On Monday, pink signage and slight mayhem ensued outside West Hollywood City Hall, where fans of Britney Spears staged an organized protest amid rumors that she had been confined to a treatment facility against her will. Their “evidence” is a mishmash of behaviors they deem suspicious and an anonymous podcast source. They carried signs that read “The Truth Will Set Her Free.” The action was livestreamed on YouTube. The demonstrators’ demand was simple: #FreeBritney.
The protest is happening right now outside West Hollywood City Hall
Greg W (@gregw_dj) April 22, 2019
But the story really begins on April 3, when reporters circulated that Spears had checked herself into a mental facility for 30 days. Spears’s latest Instagram post went up that day too; the singer announced she was taking some “me time.” This revelation came on the heels of Spears announcing in January that she would not perform her upcoming show, called Domination, so she could focus on caring for her sick and recovering father, Jamie Spears, and address her own mental heath during the trying family ordeal. She wrote in an Instagram post at the time:
“I don’t even know where to start with this, because this is so tough for me to say. I will not be performing my new show Domination. I’ve been looking forward to this show and seeing all of you this year, so doing this breaks my heart. However, it’s important to always put your family first … and that’s the decision I had to make.”
The thornier parts of the conspiracy have to do with Spears’s extended use of conservatorship to help manage her mental health issues, a precautionary measure that’s been in place since 2008 when she underwent a highly publicized deterioration in her mental wellbeing. Jamie and lawyer Andrew Wallet acted as Spears’s conservators until Wallet stepped down from the role in March. According to Forbes:
“Conservatorship, called guardianship in many states, is a dramatic remedy saved for only adults who lack the ability to make proper decisions for themselves. Typically, it’s used for seniors with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia, or adults with long-term problems like traumatic brain injuries. Before Britney, the long-term use of a conservator for an out-of-control young celebrity was unheard of.”
“What is happening is disturbing, to say the least. Basically, Britney was in rehearsals for Domination. It came to Jamie’s attention that Britney was not taking her medication as prescribed. She was missing a lot of doses and just full-on not taking them.”
E! News further reported that Lynn Spears, Britney’s mother, has been liking comments on her Instagram posts in which fans reference the #FreeBritney conspiracy theory.
It is also the case that on April 11, mere days after Spears entered the treatment facility, she was spotted at a Los Angeles hair salon getting her roots done. And on Easter Sunday she and her boyfriend were seen at the Montage Beverly Hills Hotel, perhaps enjoying themselves.