Where to watch Framing Britney Spears documentary in Ireland
US singer Britney Spears is the subject of a new documentary by the New York Times which has caused much debate about the pop star's life.
Framing Britney Spears is a documentary made by the New York Times which was released in the United States this week. It analyses the star's rise to fame in the 1990s and early 2000s and the subsequent difficulties she faced. It explores the media’s treatment of Ms Spears during and after a mental health crisis, as well as her relationship with her father, Jamie, and his controversial long-running conservatorship, where he oversees her finances and other areas of her life since 2008.
Ms Spears’ finances and personal affairs have been controlled by a contentious legal agreement since 2008 after she experienced mental health difficulties and her life publicly unravelled in 2007. Mr Spears was appointed her conservator at this time. Fans of Ms Spears have long contended the conservatorship is unfair and Ms Spears has tried ousting her father from his role.
At a hearing in November, the singer’s lawyer said she is “afraid” of her father and will not perform while he maintains control over her affairs.
Ms Spears, who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, has not performed live since October 2018. Another hearing in the conservatorship case is scheduled to take place on March 17.
Ms Spears appeared to indirectly address the documentary about her life in a post on Instagram. She shared a video of her performing her hit song ‘Toxic’ three years ago and said: “I’ll always love being on stage …. but I am taking the time to learn and be a normal person ….. I love simply enjoying the basics of every day life.” However, her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, has publicly criticised Mr Spears following the documentary’s release. He wrote on Instagram: “Now it’s important for people to understand that I have zero respect for someone trying to control our relationship and constantly throwing obstacles our way. In my opinion Jamie is a total dick.”
During a very public mental health crisis in 2007, Ms Spears shaved her head while being hounded by paparazzi. This led to invasive media attention on the star at a difficult time for her as well as much ridicule and criticism from media outlets and television personalities. Glamour Magazine issued an apology to Ms Spears following the documentary’s release while blogger Perez Hilton said he is "so sorry" for how he behaved at that time. “My words and actions were wrong. I was nasty, mean, cruel, inconsiderate, awful. I have apologised to Britney not just publicly, but privately,” he said on his podcast.
Lead singer with rock band Paramore, Hayley Williams, is among the celebrities to speak out in support of Ms Spears since the documentary’s release. “No artist today would have to endure the literal torture that media/society/utter misogynists inflicted upon her,” she wrote on Twitter. “The mental health awareness conversation, culturally, could never be where it is without the awful price she has paid.”
The documentary was first released on Hulu in the US, a streaming service that costs $5.99 (€4.97) a month. It also aired on FX and FX Hulu in the US.
Framing Britney Spears gets its UK and Irish premiere tonight at 9pm on Sky Documentaries, and will be available on Now TV after its TV debut.
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