FX’s recent documentary Framing Britney has created shockwaves across the music industry, with many musical artists showing support to American pop sensation Britney Spears. Spears’ conservatorship battle with her father Jamie Spears forms the crux of the documentary but it also highlights the inherent misogyny of the mainstream media.
Using archival footage and interviews, the documentary maps the rise of Britney Spears as a child star to a teen sensation. Spears juggled several roles at the beginning of her career, often performing under a scrutinizing, often critical media gaze. When her mental health started to break down in the mid-2000s, she received little to no support or empathy. The courts saw it fit to give her father all rights to her financial and personal affairs. The conservatorship continues to this day, even though Spears lives a quiet, private life and appears more than capable of handling the money she makes as well as her own decisions.
After the documentary aired, some musical artists have been vocal about their support for Britney. Six-time Grammy winner Kacey Musgroves tweeted that it was plaguing her that nobody knew if Spears was okay. She went on to express her wish that Britney would let the world know she wasn’t okay so that she could feel the support that everyone would give her.
Miley Cyrus also showed support during her Super Bowl performance. She was performing her song Party in the U.S.A. and after singing the lyrics, “That’s when the DJ dropped my favorite tune/and a Britney song was on,” she said, “Hey, we love Britney.”
Other artists who have voiced their unconditional concern, outrage, and support are Charlie Puth, Cher, Tinashe, Vanessa Carlton, Sam Smith, and American Rock band Garbage. Celebrities and fans across the world are using the now-viral hashtag #FreeBritney and rallying around Spears to show their support for the musical sensation. Britney Spears has not directly commented on the documentary nor the reactions to it.