‘Strong, unstoppable’: Jamie Lynn Spears responds to the #FreeBritney critics

The #FreeBritney campaign continues to gain momentum and only days ago, Britney Spears’ younger sister Jamie Lynn, hit back against critics on social media

It has been troubling as a long-time Britney Spears fan watching the #FreeBritney campaign continue. The in-depth analysing into Spears’ Instagram posts feels unnecessary, even though it was intended as a gesture of support to the singer. The comments dissecting her clothing, sure that even the wearing of particular colours is a subtle cry for help from Spears is wrenching to read.

It’s true, the pop icon doesn’t look fully engaged when she posts on her social media accounts, but regardless, she deserves her privacy – and when it comes to any mental health issues she may be dealing with, even more so. Much like those who were so quick to criticise Kanye West, we should be more aware of our own empathy. And with this, Spears’ younger sister Jamie Lynn added a few of her own thoughts.

Related: What is going on with Britney Spears, her conservatorship, the #FreeBritney movement?

To briefly recap: Britney has been in the care of a court-appointed authority, a “conservator” (currently her care manager, Jodi Montgomery), for over a decade, ostensibly to help manage her mental health (it all began in 2007 when Spears went through a number of public episodes).

The hashtag movement has persisted, despite Britney commenting on the matter directly (she had said all is fine), especially these last few months as some fans believe, as said, she is sending encoded calls for help through her social media channels.

Her sister then shared an Instagram post of various recent tweets made about mental health in response to the recent discourse surrounding Kanye West, and among the statements shared was a tweet by Halsey, which had addressed that unless you can offer sympathy or support to someone struggling with mental illness, it’s best to remain silent.

Jamie Lynn Spears responds to someone’s comment on Instagram that she should speak on Britney’s mental illness, saying “you have no right to assume anything about my sister, and I have NO right to speak about HER health and personal matters…” (1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/RdHDwHzQMP

— BreatheHeavy.com/exhale (@breatheheavycom) July 21, 2020

She then added a personal caption to the post, writing, “If you deal with mental illness or care for someone dealing with mental illness, then you know how important it is to respect the situation with privacy for the person, and the family trying to protect their loved ones, no matter how it may appear to the public, and as the public, we must learn to do the same…”

 

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A post shared by Comments By Celebs (@commentsbycelebs) on Jul 21, 2020 at 2:54pm PDT

To which one commenter replied, “How about your sisters OBVIOUS mental illness? Why don’t you speak on that?”

Lynn responded, “you have no right to assume anything about my sister, and I have NO right to speak about HER health and personal matters. She is a strong, badass, unstoppable woman, and that’s the only thing that is OBVIOUS.”

What’s poignant here is the dignity which Jamie Lynn gives her sister; she says enough while saying nothing, waiting for Britney to decide if, and when, she wants to speak of it herself.

Related: Kim Kardashian makes crucial points about Kanye West’s bi-polar disorder

“I would never speak out just to clarify things to the public, when the person it pertains to does not want that to happen,” she said, responding to another comment. “I’d rather take all the hate, [than] speak about someone else’s personal matter, that they want to be kept private.”

In a rare interview released Bryan Spears, Britney Spears’s older brother, also spoke – albeit vaguely – of Spears’ situation. She’s been in this thing for quite some time now. Obviously there was a need for it in the beginning,” he said on the As NOT Seen on TV Podcast. “She’s wanted to get out of it for quite some time… It’s very frustrating to have.”

Britney herself was set to appear via video conference in a conservatorship hearing, however, it has been delayed indefinitely after it was reportedly crashed by protesters.

Main photograph: @InstaTunisia

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