Those who have followed the story of Britney Spears over the past year have witnessed quite a whirlwind series of events in a short period of time.
And while the #freebritney movement seeking to release Spears from her 13-year conservatorship had already been building in recent years, the Framing Britney Spears documentary released in February thrust her case into the national spotlight.
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And while that conservatorship is now lifted and Spears can live independently again, the documentary and the arrangement it depicted has given fans a long memory for those who wronged her in the past and those who didn’t .
But while fingers have been pointed at members of Spears’ family and Justin Timberlake, one 2003 interview stands out for fans as a particularly clear attempt to assassinate Spears’ character.
And 18 years later, Spears has revealed that it felt just as distasteful and bizarre at the time.
On December 13, Spears posted a lengthy statement on Instagram that has since been deleted.
But that wasn’t before People managed to screenshot it.
And while it began with her talking about going Christmas shopping, the topic obviously reminded her of a particular line of questioning from Diane Sawyer during the now-infamous interview.
Since the release of _Framing Britney Spears_, fans have rebuked Sawyer for the way she treated Spears.
In addition to subtly accusing her of doing illicit substances and having a shopping addiction, Sawyer appeared to lay all blame for Spears’ ill-fated relationship with Justin Timberlake on her.
But for fans, the most egregious part came when Sawyer defended Kendall Ehrlich — the former First Lady of Maryland — for saying she would shoot Spears if she had the chance.
As Spears said in retrospect, “What was with the ‘you’re in the wrong’ approach? Geeze and making me cry?”
She also revealed that for much of the year after her breakup with Timberlake, she was holed up in her apartment and didn’t talk to anyone.
So she was less than thrilled when her father Jamie Spears and three other men allegedly brought Sawyer into her home and made her sit for an interview. According to People , Mr. Spears’ attorney Alex Weingarten has since denied her father’s involvement.
In any case, these circumstances made Sawyer’s questions about shopping seem particularly baffling to her.
In her words, “My manager put that woman in my home and made me talk to her on national television and she asked if I had a shopping problem!!! when did I have a shopping problem?”
She further told Sawyer to kiss her “white ass” and described herself as a “Catholic slut” before inviting her to Mass.
And since her conservatorship left her unable to control her finances, she said she’s now proud of the fact that she can take $300 out of an ATM and buy what she wants with it.
Although part of her is embarrassed to share how much that means to her, she said she’s more embarrassed for her family for taking advantage of her and the State of California for letting that arrangement go on for as long as it did.
h/t: People
