Britney Spears returned to Instagram on Thursday to share “a little secret.”
The message was posted just a day after the 39-year-old pop star delivered a bombshell testimony in Los Angeles court, where she asked the judge to terminate her 13-year conservatorship. Spears, speaking remotely, claimed she had been drugged with lithium, forced to work against her will, and prohibited from removing her IUD. She compared herself to sex-trafficking victims, as she spent the past decade being exploited with little to no control of her life.
The testimony was disturbing, shocking, and a startling contrast to Spears’ previous comments. Over the past several years, a growing number of fans have joined the #FreeBritney movement, an online campaign that aimed to liberate Spears from the conservatorship lead by her father, Jamie Spears. Some fans speculated Spears was crying for help through “hidden messages” on her social media accounts; however, the singer insisted she was both fine and happy—which we now know wasn’t the case.
“I just want to tell you guys a little secret 🤫 … I believe as people we all want the fairy tale life and by the way I’ve posted … my life seems to look and be pretty amazing,” Spears wrote in what was her first public statement since Wednesday’s court hearing. “… I think that’s what we all strive for!”
The post was accompanied by an Albert Einstein quote that read: “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
Spears went on to say that one of her mother’s best traits was to pretend as though everything was OK during times of hardship. She then admitted to putting on a front over the last couple of years in an effort protect herself from embarrassment.
“I’m bringing this to peoples attention because I don’t want people to think my life is perfect because IT’S DEFINITELY NOT AT ALL … and if you have read anything about me in the news this week 📰 … you obviously really know now it’s not,” she continued. “I apologize for pretending like I’ve been ok the past two years … I did it because of my pride and I was embarrassed to share what happened to me … but honestly who doesn’t want to capture there Instagram in a fun light.”
Spears told fans that her “pretending” had actually helped her get through her struggles, which is why she chose to share the aforementioned Einstein quote.
“I feel like Instagram has helped me have a cool outlet to share my presence … existence … and to simply feel like I matter despite what I was going through and hey it worked,” she wrote. “… so I’ve decided to start reading more fairy tales.”
You can read Spears’ full post below.
On Thursday, Spears’ boyfriend, Sam Asghari, shared an Instagram video of him and the pop star riding in a private jet. He didn’t provide any details about where they where they were headed, but the couple appeared to be in high spirits.
