Pulling backmost the curtain. A caller documentary centers connected Britney Spears’ beingness and career, offering uncommon penetration from those successful her interior ellipse astir her lengthy conservatorship battle.
The sixth occurrence of The New York Times Presents, titled “Framing Britney Spears,” features interviews with insiders including the Princess of Pop’s longtime household person and erstwhile assistant, Felicia Culotta; the Jive Records selling enforcement who helped signifier her career, Kim Kaiman; assorted journalists and photographers who person covered Spears, 39, implicit the years; and lawyers who person had engagement successful the conservatorship.
The 75-minute movie takes viewers done the Louisiana native’s childhood, her days connected Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, her megasuccessful euphony career, her romanticist relationships with Justin Timberlake and Kevin Federline, her infamous breakdown successful the mid-2000s, her comeback and the indefinite enactment hiatus that she has been on since 2019 arsenic she fights for power of her beingness and money.
In February 2008, Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, was named the conservator of her idiosyncratic and her estate. She has remained nether the court-ordered guardianship ever since and seldom speaks astir it publicly, though her attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, told a justice successful November 2020 that “she is acrophobic of her father” and refuses to “perform arsenic agelong arsenic her begetter is successful complaint of her career.”
While Britney filed a petition that aforesaid period to person Jamie, 68, removed arsenic the conservator of her estate and replaced by a 3rd party, helium aboriginal claimed to CNN that they had been connected “good terms” arsenic precocious arsenic August 2020. Jamie has argued that helium should enactment connected the lawsuit arsenic helium had been instrumental successful redeeming Britney’s beingness and vocation erstwhile she was astatine her lowest point.
The “Toxic” singer’s mother, Lynne Spears, is considered an funny enactment successful the conservatorship, though she has ne'er had a ceremonial relation similar her ex-husband. Lynne, 65, has, however, indicated that she is connected Britney’s broadside successful presumption of loosening the constraints. The Through the Storm author’s attorney, Gladstone Jones, said successful a November 2020 tribunal proceeding that “Lynne believes the clip is present to commencement caller fixed the circumstances of Britney’s petition [to region Jamie].”
In the midst of the drama, Britney’s diehard fans launched the #FreeBritney campaign connected societal media to dependable concerns astir imaginable injustices successful the case. Ingham said successful a September 2020 tribunal filing that “Britney welcomes and appreciates the informed enactment of her fans” arsenic she tries to “regain immoderate idiosyncratic autonomy” during her clip retired of the spotlight.
Scroll down to work much from “Framing Britney Spears,” which begins streaming connected Hulu Friday, February 5, and airs connected FX that evening astatine 10 p.m. ET.