of course she’s angry! At all if it! I’m angry for her, & for all the “she’s not well” posts.
No, she’s not. How could she possibly be? She’s been abused most of her life, & then had 13 years stolen from her.
And did we ever actually hear a diagnosis? I don’t believe so, so all this “she has the same behaviour as this guy I know who is bi polar” absolutely has to stop.
Just like with everyone, no 2 people are the same & exhibit the same behaviours, mental illness or not.
She’s working it out, however that looks to HER.
And that is none of our business, even if she posts it in media.
Leave the woman alone, she’s more than paid the price.
You say she couldn’t have coffee like it was punishment. Phenothiazines and Theophylline, and other medications Interact with caffeine, so it’s possible that restriction was for her own health.
Go peddle your fake concern somewhere else, Tiffany.
It was punishment. The entire situation was punishment.
No, I will comment as I please, Kokiri. You’re just upset that there are legitimate medical reasons to restrict coffee. Phenothiazines are used for mental health issues, so it is very possible her doctors had legitimate reasons to restrict her intake. Sorry if facts don’t fit your fantasy.
The article said the intervention was for substances and also mental health. One of her previous judges said she’s a habitual abuser of drugs and alcohol. It’s possible that these 2 issues are intertwined (self medicating, interaction between meds and substances). I hope she isn’t afraid to get help, but I could understand that after her previous experiences.
Correction: the article doesn’t say it was for substance reasons, but that was included in the version of the article I read a couple of days ago.
I think it was here where I read the most warm and loving comment from someone who’s sister had bipolar along with a number of other serious mental health issues. She said on her best days, her sister still presented like someone who could most kindly be described as “unusual”, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t happy, healthy or safe. It was just her being herself, going about her day with a hugely different experience of all kinds of mental and emotional processes, and not causing any trouble to anyone.
I know we’re on a gossip site and I can be as celebitchy as the rest but I do wish we had a little less judgement in our world at times.
Also, how hard would it be to trust people after going through that? I’d be angry and very suspicious of people.
Kaiser I just want to thank you for your nuanced take on this information. I’m drawn to the Britney story for a variety of reasons, and often I get frustrated when I read articles/opinions that are one extreme or the other. The truth lies somewhere in the nuance, I think, and I appreciate this take. We don’t know everything, we can all suspect and discuss but we are not there with her every day. Not to mention, we cannot change the past and who’s to say even if we did we would be in a different place than we are today.
It’s not just the 13 years she was under the conservatorship. It was the years she was pimped out by her parents, music executives, and the media. This is the first freedom Brittney has had since childhood. She’s literally having to learn how to be an adult. This is one of those times where social media is a terrible thing–a few decades earlier, she could be doing her healing, medically and psychologically, behind closed doors, with a few media reports here and there. But with the exposure of social media, and parasocial relationships that fanemies develop, all her messiness is there to be seen and judged by all.
I don’t know if people are trying to regain control over her. It wouldn’t surprise me–she was a huge cash cow to a lot of people. What worries me is that she seems so, so terribly vulnerable–she seems to crave attention and affirmation from the public, and probably has very little sense of who she is as a human being. I hope she has loyal people around her who are watching out for her money, her security, and her physical and mental health.
Maybe “crazy britney” is just a fun persona for her, after she was managed so tightly and carefully during her entire performing life. A few social media posts aren’t enough to know what’s really going on with her. Maybe this is her defiance. It looks even more concerning because we’re used to seeing such careful curation of social media from stars of her stature, and she’s got the “grown woman acting like a child” censuring too. I don’t know. I hope she’s okay. She deserves to live her life on her own terms, even if those aren’t the terms that other people would choose for her. I
I’ve never heard the term fanemies before, but my God if it doesn’t describe some fandoms perfectly!
More than one thing can be true about Britney and her situation. Her anger can be misdirected (at women who have also been abused in their time in the public eye too, and her fans make a lot of things worse with certain behaviors) sometimes, but justified in other situations. It wouldn’t be helpful to her or to others to just say she has no issues at all. It’s possible, and necessary, to acknowledge the fact that a woman has had struggles with her mental health and still call out exploitative trolls who try to use her struggles to further misogynistic agendas. Or slimeballs who want to use those struggles for money.
I don’t follow her but it’s difficult to not know the abuse she was put through. I don’t know her medical or mental diagnosis or her treatment plans. I doubt anyone else commenting does either. I do know what cPTSD is and how hard that is to live with. The last thing she needs is for the media to start these attacks again even if they are trying to sugar coat it as “concerned” she isnt hurting others. I can imagine with the investigations into the conservatorship and exactly how corrupt it was she is dealing with some pretty horrific truths and crimes that people she loved and trusted did to her. She has lost so much I don’t think anyone can imagine the depth of her suffering. She was psychologically and physically tortured by people who should have been protecting her just so they could have free access to her money while they continued to force her to work. No one knows what that is like unless they have lived it. She deserves empathy and grace what she has gone through will take a lifetime to deal with.
I’m really bothered by the up all night, sleep all day discourse. My therapist recommended I do that when I can and need to withdraw. It’s unfortunately hard to do so with my work schedule, but Britney is rich and can – so why not, if she feels more natural and better that way? Everyone is not the same. Those of us who diverge are rightfully angry at being forced into boxes.
Sleep deprivation has been shown to significantly “reset” depression symptoms for nearly half of sufferers. The effect doesn’t last longer than a few weeks but it is real. It’s most effective when done with medical supervision because sleep deprivation can also trigger psychotic symptoms in some circumstances. Lot’s of people with mood disorders (and life circumstances that permit a very flexible sleep schedule) stumble onto using sleep deprivation as a means of self “medication” without fully realizing it.
I wonder if she could be overmedicated? That mom in MA who was on 13 different meds who killed her three kids last month made my think of Britney. Both had issues right after having babies and I do think many people think throwing drugs at symptoms is treatment when it’s not and possibly making things worse. Britney has been drugged up so much of her life to make her “easier” to deal with. These drugs can be a miracle for people but can also be very dangerous, especially with when so many are used.
This isn’t a huge surprise. While it was very heartwarming and a feel good story to have her fans take notice of her literal imprisonment and start a movement to get the conversatorship terminated, nobody thought about what came next. I liken it to a person who has spent an extended period of time in prison as an inmate. When they are released, not much guidance is given to former inmates on how to reenter civilian life (there are organizations that help provide support, but a lot of the day to day is left for former inmates to figure out for themselves).
There is no guidebook on how best to support a person who spent 13 years in a forced conservatorship having every aspect of her life monitored and controlled. Britney clearly has mental health issues but given everything she’s been through medically, it’s not shocking to see she refuses to take any medication or submit to any treatment. I don’t know what’s best for her (certainly not another conservatorship unless she is actively physically harming herself or others which she doesn’t seem to be doing) but to go from complete supervision and control to complete freedom is overwhelming. I also think Britney has stunted emotional development, it seems famous people often become stunted at the age they became famous, especially if they were young (in Britney’s case I think she was 16 when she first came out with the first album? But she was on Mickey Mouse Club before that?).
Her fans need to leave her alone now. They helped free her but they should not get involved with her medical treatment or anything else. It’s up to Britney and her team to figure out what is best for her now.
I’m not on board with just explaining her behavior away as she’s just angry or upset still about her conservatorship. While there is likely some of that going on, too, she seems mentally unwell – likely bipolar I.
But unless she is a physical harm risk to herself or others, it is her own decision and right to not take her meds and live her life with untreated bipolar I. It’s hard to watch her exhibit these behaviors on social media, and people close to her can certainly stage interventions to try to get her some help. But legally and, imo, ethically we can’t just put people under a conservatorship or in a mental hospital and make them take meds when they don’t want to – no more than you can force a person with cancer or diabetes to get treatment for those issues if they don’t want to.
It is absolutely heart-breaking to love someone and see them suffer from serious mental health issues and not take medications that you know will make them better. But that does not mean that a conservatorship or guardianship or involuntary mental hospital commitment is the answer. Sometimes we unfortunately just have to watch people make bad choices for themselves and there’s nothing we can do about it. And Brittney is a very famous person making those seemingly bad choices very publicly.
While I can pretend to know anything about Britney other than her music and watching the Netflix documentary. A podcaster I listen to regularly has said that an entire cottage industry has sprouted up of “Concerned Britney Fans” which are people just trying to make money off of Britney, who know nothing about her and ANY out of the ordinary that she does is a sign of her living on the edge of madness. The podcaster equates TIK TOK and Instagram – FB users and TMZ to Perez Hilton and all the paps who stalked her when she was younger. I wish her Peace!
“She has a lot of anger”..you don’t say???? Why is it that man can do whatever the hell they want and women who go through hell and back can’t even complain or be angry?
Let Britney figure it out (hopefully she’s fine) and leave her tf alone.
Several things are true. Britney was abused via the conservatorship. Britney has been stunted in the normal psychological development process from adolescence to adulthood. She was literally prevented from growing up and now she’s doing it in a developmentally asynchronous way. That’s gonna be rough on anyone much less doing it in the public eye, with untrustworthy family, and a fanbase that’s already been vindicated by the “free Britney” revelations.
The other truth is that Britney has a serious and persistent mental illness that will require management for the rest of her life. Her abusers have made it much more difficult for her to manage her illness by causing her to mistrust medical professionals. That’s a rational reaction. She’s like a diabetic who’s been abused via insulin. I pray that she can find a trustworthy doctor and build a solid therapeutic relationship.
Bipolar can also present with psychotic features. Not usually but there is a subset that does. When she was first put into a conservatorship so long ago, I assumed she likely had schizophrenia as that is a disorder that is more likely to result in a conservatorship than bipolar. I realize that there was likely fraud going on with the conservatorship, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t need to be in a conservatorship. I would be shocked if her only diagnosis is bipolar (unless it is bipolar with psychotic features). I haven’t seen all the documentaries on this, but I know that usually the exact diagnosis is private.
I thought she had BPD. I remember reading a few articles back in the day that said she had borderline and that tracked for me.
Dude what. Being up all night and sleeping during the day is not a mental illness. It could be a sign of ADHD, or maybe delayed sleep phase disorder, or maybe she’s just a night owl. Concerts do tend to be at night, so it makes perfect sense that she’d be this way. Also she has a lot of anger OH NOES. Not a woman who was abused her whole life being ANGRY about it! Get out the shock therapy!
She’s fine. And she’ll continue to be fine if people stop concern trolling the crap out of her.
I hesitate to comment at all. This woman deserves to be left alone.
In fact – who was that guy – Chris Crocker… Man, was he ever prescient. That video clip needs to be resurrected. Not the whole, insane thing – just the “Leave Britney alone” meme part.
Because JESUS. Whatever is going on with her is NOBODY ELSE’S BUSINESS.
You can’t just strip people of their legal, civil, and human rights just because they are bipolar, or OCD or have anxiety or depression or PTSD. It’s not illegal to be mentally ill and mentally ill people are entitled to the same human rights as anyone else. Being okay with stripping the rights of someone because they are mentally ill is an extremely dangerous slope to go down. Especially when you consider the things that allowed people to deem women mentally ill and strip their rights in the past, such as trying to vote or wearing pants.
And I especially don’t want to hear word 1 about any women and/or POC having their rights stripped for being mentally ill “for their own good” until ONE rich and famous middle aged man is put into one, such as Charlie Sheen, Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, or any of the others known for erratic behavior that harms self or others.