By Megan Thomas
Britney Spears’ personal life was not something I followed too closely at the peak of her fame – although I was vaguely aware of things like her relationship with Justin Timberlake and when she shaved her head. I mostly just listened to her music (I had her Greatest Hits: My Prerogative CD which I would play on repeat on my discman like the 9-year-old I was), and rehire the film Crossroads every time it was my turn to pick the rental at the video shop.
As such, there was a fair bit I was learning for the first time in her memoir, which definitely influenced my reading. Whatever your take is on the turning points of her life, I think one thing is clear: she deserved this opportunity to share her story in her words. IT’S HER PREROGATIVE (sorry).
For me, whether you buy every word written is not really important or the point, especially on topics such as her substance use and her victimhood in her romantic and familial relationships. Other than the previously mentioned right to share her story however she chooses (and for us to decide whether to buy/read the book accordingly), I think what is clear is how strange and problematic the circumstances of her conservatorship were. Let’s say you think her father was completely in the right, let’s say she needed that level of supervision… How does that line up with her being made to perform in a Las Vegas residency every night?! I’m afraid I draw the line there; if she isn’t well enough to spend her own money, she isn’t well enough to make everyone else billions either.
Another element I found particularly striking was how she was treated by the paparazzi, which by and large we all witnessed. The entitlement of the public at the time was obscene and the ownership felt by the press even moreso. Sometimes it feels like not much has changed in the last 20 years, and other times the differences are stark. In this case, I feel like we have come a lot further than I sometimes realise when I hear about her experiences, which were on a constant scale of borderline to full blown harassment which her male counterparts were not having to deal with.
I listened to the audiobook, which was fabulously narrated by Michelle Williams, with an introduction narrated by Britney. I think, as usual, that this heavily improved my listening experience and that it would perhaps have dragged on a little too long if I wasn’t able to multitask while listening. I’m glad she got a turn to speak.
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