ICYMI: Was #FreeBritney Right All Along?

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3.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2021

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Wednesday, Britney Spears spoke in court against her current conservatorship, which began in 2008. In recent years, fans have speculated that Spears was being controlled against her will by her father through this conservatorship, and started the #FreeBritney movement in an attempt to break her out of it. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle break down the history of Spears’ conservatorship, the conspiracy theories that arose around #FreeBritney, and what the pop star’s statement changes. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh no! The stars have gone out on planet Tear! Only the Crybaby's Magic Tears stars can make them shine again!
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0:14.0	Including eight new talent babies to choose from, as well as six jumpy monsters and three incredible Crybaby's Magic Tears star houses!
0:23.0	Reach for the stars and find the full range at Smith's Toys today!
0:31.0	Have we learned nothing from Anna Nicole Smith? I know it's hard to see Britney Spears as a human being, but trust me, she is! She's a person!
0:43.0	Hi, I'm Rachel Hampton, and I'm Madison Malone-Curture.
0:46.0	You're listening to ICYMI in case you missed it!
0:49.0	Slate's podcast about internet culture.
0:51.0	I know we usually do some little fun dance up at the top, but today we got to launch right into the topic because there's just so much.
0:59.0	Maybe too much to discuss.
1:01.0	We're referring, of course, to the bombshell testimony that Britney Spears gave in court on Wednesday that detailed the level of control that her father has over her life as the custodian of her conservatorship.
1:15.0	Her statement describes, there's no other way to say it, a really fucking bleak life, where every single choice she has from how she spends her money to where she goes to therapy, to whether or not she can get her IUD removed.
1:28.0	None of those decisions are made by Britney Spears.
1:32.0	The testimony comes on the tail and of the rise of an influential online movement known as Hashtag Free Britney.
1:40.0	So, consider today's episode your kind of cocktail party crib sheet.
1:45.0	If you manage to get stuck next to somebody talking about this at a party, you'll be caught up to speed.
1:51.0	What exactly is Hashtag Free Britney?
1:54.0	When did it start? What exactly do they want?
1:57.0	And the bigger question, how is Britney herself involved in the free Britney movement?
2:01.0	And what do all these details of Britney's conservatorship mean for the future of free Britney and more importantly, what do they mean for Britney herself?
2:09.0	For the future of, hopefully, ideally, in theory, free Britney.
2:15.0	So, Madison, tell me, how do you feel about Hashtag Free Britney?
	...

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