Here’s how you can see the documentary that has taken social media by storm and prompted serious soul-searching about how the pop starlet was treated.
Several times over the past few years, documentaries have led the news cycle and prompted us to reflect on the perceived injustices of the past. Finding Neverland and Making a Murderer were two such cases, and in the past few days Framing Britney Spears has also made waves, led by fans and members of the #FreeBritney movement.
The documentary first aired on Hulu in the US. However if you want to watch it this side of the pond – and missed the Sky broadcast at 9pm on 17 February – then you can watch it via Now TV.
The noughties popstar might not seem to be the natural choice of subject for such a gritty documentary deep-dive but this one hour and fourteen minute film deals with the pressure put upon the star. From the precocious performances of her childhood, the relentless sexualisation she faced at the hands of the media, the tabloid cruelty she suffered again and again, to the controversial conservatorship that placed her father in control of her finances.
The documentary’s revelations prompted outrage on social media, with viewers calling celebrities and media organisations to account for their misdeeds. Her former boyfriend Justin Timberlake apologised to Spears on Instagram, writing that he wanted to “take accountability for all [his] own missteps”.
The furore surrounding the film also led to the re-circulation of a monologue from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, in which the Scottish host breaks his comic persona to talk plainly to the audience at his discomfort about public mockery of vulnerable people including Britney Spears. His spectators, who laughed and giggled awkwardly at points in his heartfelt speech, mind find it rather more difficult viewing today.
Leave a Reply