The reality star says her friend is being ‘treated like a child’
Paris Hilton is the latest celebrity to speak out in support of Britney Spears, amid the singer’s ongoing battle to escape her decade-long conservatorship.
The reality star addressed the controversy in the latest episode of her podcast, This is Paris. “I’ve been reading all these articles… where they were just saying like Britney, Paris, and a group of us were treated so unfairly,” Hilton said. “And (how there was) this really misogynistic view, and (that the media was) being very cruel and making fun of us.”
Although Hilton hasn’t spoken to Spears “in a few months”, and hasn’t had a chance to watch the film yet, she said that the situation “makes me feel really sad for (Britney) because she’s such a sweet girl and has such a big heart”. She continued: “I just can’t imagine being controlled like that. When you’re an adult and you’ve worked your whole life to build this empire, and then to be treated like a child is not fair.”
Addressing her own experience with fame, Hilton reflected on the “out of control” aggression of the paparazzi. “From the moment I’d wake up and leave my house to (the moment) I’d go to bed, they’d be chasing me,” she said.
Hilton’s comments follow an outpouring of support for Spears from other celebrities. Miley Cyrus gave a shout-out to the singer during her performance at last month’s Super Bowl, while Paramore’s Hayley Williams said of Spears’ situation: “No artist today would have to endure the literal torture that media/society/utter misogynists inflicted upon her.”
The wave of outrage came after the premiere of a New York Times documentary about Spears’ life, titled Framing Britney Spears. The film tracks Spears’ rise to fame and her struggles with mental health, and touches on the #FreeBritney movement, which seeks to free her from her conservatorship.
Spears has been under conservatorship since 2008, after she was admitted to psychiatric hospital for five days. Although it was meant to end in 2009, her father, Jamie Spears, has remained in control of her career and finances for over a decade.
The case has been handled privately for most of that time, but has recently attracted widespread attention as Spears is fighting to have her father removed as her conservator. Last week (February 25), Jamie defended his role, asserting that those campaigning for Spears to regain her independence “have it so wrong”. Speaking via his lawyer, he added: “This is a story about a fiercely loyal, loving, and dedicated father who rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation.”
Watch the trailer for Framing Britney Spears above, and read Dazed’s op-ed about how the media wronged Britney Spears here.