Last night, the New York Times debuted a new documentary about Britney Spears' conservatorship — Framing Britney Spears.
As Britney's name has been trending on Twitter all day, here are just some of the reactions to the documentary:
Some were taken by the portrayal of the paparazzi following Britney:
I now understand the infamous 2007 Britney moment. And I would totally beat the shit outta that paparazzi car window too. Framing Britney Spears is doing a great job at showing us what she was really going through.
“That night was not a good night for her... it was a good night for us because it was a money shot”.... I’m getting HEATED #FramingBritneySpears
Especially within the broader context of how the media treated Britney:
Watching this Britney Spears doc... Can you imagine an interviewer asking a woman if she’s a virgin today?! Disgusting. #FramingBritneySpears
HOW IS IT LEGAL FOR OLD MEN TO ASK A TEENAGER ABOUT HER BREATS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION #FreeBritney Framing Britney Spears
Every Britney interviewer from the old clips in #FramingBritneySpears that is still alive, owes Britney a public apology. You can go first @DianeSawyer
Honestly who thought this was okay? #FramingBritneySpears
Watching #FramingBritneySpears and feeling like RAGING
And the general misogyny of it all:
the Framing Britney Spears doc holy fuck. no artist today would have to endure the literal torture that media/society/utter misogynists inflicted upon her. the mental health awareness conversation, culturally, could never be where it is without the awful price she has paid.
Justin Timberlake cheated on his wife on camera and the media focused on that for half a day. Britney showed cleavage at the age of 18 and the media harassed her ever since. #FramingBritneySpears
Of course, many people questioned the conservatorship at the heart of the documentary — especially the role of Britney's dad, Jamie:
yo britney spears is really actually being held hostage i thought the internet was just being dramatic
Britney was able to perform several shows a day during her residency, handle promo on all the late night shows, make a new album, and shoot new music videos, but the courts didn't think she could handle making day to day decisions?🤔#FramingBritneySpears
#FramingBritneySpears “My daughter is gonna be so rich she’s gonna buy me a boat”. So Jamie Spears said this, after being absent from his daughter’s life and this is the person who is in charge of her finances.
And many, many people were moved:
Raise your hand if you gained more respect for Britney Spears while watching the #FramingBritneySpears documentary
watching this Framing Britney Spears documentary and processing what happened to her with adult eyes is almost overwhelming. jesus