Britney Spears has been in the news a lot these past few months, and sadly, very few updates on the pop icon have been encouraging.
In fact, many fans are convinced that Spears is in the midst of a personal crisis.
The scrutiny began when Spears accidentally burned down her home gym.
Both the action and Britney’s blasé reaction were taken as signs that the singer was not faring well in isolation.
And her social media posts in the weeks that followed didn’t do much to disabuse fans of that notion.
Now, some are going so far as to claim that Britney is being held captive.
Whether or not that’s true in the most literal sense, Spears is currently restrained by a conservatorship controlled by her father.
The arrangement has been a source of controversy for years and it was supposed to come up for review in a status hearing this week.But as TMZ reports, the phone call did not take place as planned.
Now, Brit’s brother, Bryan Spears, is running damage control and sticking up for his dad.
In a new podcast interview, Bryan says that the conservatorship has been a “great thing for our family” and suggests that ending the arrangement would be disastrous for Britney,
He concedes that Britney has “always wanted to get out of [the conservatorship],” but argues that she doesn’t know what’s best for herself.
“It’s very frustrating to have,” he says.
“Whether someone’s coming in peace to help or coming in with an attitude, having someone constantly tell you to do something has got to be frustrating.”
He explains that the situation was even more tense in the beginning.
“We kind of came together and not everybody agreed with [the conservatorship]; everyone had their own opinion like, maybe we should do it this way or that way,” Bryan says.
“But at the end, I think we made the right choice.”
He concludes by arguing that ending the conservatorship abruptly now would send Britney into a tailspim.
“She’s been surrounded by a team of people since she was 15, so at what level does everyone just walk away or get reduced?” he asks the host.
He adds that Britney has never had the burden of driving herself anywhere or completing simple “everyday tasks”.
“I’m sure it’s going to be an adjustment,” he concludes.
Now, we suppose it’s possible that Bryan is right -- after all, Britney is his sister and he’s known her all her life.
But if the goal was to convince fans that Britney is not being held captive or treated unfairly, we’d have to call this interview a massive failure.