Positive vibes only. Miley Cyrus and other stars are showing support for Britney Spears after a controversial documentary about her conservatorship debuted on Friday, February 5.
Framing Britney Spears looks back at the Louisiana native’s life and career, including her relationships with Justin Timberlake and Kevin Federline, infamous breakdown, which led to her conservatorship, and her comeback and fight to regain control of her life and finances.
Cyrus, 28, gave a shout-out to the “Toxic” singer, 39, during her TikTok Tailgate performance at Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday, February 7, ahead of the big game.
“We love Britney,” she said after singing the pop star’s name as part of the lyrics to 2009’s “Party in the U.S.A.”
Cyrus later got emotional and teared up while singing “Wrecking Ball” and struggled to get through the chorus.
She later told the audience that her 2013 hit is “about feeling completely broken and shattered.”
“Everyone’s suffering is different, even everyone’s threshold of pain,” she added. “I wear a lot of glitter and I wear a lot of armor and I also wear my heart on my sleeve, and it gets broken a lot.”
Other celebrities took to social media to show their support for Spears after watching the New York Times documentary. Sarah Jessica Parker, Meghan McCain and Bette Midler tweeted “Free Britney,” while Hayley Williams from Paramore wrote, “The Framing Britney Spears doc holy f—k. 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.”
The 75-minute documentary, which is streaming on Hulu, took a closer look at the #FreeBritney movement, which was launched on social media by diehard fans to draw attention to her conservatorship case, as the singer filed documents in 2020 seeking to have her father, Jamie Spears, removed as her conservator and replaced by a third party.
Jamie was appointed conservator of his daughter and her estate in 2008 after Britney’s public breakdown. Her lawyer told a judge in November 2020 that the Grammy winner “is afraid of her father” and refuses to “perform as long as her father is in charge of her career.”
Framing Britney Spears also revisited her breakup with Timberlake in 2002 after four years of dating. The former ‘NSync member went on to launch a solo career, writing his hit “Cry Me a River,” which was reportedly about Britney’s infidelity.
Timberlake, 40, also spoke in post-split interviews about having sex with Britney and the documentary suggests that he pushed the narrative that she cheated on him, damaging her reputation in the process.
Several fans took aim at the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” singer on social media, with one tweeting that he “dragged Britney through the mud.”
But an insider told Us Weekly exclusively that Britney doesn’t have any hard feelings toward her ex.
“Britney does not hold a grudge against Justin over anything he’s said or done,” the source added. “She feels that they were young and in love and both did stupid things when they were together. She was heartbroken when they separated, but it’s not something she dwells on now. She’s happy and happy for him.”
