What Is the #FreeBritney Campaign All About & Why It Matters

By Susie Greene - 9/18/22

Britney Spears — What Is the #FreeBritney Campaign All About & Why It Matters

The Toxic singer has been in the spotlight since her early teens. We’ve seen her rise to fame, and we’ve witnessed the downsides of finding early stardom through the turbulent life of popstar Britney Spears. Following her public mental breakdown in 2007, Britney got under the conservatorship of her dad a year later. On the outside, that arrangement seemed to be working for the troublesome singer, but when she went to court in 2020 to end the conservatorship, the world found out the truth, and the #FreeBritney movement started.

How #FreeBritney Came to Be

A #FreeBritney supporter — What Is the #FreeBritney Campaign All About & Why It Matters

It all started with a bizarre video Britney posted on her TikTok. In it, she’s holding a bunch of flowers and is constantly walking on and off camera doing odd poses and smiles. Although many initially found the 43-second-long video to be amusing, there was one user (Mars Monroe) who had a different response. Mars made a separate video commenting on the eerie post Britney had made. He claimed that she must have been given large quantities of antipsychotic medication to make her look mentally unstable and that she is likely being exploited by her handlers. He captioned the post with #FreeBritney, and it all started from there.

#FreeBritney protestors outside her court hearing in LA — What Is the #FreeBritney Campaign All About & Why It Matters

TikTok users quickly saw a clear sign that Britney needed help. One user had commented on a previous post asking the singer to wear yellow in her next video if she needs help. Surprisingly, she wore a bright yellow top in her next post.

A Number of High-Profile Supporters

Although there hasn’t been an official comment either by Britney herself or her dad, the #FreeBritney movement quickly spread and attracted many famous supporters. After all, asking the court to remove your dad as a sole conservator is telling enough. Aside from artists Tinashe and Missy Elliot, Spears was also supported by none other than her ex-husband and childhood friend Jason Alexander.

Britney Spears with her dad earlier in her career — What Is the #FreeBritney Campaign All About & Why It Matters

The New York Times recently released a documentary on Hulu and FX about the movement and why it’s important to let Britney Spears finally get her freedom back.