How Britney Spears went from pop princess to pariah: FX documentary shows celebrity culture that derailed the singer’s life and career
- Framing Britney Spears examines the life of singer who as a teenager soared to global stardom but was brought down by the celebrity journalism machine
- Spears, 39, has lived since 2008 under a legal guardianship largely governed by her father, Jamie, but wants a court to hand control of it to professionals
The legal agreement barring Britney Spears from managing her own life and finances is now older than the pop star was when the public met her as an effervescent 12-year-old on the Disney Channel – and controversy over who steers her life is starting to boil.
Spears, 39, has lived under the strict arrangement since her infamous unravelling, which in 2008 led a California court to place her under a unique legal guardianship largely governed by her father, Jamie.
The conservatorship – the precise reasons for and terms of which are buried in sealed or redacted court documents and non-disclosure agreements – has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, especially after Spears cancelled her second Las Vegas residency in 2019 and went on indefinite professional hiatus.
Now a feature-length documentary on FX produced in partnership with The New York Times probes the popular narrative on Spears, who soared to global fame as a teenager on a burst of hits – including her breakout song Baby One More Time – before a dramatic downfall saw her become a paparazzi punching bag.
The film emphasises the role of the early-2000s celebrity journalism machine in her collapse, depicting Spears as a relentlessly pursued media target – the blonde, bubbly, wildly successful American princess whose dirty laundry triggered the Schadenfreude of a nation.