Documentary about the Free Britney movement shines a light on misogynistic media landscape

The documentary focusing on the Free Britney movement also reflects on the portrayal of Britney as a "slut" after her break up with Justin Timberlake.

Top News . Written by Katie Donohoe.

Free Britney

The campaign to Free Britney Spears has taken centre stage with the release of the documentary ‘Framing Britney’ by the New York Times.

While the documentary discussed Britney’s current situation involving her conservatorship and the Free Britney movement, the biggest takeaway for many was her relationship with Justin Timberlake.

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake dated for three years calling it quits in 2002.

In November of 2002, Timberlake launched his solo career and created huge media buzz with the music video for ‘Cry Me A River’.

In the video, a Britney look-a-like plays his love interest as he sings lyrics such as “It wasn’t like you only talked to him,” making everyone think that Britney had cheated on Justin.

Shortly after, Justin appeared on a number of radio interviews where he kept talking about having sex with Britney.

This gave rise to a narrative to what the documentary describes as Justin being portrayed as the “school quarterback” with Britney being condemned as the “high school slut” responsible for their break-up.

Many who watched the documentary shared their thoughts on Justin’s conduct.

“Justin Timberlake has done a lot of sh*t that he needs to apologize for, but his treatment of Britney is at the top of the list,” one Twitter user wrote. “I want a public apology, and acknowledgement of the harm he’s done.”

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Many have also been reacting to the misogynistic nature in which the media and paparazzi treated Britney. In the 2000s, Britney was the centre of a media storm with paparazzi invaded her privacy and demonised her as a mother.

Britney Spears has been under the conservatorship of her Father Jamie for 13 years. Many who watched the documentary questioned the court’s decision to allow the conservatorship to continue for so long with one commentator in the documentary questioning if the same would happen to a man in the United States.

The documentary highlights an interview with Diane Sawyer in 2003 where Sawyer seemed to justify a quote from the former Governer of Maryland’s wife Kendel Ehrlich, who said she would shoot Britney Spears if she had the chance. “Oh, that’s horrible. That’s really bad,” Spears said in response to the quote. “Because of the example to kids and how hard it is to be a parent,” Sawyer counters.

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“I wish I personally knew better then,” Terron Moore tweeted. “It’s nothing short of terrifying to see so clearly laid out what we as a culture did to this woman who absolutely didn’t deserve any of it.”

For the moment, ‘Framing Britney’ which airs on FX and Hulu in the US, is unavailable to watch in Ireland without the use of a VPN service.

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