Britney Spears was NEVER crazy - a very necessary #FreeBritney thread

For over a decade, Britney Spears has been the subject of a never-ending smear campaign calling her "crazy." This sexist attack is very dangerous and has allowed her team to use this narrative to take complete control of her life. This thread will debunk these lies! #FreeBritney

In order to fully understand Britney's "breakdown," we have to start with her breakup with Justin Timberlake in 2002. This was the moment the media completely turned against her and everyone went into a frenzy as rumors swirled that she had cheated. #FreeBritney

Justin made a kind of sport out of public retaliation, even going so far as saying he took Britney's virginity and putting a lookalike of her in his music video. She said she felt very exploited and "very weird." #FreeBritney

In 2004, Britney Spears had a 55-hour quickie marriage to her childhood friend Jason Alexander. She said this was an act of rebellion and only married him because she didn't know how to break out of being told what to do instead of doing what she wanted to do. #FreeBritney

Later that year, Britney quickly fell in love with Kevin Federline and the two had a secret wedding. #FreeBritney

The level of control over Britney at this time was extremely apparent. For example, she walked into a radio station in 2004 to release the song "Mona Lisa" for an album she was calling "Original Doll," but that album was never released. #FreeBritney

Britney had to fire her manager Larry Rudolph after he continued to interfere in her marital affairs. #FreeBritney

Britney wrote a letter to her fans saying that she's finally learned how to say "NO!" and found new freedom.

"My prerogative right now is to just chill & let all of the other overexposed blondes on the cover of Us Weekly be your entertainment. GOOD LUCK GIRLS!!" #FreeBritney

The media hate train that started with Justin would continue throughout Britney's marriage with K-Fed. There was a sense that people were rooting for her marriage to fail. #FreeBritney

Britney Spears gave birth to two young boys Jayden and Sean Preston in a time span of only 10 months and many people believe her breakdown may have been the result of post-partum depression. #FreeBritney

The paparazzi were already terrorizing Britney in 2006 to the point that she was begging them to leave her and her babies alone. #FreeBritney

The paparazzi would often put Britney and her sons in dangerous situations. In one instance, she was photographed driving away with Sean on her lap and the media quickly spun the narrative that Britney was a "bad mom." #FreeBritney

Britney says the media and the paparazzi were taking cheap shots and reminded everyone that she's only human. #FreeBritney

In late 2006, Britney and Kevin got a divorce and the media celebrated. #FreeBritney

Within hours of her divorce, Britney was seen with none other than her former manager Larry Rudolph who would take a big role in her life over the next few months. #FreeBritney

Larry was with Britney on her birthday when the paparazzi got a shot of her panties and spread it around the internet. #FreeBritney

Larry was also there on New Years Eve when Britney collapsed and had to be carried out of the club. #FreeBritney

All of this came to a head in February 2007 when Larry Rudolph organized a sort of "intervention" for Britney with her mom and Kevin Federline to try and send her to rehab. #FreeBritney

We all know the story. Britney then checked herself out of rehab and walked into a salon and shaved her head. #FreeBritney

Britney talked about this in her documentary saying yeah she was going through a lot, but she wasn't crazy. She was feeling a form of rebellion and feeling free. #FreeBritney

The hairdresser at the salon said Britney wanted to start fresh and only got emotional afterwards when she said her mom was going to be really upset. #FreeBritney

In fact, a bodyguard kept opening the blinds in the salon to allow the paparazzi to take pictures. #FreeBritney

It is sexist propoganda to assume a woman is crazy because she shaved her head. In fact, many other female celebrities have done the same thing but will often get praised for it unlike Britney. #FreeBritney

As the public continued to criticize her and the paparazzi got even worse, Britney retaliated by hitting one of their cars with an umbrella. Not a stellar moment, but after years and years and years of taking it from the paparazzi, Britney had finally cracked. #FreeBritney

However, plenty of other celebrities have gotten into physical altercations with the paparazzi or even have mug shots yet they are not deemed "crazy" or unfit to manage their own lives. #FreeBritney

Britney shaved her head almost a year before she was ever put under a conservatorship and she agreed to go back into rehab to complete a 30 day program, where paparazzi continued to find ways to take pictures of her. #FreeBritney

Following rehab, Britney wrote a letter to her fans saying she was cutting ties with people in her life who "made more of some issues than was necessary" and "wanted to be in more control of my life than me." #FreeBritney

Britney fired her manager Larry Rudolph and even filed a labor petition against him to get out of a contract. #FreeBritney

She also texted her dad saying the biggest mistake she made after her divorce was letting Larry into her hotel room. She said, "it's really strange to have a manager send you to rehab whos the main one giving you the drinks." #FreeBritney

Britney's relationship with her family began to deteriorate as her father came out in defense of Larry. He said Britney was "out of control" and Larry was "doing what her mother and father ... knew needed to be done" when he sent her to rehab. #FreeBritney

This led Britney to completely estrange herself from her friends and family as she put all her trust in her new manager Sam Lutfi. #FreeBritney

Together, they would embark on Britney's Blackout era which started with a VMA performance that was universally panned by the critics despite now being one of the most iconic performances of all time. #FreeBritney

Britney got into some more trouble as paparazzi filmed her hitting a parked car twice. She was charged with two misdemeanors for a hit & run and driving with a suspended license. #FreeBritney

Britney's custody judge was extremely harsh and used this as a reason to take away her kids. #FreeBritney

Britney and Kevin then had an extremely intense and public custody battle playing out in front of the world. #FreeBritney

As 2007 progressed, Britney's relationship with the paparazzi changed as she started dating one of them and going on innocent adventures with them, wearing wigs and speaking in accents. Whether performative or just having fun, none of this suggests Britney was crazy. #FreeBritney

Probably the most horrific moment was in January 2008 when Britney was involuntarily taken from her home and hospitalized after locking herself in the bathroom with her son. #FreeBritney

Britney wrote a letter saying this was understandable considering her friend at the door kept telling her the cops were leaving and to stay in the bathroom. She was "lied to and set up" and she did spin out of control as any mother would in those circumstances. #FreeBritney

We don't believe all of this is happening by accident as Britney's mom wrote in her autobiography that plans had been underway for WEEKS at this point to put her under a conservatorship and give her father complete control of her life. #FreeBritney

On February 1st, 2008, Britney was AGAIN taken by ambulance to the hospital against her will. However, this one was planned by her family who "worked closely with the LAPD for weeks" to get her back into the hospital. #FreeBritney

Britney's father had all the paperwork ready that day to put her under a conservatorship claiming without evidence that she had a "dementia-related illness" and that she couldn't manage her own daily life or finances. A judge granted it with hearings to follow. #FreeBritney

Under conservatorship, Britney Spears:

- Doesn't control her own money
- Can't hire an attorney
- Can't drive, vote or see friends without permission
- Isn't allowed to have custody of her children
- Has her social media monitored
- Her dad is in total control #FreeBritney

When implementing the conservatorship, Britney's father had a few problems. First her psychiatrist from 2007 would not agree to file a declaration saying she could not handle her own affairs. #FreeBritney

Britney was also attempting to fight the conservatorship by hiring attorney Adam Streisand who went to court and said she did not want her father in control of her finances. However, the judge ejected him from the room and took away Britney's right to an attorney. #FreeBritney

Then, they tried to get a capacity declaration from Dr. Stephen Marmer who apparently refused because a third doctor named James Spar was the one who ultimately filed the report saying Britney didn't have the capacity to retain a lawyer or attend her own hearings. #FreeBritney

It is clear the judge, Reva Goetz, was corrupt because she has hosted events with the attorneys for Britney's father and with Britney's co-conservator Andrew Wallet at the same time that she's awarding them money from Britney's estate. #FreeBritney

The judge has also held events with Sam Ingham, Britney's court-appointed attorney, and James Spar who was the only doctor they could get to deem Britney unable to manage her own life. #FreeBritney

Under conservatorship, Britney is not allowed to make her own medical decisions so anything post-2008 cannot be used as proof that "Britney is crazy" because she may be currently being forced to take medication for a mental illness that she may not have. #FreeBritney

The fact is, Britney was NEVER crazy. Was she acting out and rebelling? Yes. Was she sometimes erratic? Yes. Was a lot of it justified? Yes. But there is no proof that Britney was "crazy" or mentally unwell enough to justify a conservatorship. #FreeBritney