By Halle Hazzard
The success of the Free Britney Movement had the world and Britney’s most devout supporters reeling. Fans were joined by celebrities like Paris Hilton, Lady Gaga, and Missy Elliott, who took to social media to celebrate the end of Britney’s conservatorship. The movement was certainly a cultural phenomenon, but while the pop icon’s father took the brunt of the public scrutiny, Britney’s ex-security firm, who helped enforce the harsh rules of her conservatorship, were subtly let off the hook.
The beginning of Britney’s conservatorship sparked the Free Britney Movement, although most people found themselves on the wrong side of the cultural phenomenon when it first started in 2008. Early supporters of the movement were mocked for supporting the 90’s pop star, as the public viewed the conservatorship as necessary due to Britney’s erratic behavior at the time. Britney's father, along with the public, deemed her as mentally unstable and unable to look after herself, which led to a court-sanctioned conservatorship, in which her father would take control of her personal assets, as well as her life.
Black Box, an Israeli security firm, was hired by Britney's father to help take control of her finances and career decisions. According to her testimony in court back in June, Britney revealed that her credit cards were held by Black Box and used at their discretion. The security firm benefitted from her paychecks as well, which was disbursed by her father, the conservator. Britney also expressed the inhumane and psychologically damaging treatment she endured while under the conservatorship. In court, she revealed that she was drugged and forced to perform against her will while on tour. According to an ex-Black Box security member, the security firm was ordered by Britney's father to give her pre-packaged meds on a daily basis. He claimed that she wasn't allowed to leave their presence until all the pills were taken.
The most surprising claims concerning Britney's conservatorship were attempted to be kept secret by high members of Black Box security, but came into light through a New York Times documentary called "Reframing Britney". During Britney's trial, the former executive assistant of Black Box, Alex Vlasov, came forward and further exposed the cruel treatment Britney underwent. He revealed that Britney's phone was monitored, allowing members to keep track of all her messages, phone calls, and browser history. Vlasov also revealed that the pop star's bedroom was bugged with audio recording devices, capturing 180 hours of audio. These recordings were taken without her knowledge and featured conversations with her children and boyfriend.
Not only was Britney' privacy invaded, but her body was continuously policed. As ordered by her father, she was prevented from having more children. The documentary revealed that under the conservatorship, she was not allowed to remove her IUD. Britney openly expressed her urge to have more children in court, but under the conservatorship these rights to her own body were taken away. The inhumane treatment and psychological damage that was being done to her was apparent, but according to Vlasov, the needs of the security firm's client, Britney's father, had to be satisfied.
In order to understand the psychological aspect of Black Box's compliant behavior, one must delve into the world of social psychology. In 1963, Stanley Milgram developed a study to investigate how far people were willing to go to obey authority figures. In this experiment, a participant was asked by an experimenter to administer shocks to a confederate, a person posing as a volunteer. The participant was told by the experimenter to ask the confederate a question, and each time the confederate got it wrong, the participant administered a shock to the confederate. In the study, the confederate purposefully answered the questions wrong. With each incorrect answer the shock level increased, and the confederate screamed out. Meanwhile, the participant was urged to continue on by the experimenter. By the conclusion of the study, Milgram was surprised to see that 65% of participants delivered the final 450 volt shock, "killing" the confederate.
Milgram conducted his shock experiment as a direct response to the Germans obedience to the Nazis during WWII. He set out to test whether ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by authority figures, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being. In connecting Milgram's experiment to Black Box's treatment towards Britney, it is clear that the security firm was simply obeying the orders of their authority figure, which was none other than Britney's father, Jamie Spears. Their obedience to him allowed the firm to carry out inhumane actions against Britney that were manipulative and psychologically damaging. Each rule the security firm enforced in the conservatorship was an administered shock to Britney's overall health and well-being.
Britney's father was demonized in the media once the truth concerning his daughter's conservatorship came into light, but why was Black Box able to avoid public scrutiny all together? This is because the security firm's behavior exemplifies Milgram's agency theory, which states that people will obey an authority figure when they believe that the authority will take responsibility for the outcome of their actions. Even though Black Box helped orchestrate Britney's abusive conservatorship, Jamie Spears was left to take on the consequences, as he was removed as Britney's conservator and disparaged by the media. Consequently, Black Box was able to hide behind the guise of Milgram's agency theory, which painted them as innocent pawns who were used to fulfill the desires of their authority figure, Jamie Spears. Even after the New York Times Documentary exposed the security firm for its part in the conservatorship, its head of security, Edan Yemini, went on to work for Kris Jenner as her security guard and remains in his position as head of the firm.
The success of the Free Britney movement could be observed through the critical lens of confronting authority while news gathering. Despite efforts to cover up disturbing facts concerning Britney's conservatorship, the truth was able to get out thanks to her devoted fans and Alex Vlasov. In the documentary "Reframing Britney Spears", Vlasov confesses that he feared Mr. Yemini and Jamie Spears would black ball him in the industry for exposing everything that was done to Britney. However, he felt compelled to share the information after listening to her testimony in court. Journalists often face this issue of confronting authority figures while gathering news because the information they gather has the potential to cause controversy in the media. Since Vlasov already contained the breaking news, his situation is slightly different, but in terms of confronting authority, Vlasov faced the same pressure a lot of journalists face when it comes to containing information that may negatively affect the reputation of a higher power. Fortunately, he was brave enough to risk his job and eminence to help the renowned pop star.
On November 12th, 2021, Britney posted a festive video of her fans on Instagram celebrating the termination of her conservatorship. She thanked her supporters in her caption, changing the popular hashtag of her cultural movement from #FreeBritney to #FreedBritney. The success of the movement would not have been possible without her fans, and that is due to the power of the hashtag. Her supporters rallied behind the Free Britney movement, acting as collective citizen journalists on social media. By turning the cultural phenomenon into a hashtag, they were able to use social media to discuss, comment, and draw attention to the movement; therefore contributing to the content of traditional media on the subject. According to Vlasov's testimony, undercover investigators were even placed within the crowds to talk to fans, ID them, and document who they were. Adversaries of the trend feared the power Britney's fans held, as it challenged them and made the movement unpredictable. This citizen journalism further ignited the fire under the pop star's movement, and it would not have been successful without it.
Although the Free Britney movement was a success, it is important to remind ourselves that Britney is not the only victim of this legal issue. People who were behind the movement acted as citizen journalists by rallying behind her, but what if Britney wasn't a pop star? She was lucky enough to have her army to fight against the system, but how many people are able to free themselves from toxic situations like hers when they don't have a massive fanbase? Through the application of Milgram's theory to Black Box's role in the conservatorship, it is clear that people are compliant to the wishes of authority figures, even if it means harming another person. The security firm helped enforce the 13 year long conservatorship, but was able to dodge the public scrutiny that followed its termination. This imbalance of power is something we must acknowledge as a society. With the end of Britney's abusive conservatorship and the recent tragedies of the Astroworld concert, it is essential we pay attention to the power and access we grant to security firms.
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December 2021