1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,760 There was over 100 paparazzi following Britney, 2 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:09,640 trying to find her. 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:15,440 I pulled up to a gas station and lo and behold, there's Britney. 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:19,840 She had her wig off and she was bald, so I went up to her door. 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:22,680 Are you doing OK? I'm concerned about you. 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,560 Britney was very upset and pissed off. 7 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,520 And then at the very end, Ali, her cousin says, 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,240 "Guys, please don't. This is not good." 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,680 Guys, please, please. Guys, don't do this. 10 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,320 It's Britney, bitch. 11 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,240 This picture was really hard to look at. 12 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,120 What has she lost? She's lost her sanity. 13 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,320 CROWD: Free Britney now! 14 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,000 Her family put her into a form of jail. 15 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,160 The level of abuse ran really deep. 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,000 'I told the whole world I'm OK and I'm happy. 17 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,440 'It's a lie because I've been in denial. 18 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,160 'I've been in shock, I am traumatised.' 19 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:12,360 # Cameras are flashing by 20 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,560 # While we're dirty dancing 21 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,600 # They keep watching 22 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:18,640 # Keep watching 23 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:20,600 # Gimme, gimme, more 24 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,800 # Gimme more, gimme, gimme more 25 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:24,920 # Gimme, gimme, more... # 26 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,160 She was so naive, so innocent. 27 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,640 # A centre of attention... # 28 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:31,920 I think she looks nervous. 29 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:33,640 Scared. 30 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,640 Like she's doing something that she doesn't want to be doing. 31 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,440 # You get me in a crazy position... # 32 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,360 They just looked me in the eye and they said, "Are you a paedophile?" 33 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,480 # We can get down like there's no-one around... # 34 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,240 I've had my own personal concert with Britney. 35 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,560 So I just won't forget that. 36 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,440 # Cameras are flashing while we're dirty dancing 37 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,240 # They keep watching, keep watching... # 38 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,920 We're looking down as she's lying in bed. 39 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,520 So immediately that puts the viewer into the position of the lover. 40 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,080 # Gimme, gimme more, gimme more 41 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,120 # Gimme, gimme more 42 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:12,480 # Gimme, gimme more... # 43 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,520 She's our Britney doll. Like a Barbie to play with. 44 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:20,560 And we get frustrated with her when she demonstrates free will. 45 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,280 # Bet you didn't see this one coming 46 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,080 # The Incredible Lago 47 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,200 # The legendary Miss Britney Spears. # 48 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,680 The last time I was here was in January 1999. 49 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:00,320 I was working for People magazine when I photographed Britney 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,040 for her first home take that was ever done. 51 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,160 Nobody knew Britney Spears then 52 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,080 because her album was coming out that next week. 53 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,400 Lisa Means was the first photographer to be given access 54 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,480 to the Spears family home just before the release 55 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,600 of Britney's first album - Baby One More Time. 56 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,680 Kentwood is very rural. 57 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,680 A very typical small town in Louisiana. 58 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:31,480 There's a saying that there's a church on every corner in the South. 59 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,680 And here's the Baptist church she went to. 60 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:36,840 We kind of bonded over the fact 61 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,560 that I grew up in the Baptist church as well. 62 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:46,080 # When I look at you, I feel a warm feeling inside... # 63 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,960 Britney graduated from the church choir 64 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,920 to become a child star on TV in Disney's Mickey Mouse Club 65 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:55,360 alongside Justin Timberlake... 66 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:57,920 # I wouldn't lie to you, baby... # 67 00:03:57,920 --> 00:03:59,760 ..Ryan Gosling... 68 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,480 Your mum is so strict. That's nothing. 69 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,840 Excuse me. What's hanky panky? 70 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,240 ..and Christina Aguilera, 71 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:12,520 before signing with Jive Records in 1997 when she was just 15. 72 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,600 Back then, though, the little town of Kentwood was still home. 73 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,680 We're going toward Britney's house that she grew up in, 74 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:28,880 which wasn't anything fancy. 75 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,880 Not like what she probably lives in now. 76 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,280 A lot of photographers push the limits 77 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:41,040 and maybe they get an outstanding shot, 78 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,080 but I want to treat people with respect and that courtesy. 79 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,200 And I think that's why they were so welcoming and warming. 80 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,360 This is the image that actually started the story 81 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,800 for Britney and People magazine. 82 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:10,520 Britney standing on top of her brother. 83 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,720 And he just laid there and she said, "Yeah, I'm really strong!" 84 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:15,640 So she flexed her muscles. 85 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,280 It was a... really quite a special moment. 86 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,280 She would tell me how she would sing all over the house 87 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:26,840 when she was younger, and she was pursuing a dream that... 88 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,040 ..a lot of little girls have. 89 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,280 So this is quite a sweet photograph 90 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:39,120 and it's giving you a sense of her background. 91 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,800 So we've got this sense of her being from, 92 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:43,880 you know, a fairly normal family. 93 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,880 And all of these brown tones suggest that the family 94 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,200 is drawing from this rather 1970s aesthetic. 95 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,520 And she appears to be completely unstyled in it. 96 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,920 So she's wearing trousers, which don't fit her particularly well. 97 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,400 So they're looking all kind of rumpled. 98 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,320 It's really wholesome. 99 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,920 She's got this slight boyishness to her. 100 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,600 There's this idea that she's got this closeness to her family. 101 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,240 She very much seems like an everyday small town girl. 102 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,200 Jenny Eliscu is a music journalist who interviewed Britney 103 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:21,120 from the beginning of her career and grew close to the young star. 104 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,080 I think that Britney having a girl next door image 105 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,760 is a huge part of what kicked things off early on. 106 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,640 And truly her authentic self is shining through. 107 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,880 And she has always been in all of my encounters with her 108 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,560 just the sweetest, most down to earth person. 109 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:44,400 Britney's mum Lynne, and her little sister, Jamie Lynn, 110 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:46,840 were also photographed by Lisa. 111 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:49,880 Here's another image. 112 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,000 It was never published in People, but I really enjoy it. 113 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,520 Britney and younger sister Jamie Lynn. 114 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,320 I think she was about seven when this was taken. 115 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,920 They said, "Can we jump on the trampoline?" 116 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,520 And I was like, "Yes, that would be perfect." 117 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,560 The family was very warm, very generous, 118 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:12,840 very excited about the opportunity 119 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,000 to share part of their lives and be a part of it. 120 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,200 The photo shoot was a turning point for the family, 121 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,760 who had heavily invested in Britney's singing 122 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,560 and dancing lessons, even when money was tight. 123 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,320 During this early era of Britney's career, 124 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,560 her mum was the one who took her to all the stuff 125 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,720 and was almost a manager, like what we call a stage mum. 126 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,920 She was there to help Britney live her dream of becoming a performer. 127 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:44,520 This also didn't get published. 128 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,160 It's not one that's ever been seen by anyone. 129 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:49,400 They wanted to go get some ice cream, 130 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,840 so we went to the local drive in place. 131 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,960 I was smushed in the back of the truck to get the images, 132 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,360 so it was kind of challenging too. 133 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,960 But Jason is driving, a childhood friend, and Courtney. 134 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,120 I think this is her cousin here. 135 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,400 And we just had so much fun. 136 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,080 They were singing to Madonna and Britney was like, 137 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,200 "I hope I get to meet her one day." 138 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,760 And we were all like, "Oh, that would be really cool." 139 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,040 She was so naive, so innocent. 140 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:21,320 And I don't mean naive in a bad way. 141 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,720 I mean it in a really good way. 142 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:27,760 Didn't understand what was about ready to come. 143 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:29,920 And I don't think I did either. 144 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,240 Nobody knew if this album was going to hit like it did. 145 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:35,080 # Oh, baby, baby 146 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,720 # How was I supposed to know... # 147 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,280 Do you get up in the morning and think, I'm living the dream of every young school girl, 148 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,400 and I've got a number one album and single. Yeah, I'm completely overwhelmed. 149 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,320 I get to travel and see the world. 150 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,040 I knew I loved the song, but I didn't know everyone else would. 151 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,080 A week after Lisa's shoot, 152 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,480 Britney's first album, Baby One More Time, was released. 153 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,840 It catapulted the 17-year-old to global stardom, 154 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,120 selling over 10 million copies in its first year. 155 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:04,880 But it was the music video, 156 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,800 made by British pop promo director Nigel Dick, 157 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,800 that turned Britney into a star overnight. 158 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:12,880 # Yeah... # 159 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:16,640 I'm now locked in with, 160 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,760 "Oh, you're the guy that did that Britney video." 161 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:21,520 BELL RINGS 162 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,360 Here she is, the biggest new thing in American music, Britney Spears. 163 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,080 The first idea that I came up with was rejected. 164 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,160 # That something wasn't right... # 165 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,720 But the people at the label had spoken with Britney 166 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:37,680 and she had an idea. 167 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,040 Could I get on a phone call with her? 168 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,760 She said, "I want to be dancing in a school with some cute boys." 169 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:49,880 And that was the brief. 170 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:51,680 # Oh, baby, baby 171 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:54,760 # How was I supposed to know 172 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,680 # That something wasn't right here? # 173 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:09,680 The teenage Britney dictated not only the location for the shoot, 174 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:13,120 but also the most controversial image of the video. 175 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:18,240 From my instruction, the wardrobe lady brought in 176 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,000 a bunch of tracksuit bottoms and T-shirts 177 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,040 and sweatshirts and whatnot. 178 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:25,360 And so we put this on Britney and she said, 179 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,800 "Well, wouldn't I be wearing a school uniform?" 180 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:29,880 And I'm like, "Uh-uh". 181 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,960 "I just don't think this is a good idea because certain people 182 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,200 "are going to get a certain perception about this." 183 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,560 # Show me how you want it to be... " 184 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:42,320 And my producer was a woman 185 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,960 and the label representative was also a woman. 186 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,080 And they both said, "Oh, I think that's a great idea." 187 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,000 And I was overruled. 188 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:54,920 Britney embodied the American dream 189 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,920 and knew how to appeal to teens everywhere. 190 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:01,680 # How was I supposed to know... # 191 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:04,160 Kevin Wu is a lifelong Britney superfan 192 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,120 who was instantly hooked on the video. 193 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:12,440 They played this every morning on MTV at like 6:00am in the morning 194 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,000 so I could watch this and go to my boring high school 195 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,480 fantasising that this was what high school was actually like, 196 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:21,680 which was exactly what she intended. 197 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:23,640 # Tell me baby... # 198 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,520 I really admire the fact that as a teenager, 199 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:31,200 she took creative control and this was what sold me on Britney Spears. 200 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,400 Wearing school uniform in this video, 201 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:37,720 she's not being like the little girl. 202 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:39,760 She's being the very empowered girl. 203 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:43,960 That is very much the legacy of what's been going on earlier in the 1990s. 204 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:51,040 There was this incredibly important transformation in the image of girlhood 205 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,280 and it was really driven by Riot Grrrl, 206 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,840 which was feminist, punk rock music... 207 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,440 ..and also picked up by the Spice Girls calling for girl power. 208 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:03,800 # Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want 209 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,440 # So tell me what you want, what you really, really want... # 210 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,040 Standing up to this kind of idea of women as sex objects 211 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,080 and very vocal about the power of the girl. 212 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:19,040 And I think the styling of this video is, I'm sure in her mind, 213 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:21,880 absolutely speaking to her generation. 214 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,000 What was really striking in the moment when this came out 215 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,040 was that immediately it was very, very sexualised. 216 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,080 She was leched over. 217 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,480 # My loneliness is killing me... # 218 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,680 There was a review which said, 219 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:40,320 "Britney is an artist conceived by oily old men in raincoats." 220 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,080 And I was at dinner with somebody that I know. 221 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,320 They just looked me in the eye and they said, "Are you a paedophile?" 222 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:50,760 # Hit me baby one more time. # 223 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:54,960 Everyone figured out, oh... 224 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,560 ..part of what is gaining traction here 225 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:04,120 is this uncomfortable desire that is around her. 226 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:06,880 And so much of what's happened to her 227 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,240 has been because of this thing that we projected on to her 228 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,040 from the very beginning that we won't let go of. 229 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,000 Britney's schoolgirl image opened the floodgates for the media 230 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,120 to speculate about the 17-year-old's sex life. 231 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:29,120 Am I a virgin? 232 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,160 A businessman made her an indecent proposal. 233 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,960 $12 million, if he could become her first lover. 234 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,880 A bookmaker in Wales is offering 25 to one odds 235 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,640 that Britney Spears gets pregnant next year. 236 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,080 Just eight weeks after the album launch 237 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,560 and the first photo shoot with Lisa Means, 238 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:52,320 the celebrity photographer David LaChapelle 239 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,240 arrived in Kentwood for a Rolling Stone magazine feature 240 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,320 titled 'Inside the Heart and Bedroom of a Teen Dream'. 241 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:07,280 When we shot together, I said, "We're shooting for Rolling Stone, which has an older readership." 242 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,840 I said, "Let's do something for them. Let's do something a little bit more provocative." 243 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,320 And she was up for that. It's coming from her. 244 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,840 But we knew what we were doing when we did those photographs. 245 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,200 We knew they were going to cause a little bit of a ruckus. 246 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,000 I didn't quite know it was going to be that big of a ruckus. 247 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,600 17-year-old Britney played the role LaChapelle suggested. 248 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,760 She was Lolita, the girl who attracts adult desire. 249 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:37,200 Ken Johnson in The New York Times seizes on your manipulative cynicism 250 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,400 when you tell Britney to frolic with a Teletubby. Yeah. Yeah. 251 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:48,280 Yeah, there it is. 252 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,120 Britney's first Rolling Stone cover. 253 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,280 LaChapelle did his LaChapelle thing. 254 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,360 Afterward, her mum, Lynne, describes the cover photo 255 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,680 as though it was taken in Britney's bedroom 256 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:11,520 with some outrage and regret that she let the photographer and Britney 257 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,560 go into her room with the door closed 258 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,840 to do some photos that were inappropriate. 259 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,760 However, this photograph was taken in the living room. 260 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:27,560 And I know this because I interviewed Britney 261 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:29,520 about this specific photo, 262 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,960 as well as interviewing David LaChapelle about it. 263 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,640 And they both describe the same thing, which is that this was in the living room, 264 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,880 and that he had fashioned a ladder so that he could get up above 265 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,640 and laid down this blanket on the floor 266 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,880 and had the Teletubby at the ready. 267 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,800 And you can tell looking at it, she's laying on the floor. 268 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,280 You know, that seems clear once you see it. 269 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,240 Was Lynne there in the living room for this photo? 270 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:53,880 We don't know. 271 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,880 But as the person who was always the stage mum, 272 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,840 if anyone could have stopped it, it could have been her. 273 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,680 For starters, in no universe is this a teenage girl's bed. 274 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,080 She's there on a set of pink satin sheets, 275 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,960 which do not look like they've been slept in. 276 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:15,160 She's got a lot of make-up on. 277 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,600 She's got this incredibly impeccable, airbrushed skin. 278 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,560 She's got this hair that looks quite disturbing. 279 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:24,280 And in fact, it looks like plastic hair. 280 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,680 It's very interesting that although she's being 281 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:30,040 styled in this very grown up way, 282 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,680 she's also very much there with a kind of childish doll. 283 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,520 So she is being shown to be childlike, 284 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:38,840 to have that cute aspect to her, 285 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,280 at the same time that she's also being shown as sexually available. 286 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,720 For me, this is an image that's located in the world of soft porn. 287 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,440 We're looking down at Britney as she's lying in bed, 288 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:56,440 so immediately that puts the viewer into the position of the lover. 289 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,720 She's looking directly into your eyes and you're in a moment of intimate relation with her 290 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,960 because her body is very close to you 291 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,680 and it's very exposed and it's very vulnerable. 292 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,560 And it very much puts it into the tradition 293 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:12,440 of women who are presented as nudes 294 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:17,280 for enjoyment by an assumed male audience. 295 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:24,040 But then there's also this sense that she's been so manipulated 296 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,400 that she looks like she's a doll. 297 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,920 And indeed, she's a doll lying still, box fresh, 298 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,320 inside the satin of its presentation box. 299 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,520 The doll is available to be played with, to be manipulated. 300 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,560 She becomes this emblem for other people 301 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,040 to project their fantasies on to. 302 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,000 David LaChapelle is famous for his sensuous, 303 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,480 intimate photographs of celebrities. 304 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:57,960 Images that speak to the trust that his subjects have in him. 305 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:06,000 LaChapelle's photography I associate with being hyper everything. 306 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,840 So everything's very, very brightly coloured, 307 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,040 very shiny, very sexed up 308 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,200 and a world of high artifice and high camp as well. 309 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:18,480 So there is an extent to which he's basically co-opting Britney for his world. 310 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,240 So she's slid into his aesthetic here. 311 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,320 This photograph isn't really about her as a person. 312 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,680 She's conforming to his vision here. 313 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,360 She's kind of not the girl next door any more. 314 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:41,800 You know, to me, it looks like she's doing what they want in that respect. 315 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:43,880 But she looks a lot older, 316 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,040 if this was just a few months after the one I took. 317 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,200 But I was glad I got to see the innocence. 318 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:59,240 LaChapelle created the defining image of her 319 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:01,400 as a provocative child woman, 320 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:05,080 and Britney's music videos continued to tease and titillate. 321 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,800 # I think I did it again... # 322 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,080 She's pop's most perky performer, 323 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,640 more popular for her skimpy outfits than her poptastic tunes. 324 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:15,160 # Oh, baby... # 325 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,920 Seriously, I'm from the South. We would go outside and wash cars in our sports bras. 326 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:22,440 It's hot there, you know? It's not something that it's like, "Ooh!" 327 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,440 But as Britney's image veered from innocent to sexualised, 328 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:30,840 it became increasingly hard for her to retain control 329 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,000 over how she was represented. 330 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:34,960 # Ooh, baby, baby 331 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:36,440 # Oops. # 332 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,560 These are from the Britney shoot, 333 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,080 which I did in 2000 for her record company 334 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,200 when she was just about breaking big. 335 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,360 Nigel Parry has made a career of photographing global celebrities, 336 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:55,880 from David Beckham to Lady Gaga. 337 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,920 The images that he took of Britney were snapped up, 338 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:00,960 selling around the world. 339 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:07,960 She was just a lovely young girl, shooting to stardom and fame. 340 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,360 She was very down to earth. 341 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:12,520 She had that innocence about her, 342 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,120 which some may say was taken advantage of in the end. 343 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,440 I do like the composition on this one. 344 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:33,840 It'll have been my idea for her to wear the black and white 345 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,520 because I love huge contrasts. 346 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,480 And I will often tell people to open a button, 347 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:44,720 fix something in their pocket, to make them not feel like a statue. 348 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,920 But I had no idea what was going to be done to the white jacket later on. 349 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,080 All right, well, this is GQ magazine. 350 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,800 Around here, as you can see, they've undone the buttons, 351 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:00,800 they were closed up to here, 352 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:04,160 and then enhanced certain things about her body. 353 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,640 In other words, they've given her a big cleavage and a big set of boobs. 354 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:11,720 And it's really quite different from the actual image. 355 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,760 # Superstar, where you from, how's it going... # 356 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,600 Dylan Jones was the editor of GQ magazine 357 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,680 when Nigel's image was used for a cover story 358 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,600 and Nigel says was photoshopped without his consent. 359 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,920 So this is the June 2000 issue of GQ with Britney on the cover. 360 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,440 And I think she was a very one dimensional pop star. 361 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,480 The headline is 'Thank heaven for little girls.' 362 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,840 I think probably she was given more cleavage. 363 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:48,920 Even then it was slightly distasteful, but that's what Britney was selling. 364 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,920 That was the point of Britney. That was the package. 365 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:55,720 Oh, my God, that's just creepy. 366 00:21:57,120 --> 00:21:58,880 That's so gross. 367 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:05,320 It makes her look like she's got absolutely huge breasts. 368 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:10,840 That she's undoing her shirt in order to show to the camera. 369 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:17,400 It's so revolting and such an appalling manipulation. 370 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,200 It really speaks to the culture of the moment. 371 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,720 I would say this is like a dark era for women. 372 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,400 I'm fairly certain we would have cleared that 373 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,320 with Britney's management. 374 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,440 Certainly, my recollection is that everything was done 375 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:35,560 with everyone's approval. 376 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,600 I was sad to see that they'd done it 377 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:44,800 and then even more sad to hear the phone calls from her agent 378 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:48,800 and from the record company who were livid 379 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,160 and assumed that I'd done that. 380 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,960 And, erm, I hadn't. 381 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,240 I think at the time, everybody needed a bigger cleavage. 382 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,040 That was the time. 383 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,200 You're going to get me cancelled. 384 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,880 # All your people look at me like I'm a little girl 385 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:11,080 # Well, did you ever think it'd be OK for me to step into this world? # 386 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,080 No matter who was really in control of her image, 387 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,240 Britney seemed unstoppable. 388 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,480 She was by now setting records 389 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,040 as the fastest selling female artist in America. 390 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:28,800 And she hit peak Britney on the 28th of August 2003 391 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,680 as her childhood dreams came true... 392 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:34,840 # Everybody comes to Hollywood... # 393 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,280 ..and she shared a stage with her idol, Madonna, 394 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,040 at the MTV Video Music Awards. 395 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,000 Actor comedian Kalen Allen is a regular at the event. 396 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,600 The VMAs have always been known to pull a stunt. 397 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,120 It's where Beyonce announced her pregnancy. 398 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,920 That's where Lady Gaga wore the meat dress. 399 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,480 I remember the first time I went to the VMAs, 400 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,480 I was excited to be there 401 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,280 because I knew something crazy was going to happen. 402 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,960 Britney has said she went into it wanting to one up herself 403 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,720 and the attention she'd gotten for previous performances. 404 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,440 Famously, of course, 405 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,960 Britney had this history of the yellow snake in 2001. 406 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,600 # Cos you're in Hollywood You're in Hollywood... # 407 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,840 So now we have Madonna and we have Britney Spears. 408 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:34,440 # Hollywood... # 409 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,200 We have Christina Aguilera. Her two proteges almost. 410 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,560 A little bit of that, you know what I mean? 411 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,440 And you have this big moment in the conclusion. 412 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,440 # Could it hurt you when it looks so good... # 413 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,240 You have this kiss that nobody was expecting. 414 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:57,960 # Crazy... # 415 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:02,400 Who could forget this? 416 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:08,400 The famous VMAs kiss between Britney and Madonna. 417 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:14,200 The mummy pop star passing the energy to the baby pop star 418 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,600 is how Madonna described it to her daughter. 419 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:21,720 Britney was obsessed with Madonna. 420 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,720 She idolised Madonna. 421 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,560 So she felt 100% in on it. No regrets. 422 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,120 # You got that something, what can I do? # 423 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:32,720 I love it. 424 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,640 You know, as a queer person, I found this to be very revolutionary. 425 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:38,920 It kind of normalised it. 426 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,160 It kind of... It was almost political. 427 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,960 Her same-sex kisses has tongues wagging coast to coast. 428 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,400 What do you make of that? It's disrespectful. 429 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,400 Personally, I don't too much care for this type of stuff. 430 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,560 The iconography of Britney is this push and pull 431 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,360 between innocence and naughtiness. 432 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:03,440 And this belief that she is sweet and down to earth 433 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:08,040 with this need to have her be in trouble with us for something. 434 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,320 Britney! Wait! This way! 435 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,360 She's never not been getting in trouble with us 436 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:16,560 for something or another. 437 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,200 When the then governor of Maryland's wife 438 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,720 said she wanted to kill Britney because of her sexualised image, 439 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:24,960 Britney saw the funny side. 440 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,800 She's... Oh. I think I've heard this! What did she say? 441 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,120 That she wanted to kill you! 442 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:33,200 I feel sorry for her. 443 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,520 You know, seriously, she probably needs to get laid! Oh, yeah! 444 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,240 I mean, in a way, one of the oddest things about this photograph 445 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:48,120 is that Madonna is kissing someone who's dressed as her younger self. 446 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:50,000 # Like a virgin 447 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,720 # Hey 448 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,640 # Touched for the very first time.... # 449 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,920 And there is almost a sense 450 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,640 in which she's drawing the power of youth on to her side. 451 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,520 So there is that slightly kind of vampiric extraction 452 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:09,960 of fame and currency and attention that's happening, 453 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,440 and also of narcissism as well. 454 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,600 # Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh... # 455 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:25,160 In hindsight, it's Madonna smartly dipping in and out of the zeitgeist 456 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:29,120 and kind of Britney's gone because that's all Britney had. 457 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:33,160 She was just relentlessly pushing this button 458 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,280 of I'm young, but I'm sexy. 459 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,120 You could look at this picture in 20 years' time 460 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:41,480 and people will be going, "Who's that person with Madonna?" 461 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,240 That's what I think of that picture. 462 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,520 # I can't take it, take it, take no more 463 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:53,160 # Never felt like, felt like this before... # 464 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,840 By the early 2000s, the media landscape had evolved. 465 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:00,440 All right, guys, look out, look out! Let's go, let's go! 466 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,600 Cheap digital cameras now meant celebrities 467 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,600 could be followed round the clock by paparazzi. 468 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:08,240 Britney! 469 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:09,840 Big smile! 470 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,040 Britney, whose fame was at its height, was hunted down 471 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,720 as celebrity magazines and websites 472 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,160 began to offer millions for exclusive pictures. 473 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,760 She became their most lucrative target in LA. 474 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,240 During that time, there was a huge growth 475 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,440 in celebrity lifestyle type of magazines. 476 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,520 A lot of the British photographers could see that 477 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:47,440 and got themselves a US visa and moved out here. 478 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,960 Photographer Nick Stern joined them in LA 479 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:53,120 and was hired to follow Britney. 480 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:58,080 Hey, Britney. 481 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:02,000 When I first came out here, a lot of the paparazzi photographers 482 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,640 were previously taxi drivers or construction workers. 483 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,320 Guys! Guys! Back up! 484 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,600 They saw a way to make money 485 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:14,480 and sometimes a lot of money very quickly. 486 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,720 This is Ventura Boulevard, which is generally referred to as the Valley. 487 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:26,680 And a lot of Britney's running around was done in this part of town. 488 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,720 Hey, Snoop, open the door! 489 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:32,160 You would have had as many as 30 or 40 cars 490 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,240 absolutely causing mayhem here at this junction. 491 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,200 The driving was downright illegal. 492 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,160 I saw cars driving on the wrong side of the street, jumping red lights. 493 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:47,720 Accidents were regular here. 494 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,400 One car might be there with a sole purpose 495 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,920 of trying to block other photographers... 496 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,000 Hey, watch it, watch it. 497 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,520 ..so that their agency guys could get the exclusive pictures. 498 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,680 # I can't take it, take it, take no more 499 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,040 # Never felt like, felt like this before... # 500 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,200 There was cars attacked with baseball bats. 501 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,080 There was tyres slashed. There was windows broken. 502 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,120 It was pretty dog eat dog then. 503 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,800 When you have this type of celebrity 504 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,320 to where you can't just even do the most mundane things, 505 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:28,280 like you can't go to a grocery store, it is incredibly lonely. 506 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,200 This way, Britney! 507 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,200 Look out, guys. Over here, Britney! 508 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,680 Because the moment you slip, they will tear you down. 509 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,920 When do you want to get married? 510 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,440 Did you hire a photographer yet, Britney? 511 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:43,920 Paparazzi attention became feverish 512 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,840 when she began dating one of her backing dancers, Kevin Federline. 513 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:51,200 Out the way. Clear the way. Excuse me. Clear the way. 514 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,360 Within months, they'd married, 515 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,840 and by 2005, Britney's image had been transformed 516 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:01,280 from sexually available pop princess to wife and mother. 517 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,120 Did you happen to see that photo of Britney Spears 518 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,720 taking her baby son's life in her hands? 519 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,440 When she fled from paparazzi with her baby on her lap, 520 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:14,200 she was officially cast in her new role of 'Bad Mum'. 521 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:21,880 Britney was being followed by photographers in New York in 2006 522 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:25,240 when she stumbled for a second in the street. 523 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,400 The image was used as more proof by the media 524 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,680 that she was an unfit mother. 525 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:40,560 Britney retreated to a cafe to try and hide with her son. 526 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:54,720 Oh. 527 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,640 This picture is really hard to look at. Erm... 528 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,240 It instantly... I just... I barely saw it and I knew what it was. 529 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,600 It's a photo of Britney and her first-born baby. 530 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,680 I believe that's Preston. 531 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,080 Leanne Simmons was nine-years-old 532 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,040 when she first saw Britney in concert. 533 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:22,720 This was, I think, when it really started to get really dark, 534 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,880 the way that the public was treating Britney. 535 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:30,080 And she's not only being photographed by photographers outside in the street, 536 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,760 but people inside of this restaurant. 537 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,160 To see a young mum with a baby... 538 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,880 ..seeking solace in a diner and just... 539 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:42,120 She's so emotional in it that that's what brings me to tears, 540 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:45,360 because I can only imagine what she felt like in that moment 541 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,400 and how alone she felt. 542 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,440 This is a really... 543 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:54,200 ..horrible photo on many, many levels. 544 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,680 We can see her face is looking really upset 545 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:00,040 and she's looking dishevelled. 546 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,680 So this 100%, you can tell just by looking at it, 547 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,480 is a photograph that was taken without her consent. 548 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,200 So the great image that we have of the mother and child 549 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,920 that's come down to us through art history is the Madonna and Child. 550 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,360 And of course, it presents a completely impossible ideal. 551 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:23,120 Young, virginal, devoted, self-sacrificing. 552 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,440 And in reality, motherhood doesn't look like that. 553 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,440 It doesn't feel like that. 554 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:32,600 And what we seldom see, certainly in art history, 555 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,240 is the mother that's not flourishing, 556 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,600 the mother that's having a bad time. 557 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,920 So it's only really as you start to come into the 1960s and '70s 558 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:47,080 that you get images of what the real experience of motherhood is like. 559 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:49,400 Where you're really, you know, 560 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,160 juggling between your love for the child, 561 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:55,040 but also you're feeling that you're unable to cope. 562 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,040 Britney was labelled not just as an unfit mother, 563 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:05,560 but increasingly as white trash. 564 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:07,440 Look at Britney. 565 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:09,200 That whole picture of her 566 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:11,800 is giving you a new definition of what not to wear. 567 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:14,280 Britney makes trailer parks look trashy! 568 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,560 I want to give this woman a hug. It's a tough one to look at. 569 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:23,960 Unfortunately, in our society and our culture it's easy to... 570 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:27,000 ..vilify a mother, 571 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,760 especially with Britney being the worldwide phenomenon that she was. 572 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:33,800 I think she was unfairly held to a much higher standard 573 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,160 than the average person would have been. 574 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:40,200 But you really do see the love that she has for her son. 575 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:49,800 Britney's image was being relentlessly exploited by paparazzi, 576 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:54,040 but their information often came from those who were closest to her. 577 00:34:56,720 --> 00:35:00,400 You know, we would get information and they would tell us, 578 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:04,600 "Hey, Britney's going to be here at this time at this place." 579 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:06,840 So we were always getting tips. 580 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:08,480 Please, stop it! 581 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:10,400 Leave me alone! 582 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:14,520 And Jamie, Britney's dad, would give out some information to us 583 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,840 and tell us where Britney's going to be at. 584 00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:24,240 Daniel Ramos was a videographer working for the X17 agency 585 00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:27,000 and filming Britney in 2007, 586 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,600 the year that her relationship with Kevin Federline was collapsing 587 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,480 and a custody battle was beginning for their two children. 588 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,600 And increasingly, Britney's own relationship 589 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,040 with these photographers had become complicated. 590 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:46,480 You, come here! You! 591 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,680 There were times where she would invite us to her home. 592 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:57,280 But she would only allow one car and all the paparazzi 593 00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:01,360 would have to jump in one car and leave all the camera gear 594 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:03,880 and their phones in the trunk. 595 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:07,360 She eventually started dating a paparazzo guy. 596 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:11,400 So to us, I didn't know whether she was coming or going. 597 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,200 You know, it was just very confusing. 598 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,080 Are you guys dating or what? 599 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,960 As Britney began dating paparazzo Adnan Ghalib, 600 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:22,360 there were rumours that she might have fallen pregnant again. 601 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:24,600 Who's your new boyfriend, Britney? 602 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,560 That was all the buzz. Is she pregnant? Isn't she pregnant? 603 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:31,480 People trying to get a picture of any kind of bump that she may or may not have. 604 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,800 And I saw these magazines and they said I was pregnant. 605 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:36,800 And, like, it's so true. 606 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,400 Like, America, believe everything you read 607 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,960 because, like, you're smart and I'm stupid. 608 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:44,560 And then Britney was out and about one day 609 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:47,640 and a photographer had gotten his camera with a short lens 610 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,080 and did what they call an upskirt shot. 611 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,200 He'd gotten his camera, pointed up her skirt like that, 612 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:56,560 and there was blood from her period on her underwear. 613 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,360 The agency sold that picture with a caption, 614 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,000 'Britney is not pregnant - period.' 615 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:06,560 And I just thought that was absolutely disgraceful. 616 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:15,440 But also, I could see that Britney was experiencing 617 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:17,880 some form of mental breakdown. 618 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:22,360 She looked like a very frightened, very injured animal. 619 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:24,760 Get off the street! You're breaking the law! 620 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:26,480 Get off the street! Get up! 621 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:30,160 I emailed the agent saying, "Please do not put me on Team Britney again." 622 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:33,600 And I quit. 623 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:37,560 Within a few months, 624 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,760 speculation about her mental health had reached fever pitch 625 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:43,520 when Britney popped into an LA hair salon 626 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:45,640 and reached for the clippers. 627 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:53,280 So whether shaving her head is a form of liberation or really just a meltdown, 628 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:57,000 it's clear that Britney Spears is displaying some pretty strange behaviour. 629 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,520 How concerned should we be for her poor kids? I mean, she has two babies. 630 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:02,360 This is a very serious situation. 631 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:06,680 You have someone desperately ill and who could even be in a dangerous situation. 632 00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:13,120 In 2007, that infamous night of the umbrella attack, 633 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,240 she came out of rehab 634 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:18,400 and a lot of things were happening in Britney's life. 635 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:22,040 There was over 100 paparazzis trying to find her, 636 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:27,040 but a lot of people didn't know about Britney Spears' cousin Ali, 637 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,720 that was driving a white Mercedes. 638 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:34,360 So when Roberto of X17 spotted that white Mercedes, 639 00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,960 he called me and right away and said, 640 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:41,680 "Danno, you need to come help me out. I need your video." 641 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:44,560 Because he does photos. That's big money. 642 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:50,000 Especially at that time when she shaved her hair and she was wearing a pink wig. 643 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:58,560 When I followed her, Roberto said, "We're going into a gas station." 644 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,200 And I pulled up right at the same time 645 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:05,000 that Ali went inside to the store and lo and behold, there's Britney. 646 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:06,840 And she took off... 647 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:09,760 She had her wig off, the pink wig, and she was bald. 648 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:11,840 How are you doing? You doing OK? 649 00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:13,880 I'm concerned about you, though, OK? 650 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:17,040 Roberto's taking pictures 651 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,640 because that was the money shot was to get her without the wig. 652 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:23,720 Britney's cousin gets back in the car 653 00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:26,040 and they go to Kevin Federline's house, 654 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,040 where her two kids are at. 655 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:31,480 And Britney has been wanting to see her kids for a while 656 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:35,200 and Kevin was not having it and was not going to let her in. 657 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:41,600 We kept on following and then at the very end, 658 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:45,600 that's where she stops at the Jiffy Lube, this oil change place. 659 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:50,320 Britney was very upset and pissed off, so I went up to her door. 660 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:54,960 Ali, her cousin, says, "Guys, please don't. This is not good. 661 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:56,840 Please guys, don't do this. 662 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,880 That's when Britney grabbed the umbrella from the back of her car 663 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:04,000 and she was hitting my truck. 664 00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:18,560 This is actually the photo that Roberto took 665 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:22,200 and she was really trying to break the windshield. 666 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:27,160 And this is actually the umbrella that Britney, erm, left behind. 667 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:31,600 Once she saw the flashes going off of Roberto's camera, 668 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:35,280 she just swung the umbrella and hit him. 669 00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:41,960 When she knew she hit him, she dropped the umbrella 670 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:44,760 and ran back to the car, waiting for her. 671 00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:46,720 Oh! 672 00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:49,800 Damn! That's where she got you with the umbrella. 673 00:40:49,800 --> 00:40:52,360 When I look at this photo right now 674 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:55,640 and I've been looking at it throughout the years now, 675 00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:57,440 I mean, I feel bad. 676 00:40:57,440 --> 00:40:59,400 I really do feel bad, sincerely. 677 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:03,480 She gave me an apology for hitting my truck with the umbrella and hitting Roberto. 678 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:08,520 But I'm sorry to her too as well for not leaving her alone. 679 00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:15,120 Britney was now mocked and humiliated on national television, 680 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:18,560 even on the popular game show Family Feud. 681 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:22,240 Name something Britney Spears has lost in the past year. 682 00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:24,680 Her hair. Her hair. There it is. 683 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:26,800 She's lost her sanity. 684 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:28,800 Her underwear. 685 00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:35,560 All right, her hair, her mind, her marriage. 686 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:37,640 There you have it. All right. 687 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:42,080 This is really a moment where she's said in a very public way, 688 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,840 I'm not going to conform to the image of me 689 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,000 that you've created any more. 690 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:51,240 And we associate the shaved head in women particularly with punk, 691 00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:55,160 and with this idea that you're not going to conform to, you know, 692 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:58,680 stereotypical femininity and sexual availability. 693 00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:01,800 And at the moment with Britney, where she's really trying 694 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:04,840 to no longer perform as a kind of sexy doll any more. 695 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:08,280 To remove that projection, that then opens her up to, 696 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:11,440 "Well, then, she must be a crazy woman." 697 00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:14,840 This really is her saying, "I don't want to play any more." 698 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:23,440 I would say this is one of the most misunderstood photos of Britney. 699 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:27,360 Meg Radford has been a fan of Britney since childhood. 700 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:33,000 I think this was one of the first moments 701 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:37,000 of Britney rebelling from the machine 702 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:42,120 because she was saying, you can't prop me up if I'm not pretty. 703 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:46,600 I don't understand how so many people 704 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:51,120 didn't see that this was a woman who was having a hard time, 705 00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:54,800 who needed support, and who, we collectively, 706 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:58,680 made it much worse for because of the way that we treated her. 707 00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:00,840 Britney Spears has done it again. 708 00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:04,320 Early Thursday night, police were called to Spears' Los Angeles home 709 00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:08,360 because Britney would not turn over her two sons to ex-husband K-Fed. 710 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:10,600 It ended with a hysterical Spears 711 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:13,520 taken to LA's Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre 712 00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:15,360 for a mental evaluation 713 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,560 because she could be a danger to herself and others. 714 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:22,560 In the years leading up to this time, 715 00:43:22,560 --> 00:43:25,720 a lot of people saw Britney publicly behaving 716 00:43:25,720 --> 00:43:28,080 in ways that were cause for concern. 717 00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:33,640 The reason they took her here instead of Cedars-Sinai, where she was last taken, 718 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:38,080 is reportedly because her psychiatrist was treating her for bipolar disorder. 719 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,640 By the time the second hospitalisation happened, 720 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:45,320 the wheels had already been set in motion by her family 721 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:49,480 to get this kind of legal guardianship over her. 722 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:53,000 Britney's family has been working to get her under psychiatric care. 723 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,080 This was carefully orchestrated. 724 00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:58,560 I think by that point the toothpaste was out of the tube 725 00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:04,000 in terms of everyone seeing her as a mess and out of control. 726 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:08,760 And that has been the narrative that has haunted her ever since. 727 00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:11,480 Give me three feet, boy. Give me three feet. 728 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:13,400 I mean it, right now. Three feet. 729 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:16,880 Britney's family pushed through a legal arrangement 730 00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:20,640 known as a conservatorship, which gave her father, Jamie, 731 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:26,960 unprecedented control of her finances, personal life and career. 732 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:29,200 Three feet or five feet? 733 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:35,840 Her parents had kind of a turbulent relationship during her childhood. 734 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,360 Jamie, her dad, is an alcoholic. 735 00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:41,640 And so there was a lot of chaos. 736 00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:43,320 Right here, Jamie! 737 00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:45,360 And a lot of bullying. 738 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:50,240 Britney was blocked from hiring her own lawyers 739 00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:54,640 because she was deemed to be mentally incapable of making that choice. 740 00:44:56,320 --> 00:45:00,360 Jenny Eliscu met her in secret in a hotel bathroom 741 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:03,440 to try and help in January 2009. 742 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:08,600 I knew that she was scared of her father, 743 00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:11,800 that she didn't want him to be the one in charge of her. 744 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,600 I agreed to meet up with her 745 00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:18,720 so that she could sign legal paperwork saying, 746 00:45:18,720 --> 00:45:22,800 I want to choose my lawyer and I've chosen this person. 747 00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:28,960 It was a very sort of high intrigue, espionage type feeling situation. 748 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:33,600 Paperwork was submitted and her team claimed it was a forgery. 749 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:37,760 It was, you know, pretty devastating. 750 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:41,640 # Look at you, getting more than just a re-up... # 751 00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:46,880 For a decade, from 2008 to 2018, Britney seemed to conform. 752 00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,000 # I call them like I see them 753 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:51,880 # I know what you are, what you are, baby... # 754 00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:54,000 # Oops, I did it again... # 755 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:56,160 She was glossy and polished again, 756 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:59,040 every performance perfectly choreographed 757 00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:00,960 as she earned millions. 758 00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:02,800 # You better work, bitch... # 759 00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:06,080 But as she performed her Piece Of Me residency in Vegas, 760 00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:08,360 some felt her lyrics sent a message. 761 00:46:08,360 --> 00:46:11,280 # You better work, bitch, you better work, bitch... # 762 00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:15,080 And you seem in a in a really good place right now. Would that be a safe thing to say? 763 00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:18,640 Yes, sir. OK, so you're pretty happy. Pretty solid. Yes. That's good to know. 764 00:46:18,640 --> 00:46:22,240 You know you have millions of fans around the world. I know you know that. 765 00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:25,440 But I hope you know that they feel, erm, love to you. 766 00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:28,240 They feel protective of you. I feel for them as well. 767 00:46:28,240 --> 00:46:30,000 CHEERING 768 00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:35,440 But in 2018, she finally rebelled in public 769 00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:38,040 when she was on stage in Las Vegas. 770 00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:39,840 Oh. 771 00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:45,320 The infamous Britney Spears Vegas residency announcement. 772 00:46:45,320 --> 00:46:48,480 Yep, I was there. I was hosting this. 773 00:46:54,160 --> 00:47:00,640 Probably one of the most confusing, unorganised nights of my career. 774 00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:03,840 She had just finished Piece of Me residency, 775 00:47:03,840 --> 00:47:06,840 which was absolutely ultra successful. 776 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:10,000 And then Britney said that there was going to be an announcement in Vegas 777 00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:13,720 with a whole new residency, so then that's when I was asked to cover it. 778 00:47:13,720 --> 00:47:15,360 Hello world! 779 00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:18,240 We are live in Las Vegas for an announcement 780 00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:21,920 that you are not ready for everybody. Yes! 781 00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:24,080 CHEERING 782 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:26,280 This event I was so excited for. 783 00:47:26,280 --> 00:47:30,760 I remember exactly where I was when I watched it because it was live streaming on YouTube. 784 00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:32,680 I did think it was weird. 785 00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:35,320 I was like, she just did a four year residency. 786 00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:38,160 Like, why is she doing another one again? 787 00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:40,800 But I was like, well, I guess she wants to. 788 00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:43,840 # There's no more waiting Tonight is the night... # 789 00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:46,400 The Britney fans have been there all day. 790 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:48,800 Everybody's kind of just in the moment 791 00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:50,840 expecting something gag worthy. 792 00:47:50,840 --> 00:47:52,520 Y'all excited? 793 00:47:52,520 --> 00:47:54,360 CHEERING 794 00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:56,760 Oh, yeah, baby. Now listen. She's coming. 795 00:47:56,760 --> 00:47:59,400 It's about to happen down in Las Vegas. 796 00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:01,440 MUSIC 797 00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:08,240 And she comes out. 798 00:48:08,240 --> 00:48:09,840 She waves. 799 00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:12,720 Ladies and gentlemen, Britney Spears! 800 00:48:12,720 --> 00:48:14,840 She says hello to everybody. 801 00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:18,480 Pyrotechnics. Britney domination. 802 00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:21,480 Everybody loves it. 803 00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:25,400 Here she comes. She's coming down the stairs. 804 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:28,440 After this, I think it was supposed to be an interview. 805 00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:30,720 I was supposed to ask her a couple of questions. 806 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:34,200 We were supposed to chat about the residency and if she was excited. 807 00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:37,240 # You better work, bitch 808 00:48:37,240 --> 00:48:39,360 # You want to live fancy... # 809 00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:44,880 So this was the moment that I knew something was wrong 810 00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:48,760 because her body language was very off. 811 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:51,240 I think she looks nervous, scared, 812 00:48:51,240 --> 00:48:54,800 like she's doing something that she doesn't want to be doing. 813 00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:57,480 She's being paraded around like... 814 00:48:58,440 --> 00:49:00,440 ..she's not a real human. 815 00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:02,440 # You better work, bitch... # 816 00:49:03,720 --> 00:49:07,080 She was just being directed on how to do everything. 817 00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:09,080 # Now, get to work, bitch... # 818 00:49:09,080 --> 00:49:11,800 I was like, I don't think she wants to do this. 819 00:49:11,800 --> 00:49:16,680 It doesn't feel like this is her choice, you know what I mean? 820 00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:19,840 Next thing I know, she says, "Bye." 821 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:26,440 That's not what was supposed to happen. 822 00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:29,240 There's no speech. 823 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:33,440 And you can tell that the handler is talking to her. 824 00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:36,520 And there's clearly a moment where she's like, "No more." 825 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:39,680 # You want a hot body... # 826 00:49:39,680 --> 00:49:41,840 Nobody knew what was happening. 827 00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:45,000 And I remember a lot of the fans being like, "Is she coming back?" 828 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:47,680 Asking me. And I'm like, "Honey, I don't know." 829 00:49:47,680 --> 00:49:49,520 # Sip martinis... # 830 00:49:49,520 --> 00:49:52,040 I'm looking, trying to see if she's coming back? 831 00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:54,880 Look, do I talk now? What's happening? 832 00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:58,760 And then she literally just walked down a runway 833 00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:00,800 and got into a car and left. 834 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:05,360 And it was, like, very confusing and concerning. 835 00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:07,320 And I was worried. 836 00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:09,000 Bye! 837 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:10,840 Hey! 838 00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:12,240 Oh. 839 00:50:12,240 --> 00:50:15,440 Yeah, that was a rough one. That was a rough one. 840 00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:22,040 This is rooted on reclaiming autonomy. 841 00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:23,840 I'm done. 842 00:50:23,840 --> 00:50:27,800 I have done this for many years. I want my life back. 843 00:50:29,320 --> 00:50:32,880 She felt like she never got to live or a break, you know? 844 00:50:32,880 --> 00:50:35,920 We've seen that for many people. It's happened to Mariah. 845 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:38,880 It's happened to Whitney. And this goes back way... 846 00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:42,440 If we even want to go way back in time, talk about Judy Garland. 847 00:50:44,640 --> 00:50:48,600 In January 2019, Britney's management officially announced 848 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:51,560 the cancellation of the new Vegas residency 849 00:50:51,560 --> 00:50:54,000 and an indefinite work hiatus. 850 00:50:55,520 --> 00:50:58,160 Britney had denied the conservatorship 851 00:50:58,160 --> 00:51:00,280 the use of her image or her voice 852 00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:03,520 and alleged in court that she was then forced to take lithium 853 00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:05,920 after she refused to continue working. 854 00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:09,240 She said no to this, 855 00:51:09,240 --> 00:51:12,920 and they put her into a facility to drug her against her will. 856 00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:16,000 And so, I don't know, I just I think it's all really sick. 857 00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:18,720 And this photo just makes me feel really sad 858 00:51:18,720 --> 00:51:20,920 for the little girl inside Britney 859 00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:24,320 who isn't getting to make her own decisions about her own life. 860 00:51:25,920 --> 00:51:30,640 To find out later that they were using her kids to control her 861 00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:33,680 and that if she didn't do what they wanted, 862 00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:37,320 that they would take away her access to them, it's sick. 863 00:51:39,200 --> 00:51:42,720 CROWD: Free Britney now! Free Britney now! 864 00:51:42,720 --> 00:51:46,240 What do we want? Free Britney! When do we want it? Now! 865 00:51:47,400 --> 00:51:51,080 As word of Britney's refusal to continue performing spread, 866 00:51:51,080 --> 00:51:54,080 the Free Britney movement was galvanised, 867 00:51:54,080 --> 00:51:57,720 a citizen's army determined to challenge the conservatorship. 868 00:51:57,720 --> 00:52:00,680 Protests began in earnest in 2019. 869 00:52:03,280 --> 00:52:07,160 Your family puts you in this legally binding form of jail, 870 00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:08,920 in a lot of ways. 871 00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:12,400 It was just such a sham and a way to control her and her money 872 00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:16,800 and a way to make her as profitable as possible for them. 873 00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:22,880 They controlled all of her finances, so she got a weekly allowance. 874 00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:25,880 I mean, I just think it ran really deep, 875 00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:29,000 the level of control and manipulation and abuse. 876 00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:31,160 Who's running this ship? 877 00:52:31,160 --> 00:52:35,520 Her brother, Bryan, gave a rare and revealing interview on a podcast, 878 00:52:35,520 --> 00:52:40,400 offering his view on the family dynamics behind the conservatorship. 879 00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:43,480 The women in this family are very, very strong minded 880 00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:47,080 and have their own opinion, and they want to do what they want to do. 881 00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:49,760 And as much as I admire that as a guy 882 00:52:49,760 --> 00:52:53,000 and being like one of two guys in this entire family, 883 00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:55,800 it kind of sucks, man, I'm not going to lie. 884 00:52:57,360 --> 00:53:01,560 In 2021, Britney herself spoke to the Los Angeles court 885 00:53:01,560 --> 00:53:03,960 to try to end the conservatorship. 886 00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:07,000 I told the whole world I'm OK and I'm happy. 887 00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:09,720 It's a lie because I've been in denial. 888 00:53:09,720 --> 00:53:12,280 I've been in shock. I am traumatised. 889 00:53:12,280 --> 00:53:14,760 My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship 890 00:53:14,760 --> 00:53:17,640 and my management, they should be in jail. 891 00:53:17,640 --> 00:53:21,800 She spoke so clearly and eloquently. It was like... 892 00:53:21,800 --> 00:53:25,520 I was bawling, listening to it. I was just like, what the heck? 893 00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:29,440 And then November 12th, 2021, 894 00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:33,000 finally, Britney was freed from her conservatorship. 895 00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:35,120 What's next for Britney, 896 00:53:35,120 --> 00:53:39,000 and this is the first time this could be said for about a decade, 897 00:53:39,000 --> 00:53:41,760 is up to one person - Britney. 898 00:53:41,760 --> 00:53:43,920 CHEERING 899 00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:59,280 Meg, Kevin and Leanne were the organisers of the LA protests. 900 00:53:59,280 --> 00:54:03,080 There were so many people... I know. ..just flooding the streets. 901 00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:05,560 We had this entire street shut down. 902 00:54:12,840 --> 00:54:14,760 What a day. Oh, my gosh. 903 00:54:14,760 --> 00:54:18,160 I'm getting goose bumps because this was the time it finally happened. 904 00:54:18,160 --> 00:54:22,200 People just cheering and hugging. Strangers hugging. People... Crying so much. 905 00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:25,840 There wasn't a stranger there because we were all there for the same reason. 906 00:54:25,840 --> 00:54:28,880 It was... It was a really magical day. Magical is the right word. 907 00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:31,600 You can see all the confetti, all the happy smiles. 908 00:54:31,600 --> 00:54:33,520 That's so beautiful. 909 00:54:36,400 --> 00:54:39,800 This image with the figure of Britney held aloft 910 00:54:39,800 --> 00:54:42,200 with this ecstatic crowd behind her 911 00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:45,680 immediately makes me think of images of Semana Santa, 912 00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:48,000 the week of the saints. 913 00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:52,800 Religious devotees carrying aloft statues of saints 914 00:54:52,800 --> 00:54:56,280 in religious processions around Easter time. 915 00:54:56,280 --> 00:55:01,240 This has very much got that quality of a kind of religious icon to it. 916 00:55:04,320 --> 00:55:07,240 The success of the Free Britney movement 917 00:55:07,240 --> 00:55:11,160 in galvanising that public outcry so that the very same judge 918 00:55:11,160 --> 00:55:15,360 who'd been rubber stamping this for years finally stopped doing that. 919 00:55:15,360 --> 00:55:18,360 But I think all credit for that goes to Free Britney. 920 00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:22,560 I'm proud of them and I'm proud of Britney for surviving. 921 00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:25,800 I mean, that's the biggest thing to be proud of. 922 00:55:29,480 --> 00:55:34,200 The conservatorship ended in 2021 and Britney is free, 923 00:55:34,200 --> 00:55:38,560 but she has retreated from the world and stopped performing live... 924 00:55:41,200 --> 00:55:45,000 ..occasionally still making headlines for the wrong reasons. 925 00:55:46,600 --> 00:55:48,880 But in the vacuum that's been left, 926 00:55:48,880 --> 00:55:52,000 it's now the fans and not photographers 927 00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:55,560 who are creating their own images to honour their idol. 928 00:55:57,160 --> 00:55:59,840 I think this was generated by AI. 929 00:55:59,840 --> 00:56:01,720 I would imagine. 930 00:56:01,720 --> 00:56:04,760 You haven't seen it? No. Oh, I'm on Twitter too much! 931 00:56:10,520 --> 00:56:13,960 This is Rio, where in place of Christ the Redeemer, 932 00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:17,280 it's a ginormous statue of Britney Spears 933 00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:21,200 from the 2001 VMAs, which is my favourite look of hers. 934 00:56:21,200 --> 00:56:23,560 Me too. Your tattoo. Oh, yeah. 935 00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:26,440 I have a tattoo of that, look. I can moisturise it! 936 00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:29,200 She's holding Banana the snake. 937 00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:30,840 Love Banana. 938 00:56:30,840 --> 00:56:34,240 He's still alive, right? Yeah. Yeah. Last I heard. Yeah. 939 00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:39,760 Your Banana the snake update! He was still alive! 940 00:56:44,200 --> 00:56:46,640 I mean, it's kind of magnificent in a way, 941 00:56:46,640 --> 00:56:51,160 because instead of having this very stern icon of Christ overlooking the city, 942 00:56:51,160 --> 00:56:53,360 you've got Britney in all her glory. 943 00:56:54,360 --> 00:56:57,560 And I'm sure it's intended as a great celebration, 944 00:56:57,560 --> 00:57:00,960 but it's also quite terrifying, the idea of being this kind of, 945 00:57:00,960 --> 00:57:04,240 you know, the giant emblem on the hill that everybody looks up to. 946 00:57:04,240 --> 00:57:07,960 How can anybody live up to that perfection and that level of scrutiny? 947 00:57:09,520 --> 00:57:12,560 Celebrity becomes the kind of modern religion. 948 00:57:12,560 --> 00:57:15,560 And we create these celebrity icons, 949 00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:19,440 and then we project all of our needs and our desires 950 00:57:19,440 --> 00:57:21,680 and our hopes on to them. 951 00:57:22,680 --> 00:57:25,240 The danger really is that as a celebrity 952 00:57:25,240 --> 00:57:27,800 who has all of that projected on to you, 953 00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:30,040 you don't get to be yourself. 954 00:57:30,040 --> 00:57:33,520 You can only be that kind of available vessel 955 00:57:33,520 --> 00:57:35,880 for other people's fantasies. 956 00:57:38,720 --> 00:57:41,560 And I'm going to be so honest with you. 957 00:57:41,560 --> 00:57:43,160 I think... 958 00:57:43,160 --> 00:57:46,400 I think maybe what fans are struggling with 959 00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:49,240 is that yes, they have freed Britney, 960 00:57:49,240 --> 00:57:52,720 but I think what they thought was going to happen 961 00:57:52,720 --> 00:57:56,120 is that she was still going to be the Britney that they remembered. 962 00:57:59,320 --> 00:58:01,800 And I don't think that is possible. 963 00:58:01,800 --> 00:58:05,960 I think this Britney is figuring out who she is 964 00:58:05,960 --> 00:58:09,920 without being a pop star and what that looks like. 965 00:58:09,920 --> 00:58:13,160 And I think the reason why these AI images are created 966 00:58:13,160 --> 00:58:17,600 and why the fans do this is because they still want her to be what she used to be. 967 00:58:17,600 --> 00:58:21,800 And that's just not how evolution or liberation works.