Framing Britney Spears

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to her Instagram and watched a couple of her videos where she is “spinning” and than another video where she is answering a question. I am not an American so I cannot be really 100% sure but her way of talking and body movement is very off. It is like she has an intellectual disability or something.

I always had the impression that she was intellectually disabled (I'm sorry if that's not the current correct terminology), and that everyone tried to cover it up by controlling everything she did. Not unlike the rumors about Beyonce being illiterate and essentially a puppet/money-making machine.

[Anonymous]

If she’s functional enough to perform onstage nightly in front of millions of people in order to make millions of dollars, then she’s functional enough to have rights. And if she is truly so impaired that she can’t make any of her own decisions, then how can she consent to being made to shake her ass half-naked onstage for money?

We don't know the story maybe she's not fully mentally impaired I was answering the statement about Mentally ill people generally having rights. It could be the biggest scandal of all time.

Or maybe it's not we don't know.

I said in an earlier post that not all mental illness is equal. Someone can be ok for majority of time but have debilitating episodes. We don't know the story because we only ever hear her side of the story.

Also it is an assumption that she agreed to it. Were you there? Maybe she didn't agree to it.

It's also an assumption that she was in sound mind when she did.

Maybe she wanted to do it and people were trying to give her what she wanted and now she flipped what happened because her reality has changed for her. That is common in mental illness as well.

There are so many scenarios that could have played out here that we can't know.

Just because someone appears to be ok doesn't mean they are. She could have been able to perform. Maybe she enjoys performing and was able to do it. Mentally ill people are not vegetables. They can do things that they enjoy. They work at the workshops, they do things.

You are making the assumption that you are either 100% or 100% not ok with no varying degrees of mental clarity between. It's not so black and white.

The only thing that we know is that we cannot know unless someone tells us the entire story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to her Instagram and watched a couple of her videos where she is “spinning” and than another video where she is answering a question. I am not an American so I cannot be really 100% sure but her way of talking and body movement is very off. It is like she has an intellectual disability or something.

I always had the impression that she was intellectually disabled (I'm sorry if that's not the current correct terminology), and that everyone tried to cover it up by controlling everything she did. Not unlike the rumors about Beyonce being illiterate and essentially a puppet/money-making machine.

I’ve had the same thought. I’ve worked with students with an intellectual disabilities and many of them function very well with the correct supports. I don’t think Britney’s parents are good for her.

[Anonymous]

I also wanted to add onto my answer that some of the most talented people in history were very mentally ill.

They were still talented and performed their works, wrote their stories, did their paintings, etc.

Mental illness does not equal vegetable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to her Instagram and watched a couple of her videos where she is “spinning” and than another video where she is answering a question. I am not an American so I cannot be really 100% sure but her way of talking and body movement is very off. It is like she has an intellectual disability or something.

I always had the impression that she was intellectually disabled (I'm sorry if that's not the current correct terminology), and that everyone tried to cover it up by controlling everything she did. Not unlike the rumors about Beyonce being illiterate and essentially a puppet/money-making machine.

+1. The Beyoncé rumors are false. But I think Britney maybe really just isn’t very smart and has mental illness/challenges. But that describes like nearly a quarter of the American population! We still let most of them make their own decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to her Instagram and watched a couple of her videos where she is “spinning” and than another video where she is answering a question. I am not an American so I cannot be really 100% sure but her way of talking and body movement is very off. It is like she has an intellectual disability or something.

I always had the impression that she was intellectually disabled (I'm sorry if that's not the current correct terminology), and that everyone tried to cover it up by controlling everything she did. Not unlike the rumors about Beyonce being illiterate and essentially a puppet/money-making machine.

+1. The Beyoncé rumors are false. But I think Britney maybe really just isn’t very smart and has mental illness/challenges. But that describes like nearly a quarter of the American population! We still let most of them make their own decisions.

That’s where I’m landing too. The rules of the conservatorship are clearly not ok - the people profiting off her shouldn’t make health decisions. But she also does not seem bright; some of her statements were so hard to follow and poorly worded. It’s not a crime to have low IQ but some people need extra help. She probably should be required to have some sort of supervision, I find it hard to believe this would have gone on so long if she was “fine.” Shame on the state for letting her “help” be so invasive and profitable.I hope she gets a break here and that it works out for her.

[Anonymous]

I would like to know the parents level of education and psych eval results. Seriously, they are responsible for her state of mind. They created this circus that swallowed her up. What a bad decision from the very beginning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe she was practically broke when her dad stepped in and now is worth 65 million. And based on her SM posts Ikd say she seems manic or bipolar. Sadly easy for some one, like a boyfriend, to take advantage of her. I feel sorry for her.

Millions of people struggle with mental illness. We usually try to help them manage it. We don’t strip them of their rights.

Again unless you know people with mental illness how could you know this. A lot of very mentally ill people under would be stripped of their rights in some form. When you are severely mentally ill you can not function in a normal way 100% of the time.

Severely mentally ill people in this country that do not have the fortune Brittany has have less rights than she does. They have forced medical injections, are put in homes were they are constantly monitored if they are not kept in a mental facility. They are forced to live with people who might be more mentally ill than them. Many decisions are not theirs to make. Up until about a decade ago they underwent forced experimental therapies like electro shocks and lobotomies, and a few decades before that they were totally shut away from the world in isolation.

There is also something they call workshop where people go to work to get skills but it's really just labor for $2 per hour boxing products and etc. Many of them don't have very many rights.

We are talking about severe mental impairment. You can be severely mentally impaired sometimes, but appear functional at others.

If she’s functional enough to perform onstage nightly in front of millions of people in order to make millions of dollars, then she’s functional enough to have rights. And if she is truly so impaired that she can’t make any of her own decisions, then how can she consent to being made to shake her ass half-naked onstage for money?

She isn’t performing anymore and hasn’t performed for about 3 years. Her own son said she may never perform again.

[Anonymous]

Her testimony was leaked, I listened to the whole thing. Surprisingly she sounded very lucid (not like her IG). Made me very sad for her. I hope she is free soon.

[Anonymous]

I read her testimony. I found her writing surprising and that it made her sound simultaneously more intelligent than I thought she was and also more unintelligent than I thought she was.

She obviously has been wronged in many many ways, but I think the most impactful component of her statement is that her reproductive rights are being impinged upon. That can’t be ignored.

Although very brief, I think the judge’s closing comment was supportive of Britney, and I think she will move to remove Jamie from conservatorship an appoint two or more co-conservators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it legal to force sterilize someone?

Brittany is not sterilized and yes it's legal to make medical decisions for someone who can not.

Might I chime in here even though i'm sure many people might not like what I have to say, and of course i might be totally wrong because i don't know Brittany and he actual medical condition. None of us can know.

My mom is seriously mentally ill. I feel if you don't know someone with mental illness it's hard to understand or relate to things that seem uncalled for or inhumane.

Severely mentally ill people can not care for themselves or others. Many have anosognosia where they are in denial or don't know that they are ill. My mom has anosognosia she is 64 years old and for my entire life of 37 years she has been been trying to convince everyone around her that she is fine. She believes that she is fine and the world is out to get her. It brings her such agony and distress. She 100% believes she is fine and everything is against her and necessary. She had been in a conservatorship under her mother for 36 years.

With medication she can be more functional. However with anosognosia the sufferer doesn't think there is anything wrong with them and it's a cycle of fighting for freedom, obtaining it, then not caring for themself and going off their meds and then ending up in a terrible state back in a mental facility on heavy drugs like Lithium and then released and so on. My mom managed to get her freedom in my lifetime 6x. It's all she ever talks about and when she has it, it becomes a quick downward spiral every single time. At times she can be very convincing. She can not be on her own. Mental illness can not be cured, and she will never get better, and she will never have the freedom she desires. When she is on her own she is a danger to herself and others around her.

This is sadly her life.

There were times when she wanted more kids and all of that and she was not allowed to because she could not care for me and she could not care for herself. She left me unattended, and would put my life directly in danger many times. Sometimes she was violent, sometimes she was neglectful, and sometimes she was delusional.

Not allowing Brittany to have kids might be in the interest of the kid that she could not take care of. with someone in the public eye like Brittany it would just be such a scandal and such medical negligence to put her on something as strong as lithium if she didn't need it, to take custody of her children away, and etc.

But again what do we know. Maybe it is all one big scandal.

Maybe her dad is taking advantage of the situation how can we know, but it's important to keep in mind that there might be more to the situation than we know.

Even if she isn't being mishandled I feel very badly for her. I know that my mom suffers everyday thinking the world is against her, being forced on meds she doesn't want and thinks she doesn't need, having her life controlled pretty much for the most of it. But if this didn't happen she would be on the streets, or maybe hurting herself or someone else unintentionally.

[phone] people have no idea what severe mental illness looks like or the steps families go through to keep someone safe from themselves. To the outside world the person looks normal or not that bad but to the loved ones who witness it, it’s truly heartbreaking. I don’t know Brittanys situation but what you’ve articulated is very similar to our family’s experience.

[Anonymous]

She sounds so lucid in her testimony, yet her Instagram is SO bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She sounds so lucid in her testimony, yet her Instagram is SO bizarre.

Her insta is controlled by the same people who won't let her get her IUD removed. Think about it....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poor girl

I agree, it's sad but I think people, specifically her fans need to understand that they do not know Britney , nor do they ave have access to the whole of her story meaning legal and medical records, and it's concerning that they think it's their duty to rescue her.

One of the women behind the Free Britney movement acknowledged that, and said that they would be happy to back off if Britney asked them to, of her own free will.

Maybe it’s not their duty to rescue her, but there’s potentially a lot to be concerned about here, and Britney isn’t allowed to do a damn thing about it. If she is that bad off she should NOT be allowed to be pimped out to Vegas venues to create revenue for her conservators!

Is a mentally ill woman likely to do that though? She's mentally ill and severely so, of course, she doesn't think there's anything wrong. She hasn't had the show in years, so maybe at the time she had it they thought she was more stable than she was, but isn't. Half of y'all aren't old enough to remember what it was like before the conservatorship., suffice it to say odds were pretty high Britney would be dead by now.


I think it's a huge problem that you and her stans think it's appropriate to behave like this, and demand things and shows just how badly the lines have been blurred.


This event even about mental health and being concerned about those rights if it were you all would go lobby your politicians. This is about some weird cult-like worship of a celebrity that you all think is infallible and delusions of it goign back to 2001 with Britney touring the globe.

I hear you about not leaping to judgment. I have a mentally ill child who is now over 18 and feel there really should be a legitimate and possible way for family to step in to stop a train wreck.

Brittany did some things back in the day that did seem like they should set off alarm bells. She also seemed to let herself get controlled by opportunistic boyfriends. It did look like she was careening toward a disaster, needed medication, and needed a grown up looking out for her best interests.

Maybe her father didn't do that? I have been surprised by her continuing to perform according to an aggressive schedule. That felt like it could have been exploitative. On the other hand, like my mentally ill child, she did need something constructive to do with her time and I could see an argument in favor of her continuing to practice her chosen craft.

I don't think there should be a movement against conservatorships in general, but maybe one with so much money at stake is a problem?

[Anonymous]

All child-celebrities are exploited by their parents and the industry.

She has mental health issues and addiction issues. They go hand in hand, and the end result is what you see: the appearance of low intelligence, impulsive behavior, manic behavior, etc.

Head injuries and seizures are common when dealing with alcoholics/addicts. Party girls and their ditzy behavior is fun when they are young, but it’s sad as they age.

I think she’s lucky she has an iud and doesn’t have to lose more kids and support more baby daddies.