To be saddened but unsurprised by Britney Spears' testimony?

[plodalong12]

Listening to this and hearing Britney talk about the control of her father reminded me of watching the documentary Amy and I feel the same sort of Mitch Winehouse/Amy Winehouse vibe and we all know how that ended.

Someone is either too mentally ill to be in control of their own life or they are deemed well enough to be a judge on The X Factor, do a four-year Vegas live show followed immediately by a world tour. It can't be both.

"I haven't done anything in the world to deserve this treatment. It's not okay to force me to do anything I don't want to do"

@Awalkintime just as a PS to what I wrote above, things have changed in recent years, things are changing. You now get clinical psychologists who specialise in developmental trauma, intergenerational trauma, according to up to date research. It is completely different from a decade or so ago, from what I can see.

Does anyone know if any US politicians have leant her their support/spoken out against conservator arrangements after her testimony? They're ultimately the ones who can change the law that allow this to happen

Her testimony was NOT rambling. She is not the most eloquent or articulate woman - never has been even before her issues started. Not surprising seeing as she was only partly educated as a teen due to working at Disney and left school at 15. The last time she was invited to speak to the court she was cut off partway through, so I would imagine her 'rambling' (a pretty gross word to use) is a combination of desperation to be heard combined with the anxiety of vocalising something you have been prevented from discussing publicly for over a decade. But I'm sure the people who accuse her of rambling like a mad woman would be perfectly poised when accusing their father of abusing them while the world is listening...not like it's an extremely stressful situation or anything.

Re the Amy winehouse comparisons. I don't think Amy's parents had the same level of control of her as Britneys family. But I do think it's part of the same. Amy Winehouse was something special. And she was a cash cow to the record label/management/whatever. That is obvious. Anyone watch the performance of her absolutely off her face and the band just kept on playing? She shouldn't have even made it on to the stage. No one cared. All they cared about was getting their pay at the end of it.

This is where the comparisons are correct.

Britney, also something special (in a different way, though, I think) In a very short space of time, she became probably the most famous person in the world at that time. She made a lot of people a lot of money. She was hounded. She had her heart broken and name dragged (I'm looking at you Justin timberknob) very publicly. She had two children very close together, and still no one left her the fuck alone. She has a bit of a breakdown, and instead of allowing her a bit of space, taking her away from the limelight and looking after, helping her with the custody stuff, they take CONTROL OF HER LIFE.

In both cases, the people who should have helped these talented, powerful and successful women, did not. Amy wasn't quietly taken off to rehab and showered with support and love. She was pushed onto the stage. 'My daddy thinks I'm fine, they tried to make me go to rehab and I said no' I hate that song. Not because it's not a good song, it is. I just hate that people sing it like it's a a banger. Britney released an album the year after she shaved her and she was shackled to the conservatorship.

Doing the right thing for these women wouldn't have made much money though, would it? Keeping them working, and in the public eye, that is what makes the money.

Well, that's my take on it.

I have loved Britney for a long time. She was my most favourite. I had her posters, her albums, dolls, I knew the dance routines. She was always just so sweet and goofy. I saw her live in 2000 for the oops! Tour. And I have never seen anything like it since. She was incredible. I saw her again, in 2009, I think, for the Circus tour. She was looking much better, I was so excited to go. I thought she had gotten better. The show was a amazing. Well, the production of it. The ideas behind it. It was a Show. But it wasn't right. I felt ashamed that I was there. She was NOT better. And I haven't really been able to watch her since. I knew something was wrong. But I just didn't understand it. Why was she doing this? She did not seem like her happy self, I mean I know I don't know her. But I've seen her speak, and dance. I didn't know what to make of it.

I followed her on Instagram years ago. But I had to unfollow because I felt like she was so vulnerable. I thought she was mentally unwell and that someone needed to take the phone away. I didn't want people to make fun of her, I knew they were. So I unfollowed. Then a couple years ago I came across 'free Britney' and then it made sense to me.

Fucking hell. They did a grand job of convincing us she was a bit loopy, didn't they? I'd never heard of the conservatorship to be honest. It was pre smart phone I guess. I didn't read tabloids, I'd just hoped she was chilling with her boys. But nah. She had made loads of albums and was apparently doing a Vegas show!

I realised she was being exploited. I believed the free Britney movement. But I also kinda thought maybe she does need the extra support. I thought she just wanted to get rid of her dad.

But now, after listening to her, I think this whole thing needs to be terminated and all those sneaky exploitative criminals get sued by her and then thrown into jail.

She is going to find it so hard to trust anyone ever again. Who can she trust to not exploit her like every other fucker?

Sorry, so long and rambley. But I just love her and it's been playing on my mind today. I so hope she is free soon. And she can spend her days (and her money) doing whatever the hell she wants. She has brought me so much joy and I just want the same for her. She deserves joy.

So cringe

Oh and one final thought from me: people acting in someone's actual best interests don't spend nearly a million dollars of their money on 'pro-conservatorship PR', as has happened in the last 18 months or so. Her father has had every opportunity to step back and allow a different conservator to be appointed if his only concern was Britney's happiness. The fact that he won't suggests to me that she is correct and he is happy to control her, don't forget several of her biographers have insinuated he was violent towards her mother.

@Ihopeyourcakeisshit

Does anyone know what would happen if she said sod it I'm not working?

This is exactly what she has been doing. She refused to do a Vegas show. At the time, she gave a statement saying it was because she needed focus on her fathers health.

But what I think happened is she refused to work if he was her conservator. Her dad is no longer sole conservator.

My understanding about Mitch Winehouse was that following the separation he was living locally and very much involved in ha children’s lives.

I’m not sticking up for him as i think he was partially responsible for her issues but he was definitely around when she was a kid.

She talks in testimony about spending very long day after day rehearsing, choreographing, planning every move of a performance. She's a performer. She knows how to woo a crowd, that practice makes perfect.

rambling may be because she was so excited to finally get everything out and have ‘her say’.

You could turn that around & say -- why didn't she practice what to say. Why didn't she plan it out carefully like she would a stage performance. Decide what her most compelling messages were.

Unless she lacks the skillset to figure all that out or plan ahead.

She can figure out that she won't pass an evaluation. I wonder how she would fail.

The threshold for needing & maintaining a cons'ship should be very high -- i have very mentally ill relatives in USA who are merely on welfare with social workers. They still manage their own finances and fertility. I hope she's treated fairly, I can't tell what she needs, either.

Im really torn on this situation. I think she comes across as considered and eloquent at first. She does however start to sound a little bit "ranty" the further on the recording goes. I don't think that anyone can really make any judgments on this Situation without knowing the full facts of her illness and medical notes. The bit about the iud was terrible to hear and really shocked me.

Another thing I forgot to say is that if she was capable of working to the degree they were forcing her to work then surely her mental health can't be that bad?

Who are these 'evaluations' even being conducted by? It's America - if you think a private doctor is always noble and can't be bought off to do whatever you want them to do, remember how Michael Jackson died.

quicknclean

I have brought up ACEs so often in my work and challenged the head of safeguarding in my area about them given their use being discredited and asked to have been withdrawn from use. They still use them and their use in insurance is horrific and again mislabelling at a young age.

I think it makes sense to mislabel women with conditions they do not have because then it allows men to carry on doing what they do to women but also prevents women speaking out and if they had to admit how many were trauma then they would have to confront what is causing it all and deal with it. Something which they do not ever want to do. It reeks of misogyny.

@thereisnohelp - but how else could mental illnesses be classified? They have to be based on lists of symptoms as there isn't a test that can be done to diagnose the majority.

Regarding EUPD (BPD) there are actual physical differences that can be seen in the brain. But this is more that it can make you susceptible to EUPD - not that you are born with it. It is that and an invalidating environment in childhood that often leads to the condition. It is also true that most with EUPD have suffered trauma. I do think that that is often overlooked and not given enough focus in a treatment plan. I also think EUPD is over diagnosed in women. In my experience in a psych ward often most of the women have been diagnosed with EUPD and the men mainly with Paranoid Schizophrenia and/or Antisocial PD - this is for those there for longer times not just the few weeks for drug-induced psychosis or affective depression for example.

I think she has lost all faith in medical professionals as all of them have been appointed and paid for (with her money) by her father. As much as I hate to question the morality of those professionals you have to ask whether they would give an impartial assessment and treatment if it would affect their pay packet?

I’m not sure ‘ranty’ justifies conservatorship. That would cover 70% of women on here.

I think I might rant if I’d been silenced for so long.

@pabloescobarselasticband

Another thing I forgot to say is that if she was capable of working to the degree they were forcing her to work then surely her mental health can't be that bad?

Well quite.

But even if her mental health isn’t great it doesn’t justify the draconian control her father has (or was given).

@Sceptre86

It isn't up to fans to say that she is capable of running her own life and money. She has serious mental health issues that much is clear. Having fans argue that her dad is just in in for the money is sad because they have no idea of the extent of her mental health issues. If you take a look at her Instagram it doesn't take a genius to work out that her mental health isn't great. She does not have custody of her sons because she is not fit enough to care for them so maybe having her IUD in is a blessing? Would it not be more pertinent for her to focus on her existing children but then does anyone have the right to force contraception on you? I'm inclined to think not.

There are a lot of hangers on around her as there always is with the vulnerable and rich. Who's to say the boyfriend isn't taking advantage? I remember dome years ago Amanda Bo'ness came out with all sorts about her family trying to control her, they didn't want her dead in a ditch somewhere so stepped in. Surely all good parents would do that? I don't know what the answer is but hope Britney gets the help she needs.

Well, yes, I'm sure it would be nice for her to be able to focus on her sons - only she can't see them because her father assaulted one of them.

The more that comes out, the more this sounds to me like an abusive man who has been enabled to own a female slave for over a decade under a veneer of respectability claiming that it's for her own good and as he fathered her, he's only doing what he should with his own property anyhow.

'Allowing her to have sex' but controlling her fertility and 'allowing her to work make millions and taking a hefty cut in the process ' is the act of a pimp. It's just that the pimp or slaver in this case is her father.

If her mental health is so bad that she is incapable of managing her own life, how is it that she can consent to images like this?

Either way, she is being exploited. It doesn't matter if she is 'crazy.'

@Concerned2021

What makes me laugh is the portrayal of her original break down - shaving head and the baseball Incident which even in the documentary seemed to be the main focus points. Like Christ a women shaving her head and hitting a car with a baseball bat not like she hammered it over the head with it plus the guy came across a total you know what on the documentary.

So she lost it - we all have the potential of doing so.
Obviously beyond that we don’t really know exactly but the way the press focused on that as her mental breakdown that lead to 13 years of her life being controlled i just don’t understand.

I agree with this. When I watched the documentary I tried to imagine how I would have reacted in her position. She had two children close together. Every parenting choice was reported on and harped on about. I suspect she had PND, and was being hounded by paparazzi all the time, chasing her down the road, following her. Shaving her head was a desperate attempt to get them to leave her alone. The one time I’ve seen paparazzi was when I was walking through Soho one time, and half the street was overtaken with photographers. I asked what was gojng on, and they said Amy Winehouse was eating dinner in a local restaurant. It was scary. I can’t imagine what it’s like all the time.

@Awalkintime to be perfectly honest I don't see it as mysogyny, personally, because trauma victims are also male, and male sufferers also do not get the right help so that they recover, and I think it is a lot to do with expertise not yet filtering down enough and lack of competence more than anything else, but I do agree with you that many labels and treatments need to be completely rethought

Britney is clearly a very very talented woman, as well as a hard worker and perfectionist. I cannot image what it would be like to have my children taken from me, be denied doing the thing I absolutely love and excel at and to be controlled by drugs.

Regardless of whether she has mental issues, the way she has been and is treated should never be allowed, let alone supported by a court. I simply cannot understand why her money isn't ringfenced away and independent help is sought for her. I wonder if once her children are 18 they can mount a challenge.

I understand ranting, she must feel so frustrated.

But she';s mixing up little things with huge things, is what sounded like rambling. There's a lack of focus or ability to prioritise. She could be emotionally stuck at 15 yrs old, I guess.

She may be institutionalised by her constrained life so can't put things into priority. Doesn't know how to speak with her own voice any more.
I can't tell. I hope courts get the balance right & best for BS.

[quote quicknclean]@Awalkintime to be perfectly honest I don't see it as mysogyny, personally, because trauma victims are also male, and male sufferers also do not get the right help so that they recover, and I think it is a lot to do with expertise not yet filtering down enough and lack of competence more than anything else, but I do agree with you that many labels and treatments need to be completely rethought[/quote]
Many are that is true and that is not being disputed. I think they do not get the right help because they have not supported each other and want women to build up the bank of support networks and again blame women for their lack of support when they haven't jumped at their request, that women are taking all the services they have built and fought for. They are not willing to take this on themselves. Quite often I ask men what they are doing to support other men when they complain ...nothing? So I do feel they expect women to do the work for them and blame them when they don't.

My 20-year old has severe SN including mood disorder aka bipolar secondary to brain damage from a stroke-husband and I have legal guardianship granted by court petition-I had to testify under oath and be filmed doing so. We account for medical care, finances, and can be brought to court for review if there is any question of his well being. We experienced commuting him to a psych facility during puberty due to violence towards myself-they had to stabilize him and determine maintenance medication. From what I saw of Britney's testimony in court I think her parents are despicable. I sincerely hope she can realize justice and peace and happiness.

If britney nmeeds help it shold be a neutral person with no vested interest not her fame hungry family

too ill to control her life but carted around doing shows every night