Was it misguided to #FreeBritney? Inside Britney Spears' toxic spiral from ... trends now

On November 12, 2021, Britney Spears celebrated 'the best day ever' as a judge called an end to her controversial conservatorship. 

It marked the end of 14 long years in which Britney's finances, career and personal liberties had been controlled by her father Jamie - a move he insisted was to protect her wellbeing, yet she claimed was 'abusive.' 

The 42-year-old Grammy winner had compared being under conservatorship to being a 'sex trafficking victim', detailing that she was made to work against her will, forced into taking birth control and had no control over seeing her sons or friends. 

Indeed, having heard Britney's emotive testimony it was hard not to sympathise, after all who would want to think of the princess of pop locked away in an ivory tower with no autonomy? 

Certainly not the fans who had championed the #FreeBritney campaign and openly wept openly outside the courtroom when her conservatorship was terminated. 

Yet three years on from the fateful ruling, it's beginning to look like cutting Britney off from her only support system was misguided. 

In fact concerns are so great for the troubled mother-of-two that a Hollywood psychiatrist has now claimed that the best course of action would be placing Britney under another conservatorship, insisting she needs 'structure and supervision,' for her own protection.

Back in 2021, Dr. Charles Sophy's advice would have seen him cancelled by the #FreeBritney brigade, yet now even her staunch fans are fearing if terminating the conservatorship was in fact the best course of action for Britney. 

So where did it all go wrong for Britney? 

Having regained control of her social media in 2021, eyebrows were raised when Britney immediately began stripping off for nude selfies and filming herself dancing with a vacant expression. 

Her sons Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17, were said to be 'embarrassed' by her behaviour and in a tell-all interview alongside their father they soon declared that despite a conservatorship no longer dictating when they could see her, they were were in no rush to meet up. 

Jayden admitted 'it will take a lot of time and effort' to repair their relationship, explaining: 'I just want her to get better mentally. When she gets better I really want to see her again.'

Britney responded in fiery fashion that day with a freewheeling Instagram tirade in which she goaded Jayden to 'learn to pick up a book and read one before you resort to even thinking about my intellect sweetheart !!!' 

It was clear tensions were frayed between the trio when her sons did not attend her wedding to Sam Asghari, 29, earlier in the year. 

That union had also raised eyebrows among her inner circle. 

Sam began dating Britney in October 2016 after he was cast as her love interest in the music video for Slumber Party. In October 2021, amid her legal battle to end her conservatorship, they announced their engagement. 

Hollywood star Octavia Spencer was quick to warn Britney in the comments that she should 'sign a prenup', yet later apologised for her remarks and insisted she had intended to 'make the couple laugh not cause pain.'

Five months after Britney's conservatorship came to an end - in which she had been made to wear an IUD contraceptive device - Britney announced she was pregnant with the couple's first child. 

She shared the joyous news in April 2022 but a month later she wrote on Instagram that she had sadly lost the 'miracle baby' which they both longed for. She said that they would keep on trying for a child.

Two months later, the couple were married at her home in Thousand Oaks.

It was certainly a fairytale spectacle, with the bride arriving in a carriage drawn by white horses and their hooves painted gold.

She told Vogue magazine at the time: 'We really wanted to make this a small and beautiful moment with family and friends.'

Her immediate family (including her parents, sister, and brother) were not invited, however, and her two sons did not attend. 

Their father Kevin's attorney told People that both sons were 'happy for their mum' and 'hopeful that Sam and Britney are starting a great future together.'

At the wedding itself there were signs that this wasn't a conventional union. 

The first dance, traditionally a bride and groom only affair, was instead Britney plus Madonna and Selena Gomez dancing to the bride's hit Toxic. 

It seemed to set the scene for marital life, with the couple splitting just a year later and citing 'irreconcilable differences'.

Britney, thankfully, had taken on Octavia's advice and signed a pre-nup, yet is said to be paying around $10,000 per month for him to live in a high-rise apartment in Los Angeles. Their divorce is yet to be finalised. 

While she found herself facing heartbreak and loss, Britney's newfound conservatorship freedom did allow her to revive her much-loved music career. 

She teamed up with Elton John to release Hold Me Closer - her first song in six years - and a remix of Elton's classic Tiny Dancer. 

Fans went wild for the track, sending it straight to No. 1 in 35 countries, while Elton expressed its hopes that the success would 'restore Britney's confidence', noting she'd been left 'broken' by her conservatorship. 

However the eccentric dancing videos, pointed digs at family members and nude selfies continued, ultimately prompting the police to perform a welfare check on the singer. 

In January 2023, fans urged law enforcement to check on the star as a result of her erratic social media behaviour, which saw her days earlier claim she had changed her name to River Red

Fans were concerned the singer - who had recently addressed a seeming 'manic' episode in a restaurant with husband Sam - was in danger after deleting her Instagram for for the seventh time in less than a year.

Deputies from Ventura Co. Sheriff's Office were then sent out to her home home and determined 'there was no reason to believe she was in danger'.

In response, Britney took to Twitter to lament her lack of privacy and complained that she felt like she was being 'gaslit' and 'bullied.'

Although she stressed that police never 'entered' her house and stayed at her gate, she said the situation went 'a little too far.'

In contrast with her usual bubbly Instagram posts, Britney's Twitter statement was unusually sober and reserved. 

'As everyone knows the police were called to my home based on some prank phone calls,' she began. 'I love and adore my fans this time things went a little too far and my privacy was invaded.

She clarified that, 'The police never entered my home,' and they apparently left shortly after arriving at her gate after finding 'no issue.'

But the run-in with law enforcement over the 'prank phone calls' still left her feeling accosted.

She continued: 'This felt like I was being gaslit and bullied once the incident made it to the news and being portrayed once again in a poor and unfair light by the media. 

'During this time in my life, I truly hope the public and my fans who I care so much about can respect my privacy moving forward. All the love, B.' 

However, in October that same year, fans called the police out again after Britney shared an Instagram video of herself dancing with knives that she later claimed were 'fake.' 

She later hit out at law enforcement, sharing on Instagram: 'Is it a joke in the news again with welfare checks??? Come on America … we cooler than that, right???

'The officers came to my home and said they would not leave until they spoke to me as people do 4 minute performances with them,' she penned, and adamantly added, 'I am getting an apology.

'I've been bullied in my home for so long now…ITS ENOUGH! Don't talk about it, come on, let's DO!!!'

Britney then wrote, 'As my mom does the silent treatment when paps ask questions about her own daughter as if I'm in the wrong…nope it's an old game.'

In conclusion, she further slammed authorities showing up at her home and typed, 'People need to be responsible for their actions! It's about power for cops.'

The following month, Britney was able to have her say as she released The Woman in Me, an explosive memoir about her life in the spotlight and her troubles hidden in the shadows. 

It included accounts of the conservatorship that for years granted her father control of much of her life and her revelation that she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake more than 20 years ago.

She shared a statement on Instagram in which she explained that she had no intentions to 'offend anyone' in regards to her memoir, adding she has 'moved on and it's a beautiful clean slate from here !!!'

A bidding war was then said to have erupted between major studio over the rights to adapt the memoir into a film, TV series or documentary. 

Having aired her thoughts in the memoir, Britney stayed mainly out of the spotlight in the beginning of 2024. 

She hit headlines again this month when it emerged she had settled the lingering issues in the court conservatorship controlled by her father.

Several elements had remained and dragged on in court, including final payments to the attorneys who helped operate the conservatorship. 

Britney's attorney Mathew Rosengart had also sought a public reckoning over what he said was financial malfeasance by Jamie and allegations of excessive surveillance of

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