Britney Spears’s Paused Memoir Shows That Actions Have Consequences
Few celebrities have been as prominent in the public eye as Britney Spears.
(Over decades, nonetheless.)
Since reviving teen pop in the late 90s, Britney hasn’t been able to so much as breathe without being plastered in headlines everywhere – apparently, selling over 100 million records worldwide and being one of the world’s best-selling music artists doesn’t save you from public (and private) scrutiny.
But what happens when someone who has been censored and silenced for their entire career decides to write a tell-all memoir?
Well… some of us learn that actions have consequences.
LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE
A 2007 viral YouTube video couldn’t have worded it better.
In the midst of her 2007 MTV performance and comeback, the media was obsessed with speculating about Britney’s mental state, with a barrage of outlets taking her lip-syncing of ‘Gimme More’ as gas for a hate-fuelled fire.
There wasn’t a semblance of mental health support or a shred of sympathy for a woman who had lived most of her life under public scrutiny.
Yet, years later, celebrities are sharing their mental health experiences en masse.
Whether it’s Selena Gomez releasing a documentary about her journey with bipolar disorder, Meghan Markle candidly sharing her experience with suicidal ideation, or Ryan Reynolds discussing a lifetime of dealing with anxiety, celebrities are undoubtedly more likely to be embraced for being open about their struggles.
But what about Britney?
IS IT #FREEBRITNEY OR NOT?
A 13-year-long conservatorship that spurred on the #FreeBritney movement is just one significant element of Britney’s past.
Public awareness around the conservatorship is hardly poor, and it’s common knowledge that Britney was censored throughout the duration of her conservatorship, which was put in place after a very public mental health episode.
This memoir gives Britney the potential, for the first time in her career, to speak openly and freely about her experiences.
So, naturally, it’s already been put on pause because the very same A-listers who were likely throwing #FreeBritney onto their Instagram stories are now having legal letters sent on their behalf to silence her once more.
IF THE TRUTH MAKES YOU NERVOUS, THERE’S A GOOD REASON WHY
Speaking your truth is only alright when your truth isn’t about to expose someone else’s bad behavior, right?
Britney herself has described the process of writing the memoir as “healing and therapeutic”, even if it is difficult to bring up past events that she’s never been able to express openly.
The emotional pain that Britney Spears is experiencing is nothing short of an expression of trauma, and yet the fear of what she has written has taken precedence over a simple principle we’ve all become very familiar with: being kind.
Salacious headlines and unflattering pictures are, apparently, more worthy of not just the media’s time, but also the general public’s.
Well, if you can’t be kind and decent, don’t be surprised if your name crops up in an explosive memoir or two.
Vulnerability can truly be the most empowering force for someone that is taking control of their life – and the narratives the public has created about their life – for the first time.
If it’s to the tune of a reported $15 million book deal, then so be it. If people are comfortable behaving badly behind closed doors, then they should be comfortable having this bad behavior permanently etched into the public domain as well.
OPEN WIDE, BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW
Whether it’s an A-lister rushing to cover up a past relationship with Britney for the sake of their public image, or an Instagram user taking time out of their day to post critical comments about Britney’s experience, there’s a lesson to be learned here.
The truth doesn’t discriminate, and it will come out eventually.
Being kind costs you absolutely nothing, yet people’s unkindness and fixation on Britney Spears’s public struggles cost Britney her freedom, but more importantly, her truth.
Britney Spears isn’t just a public commodity that we can lay into to feel better about ourselves or to dissect for our own entertainment.
She’s a multi-award winning and best-selling artist, a staple of 90s and early 2000s culture, a survivor of an involuntary conservatorship, and a survivor of abuse and some of the most highly publicized personal issues of any celebrity in the last few decades.
If this memoir is ever released (more A-list celebrity legal letters pending), one thing will be clear – the truth really can set you free.
WHATS UP NEXT …
