Framing Britney Spears: From Justin Timberlake’s apology to developments in the conservatorship – what happened next?

Britney Spears has spent the past two decades with her life firmly under the microscope but, despite being guarded from the public eye, speculation and fascination surrounding the star have taken a drastic turn following the release of the New York Times documentary, Framing Britney Spears.

Few stars have faced the scrutiny of Britney. As a nine-year-old performing on Star Search, she was asked about her love life, as a teen she politely laughed as she was probed about her breasts and as an adult her abilities as a mother were brutalised.

While many of us will remember the interviews, the headlines and the subsequent breakdown’, watching the past two decades back in Framing Britney makes for some truly disturbing viewing: the signs were all there so why did we miss them?

In 2021, the pop icon and mother-of-two is being tightly-held in a conservatorship controlled by her father Jamie Spears – he decides how she spends every penny of her $60million fortune, which lucrative deal she’ll be putting her name to and every personal milestone is out of reach until getting his seal of approval.

Until she abruptly cancelled her Domination Vegas residency and vowed never to perform again until her father’s name was taken off the conservatorship, to an outsider it appeared the legally binding agreement was working in her favour.

Thanks to a Britney-centric podcast, and the determination from her fan base, it began to feel as though the star – once one of the most powerful women in the world – was a prisoner. In turn, her most devoted supporters spend every waking hour championing the ‘Free Britney’ movement, which she herself seems to have recently endorsed.

Filmed in 2020, Framing Britney Spears concluded with Jamie retaining control over his daughter’s finances, and the Free Britney marches continuing to build steam.

But since its release, there have been plenty of developments which, perhaps, will mark a new chapter for the Baby One More Time idol.

What has happened to the conservatorship since Framing Britney Spears?

According to Britney’s former lawyer Adam Streisand, in 2008 Britney accepted that her fate to be placed under a conservatorship was inevitable – she just didn’t want her father to be the sole conservator. Currently, he serves as co-conservator alongside financial company The Bessemer Trust of Britney’s estate and on Thursday February 11 he lost his bid to retain total control of his daughter’s estate, which was the original arrangement set up in 2008.

The next hearings around Britney’s conservatorship will take place on March 17 and April 27.

Has Britney watched the documentary?

While Britney hasn’t obviously stated that she’s seen the film, the day after its release fans felt she was ‘trolling the Super Bowl’ in an Instagram video.

Speaking to the camera, she teased: ‘The moment we’ve all been waiting for last week,’ potentially alluding to hype surrounding Framing Britney. However, she then added: ‘The Super Bowl!’

Two days later, she shared another post reflecting on past performance of her hit Toxic, but was uncharacteristically candid when she wrote: ‘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 everyday life!!!! Each person has their story and their take on other people’s stories!!!!

‘Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person’s life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens.’

Her boyfriend Sam Asghari also unleashed the beast to call Jamie a ‘total d**k’, the first time he has publicly hit out at his girlfriend’s father since he began dating Britney in 2016.

He also indicated that he’s been silenced, adding: ‘I won’t be going into details because I’ve always respected our privacy but at the same time I didn’t come to this country to not be able to express my opinion and freedom. (sic)’

From Justin Timberlake to Diane Sawyer – who has apologised?

It turns out Britney’s very public break-up with Justin Timberlake suddenly looks very different through a 2021 perspective once all the pieces have been put together.

Framing Britney exposed the stark differences between the media’s reporting of the couple as they went their separate ways – she was undeniably slut-shamed while his career went from strength to strength as he alluded to an affair being the catalyst for the split, regularly appearing to bash Britney in radio interviews, music videos and TV concerts.

Days after Framing Britney aired, he blamed the misogynistic system he became a product of, also including Janet Jackson in his ‘apology’ for watching her take all the blame and backlash from their notorious Super Bowl performance in which he exposed her nipple. His statement did little to simmer the criticism felt by fans.

Diane Sawyer, who brought Britney to tears during a particularly ruthless interview, is yet to speak out about the documentary.

Other stars such as Sarah Silverman and Howard Stern have apologised for mocking the singer when she was clearly showing signs of mental illness and have pledged to join the Free Britney movement.

Will there be more documentaries?

It seems so. Netflix is now said to be developing its own take on Britney’s conservatorship battle which was in production before Framing Britney Spears aired.

Framing Britney Spears is available to stream on NOW TV.

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