Why didn't #FreeBritney happen in 2011-2012, the way it happened in 2019 onwards? What Things were different?

[RulesRules]

The femme fatale era was the era where "robotney" was born. It was very apparent that something wasn't right and yet.... it's as if everything was *normal*.

 

Social media was already big in 2011, and her being in a conservatorship was reported and not kept a secret in 2011. People weren't necessarily more knowledgeable of conservatorships in 2018 compared to 2011. 2018ney looked (emphasis on looked) more well and happy compared to 2011ney.

What things were different in 2011 that prevented free Britney from happening back then?

Sidenote: I wish I could read exhale threads from back then. I remember in 2016, I could still read 2008 threads.

 

[jordeezy river red]

The fan base was still mostly young people and we believed the media (to an extent). 10 years later and we are more wise and knew something was up. 

[PokemonSpears]

She didn't stop working, she had had 2 #1's in a row, a #1 album, but most importantly, we couldn't hear directly from her. Or if you wanna be more specific, there was no podcast that got a whistleblower.

2011 and 2012 aren't any different than any other year of the conservatorship, we can mention when Jordan was posting things since 2009, and the constant was that we couldn't hear from Britney what she really thought about this whole ordeal, whether we were crossing a boundary or not. All there was was speculation, whether it was because of her kids, or because of legal matters, or she really needed it, or it wasn't even that bad, etc. nobody knew for sure what was going on, or how bad was it, or whether it was legal or not, or how much she was suffering if at all.

Is she looking bad because of her handlers, or the few positive things we get are actually THANKS to them? Nobody knew.

If you could read the threads from back then, for the most part people weren't blaming the conservatorship nor her father or team for every time she looked bad onstage or in a public appearance, they were blaming HER.

 

So imagine someone trying to start a movement to free her in 2011. The vast majority would've been like, don't you see her performing? Don't you see her doing interviews? Don't you see her with her kids? Don't you see her releasing albums? Don't you see her receiving the Video Vanguard Award? etc She was even straight up asked in Europe if she didn't feel overprotected in that interview, and she was like "no, because I'm here" like **** off with your questions. So... it would've been very hard. In fact, probably she would've been forced to come out and say that she was alright and to stop paying attention to the tabloids or the trolls, etc.

 

If 2019 was so different was because for the first time since forever, we didn't know anything about her, she was not performing, she was not on vacation, no paparazzi pics, no Instagram posts, she was nowhere to be found for the first time basically since her career started. That was the ultimate red flag, not to mention that the excuse about her dad being ill, but her family acting like nothing, including her own father attending weddings and stuff, was like wait wait wait wtf is going on here? We didn't have any of that before. Andrew Wallet quitting, Domination being cancelled just weeks before it started, it was just a combination of things that didn't make sense unless something bad was going on behind the scenes.

[BritneyLVR]

We all knew something was off but didn’t know exactly what. The conspiracy of Team Con began shortly after and then the B Army went in on the investigation and then helped her become free. I wish we had of known then and got her out 

[jordeezy river red]

1 minute ago, BritneyLVR said:

We all knew something was off but didn’t know exactly what. The conspiracy of Team Con began shortly after and then the B Army went in on the investigation and then helped her become free. I wish we had of known then and got her out 

I really don't think social media had enough clout to really make a difference in 2011. 

[The Greatest Show]

We didn't have the evidence that we have today and 2006-2008 was still fresh in our minds. The media is very powerful and most of us thought that it was for her good. There were criticis but they didn't have any concrete evidence that it was as illegal as it was. My opinion until we got the evidence was that we do not know enough to judge the situation. I couldn't imagine how corrupt the whole thing was and just assumed that we were all missing information that would make it all make sense. I know that a lt of people thought similarly.

[jordeezy river red]

1 minute ago, The Greatest Show said:

We didn't have the evidence that we have today and 2006-2008 was still fresh in our minds. The media is very powerful and most of us thought that it was for her good. There were criticis but they didn't have any concrete evidence that it was as illegal as it was. My opinion until we got the evidence was that we do not know enough to judge the situation. I couldn't imagine how corrupt the whole thing was and just assumed that we were all missing information that would make it all make sense. I know that a lt of people thought similarly.

You are right. And we got made fun of as soon as we discussed it and everyone would just quote the "leave Britney aloooone" meme. That was a very effective smear against us. 

[studlygeorge]

11 minutes ago, PokemonSpears said:

She didn't stop working, she had had 2 #1's in a row, a #1 album, but most importantly, we couldn't hear directly from her. Or if you wanna be more specific, there was no podcast that got a whistleblower.

2011 and 2012 aren't any different than any other year of the conservatorship, we can mention when Jordan was posting things since 2009, and the constant was that we couldn't hear from Britney what she really thought about this whole ordeal, whether we were crossing a boundary or not. All there was was speculation, whether it was because of her kids, or because of legal matters, or she really needed it, or it wasn't even that bad, etc. nobody knew for sure what was going on, or how bad was it, or whether it was legal or not, or how much she was suffering if at all.

Is she looking bad because of her handlers, or the few positive things we get are actually THANKS to them? Nobody knew.

If you could read the threads from back then, for the most part people weren't blaming the conservatorship nor her father or team for every time she looked bad onstage or in a public appearance, they were blaming HER.

 

So imagine someone trying to start a movement to free her in 2011. The vast majority would've been like, don't you see her performing? Don't you see her doing interviews? Don't you see her with her kids? Don't you see her releasing albums? Don't you see her receiving the Video Vanguard Award? etc She was even straight up asked in Europe if she didn't feel overprotected in that interview, and she was like "no, because I'm here" like **** off with your questions. So... it would've been very hard. In fact, probably she would've been forced to come out and say that she was alright and to stop paying attention to the tabloids or the trolls, etc.

 

If 2019 was so different was because for the first time since forever, we didn't know anything about her, she was not performing, she was not on vacation, no paparazzi pics, no Instagram posts, she was nowhere to be found for the first time basically since her career started. That was the ultimate red flag, not to mention that the excuse about her dad being ill, but her family acting like nothing, including her own father attending weddings and stuff, was like wait wait wait wtf is going on here? We didn't have any of that before. Andrew Wallet quitting, Domination being cancelled just weeks before it started, it was just a combination of things that didn't make sense unless something bad was going on behind the scenes.

All of these points are spot on.

But for OP while social media was a big thing, it wasn’t quite what it is today. Movements weren’t really being formed and as for the ways celebrities connect with fans, it was still very much in its infancy. Not only that, topics like mental health or even stuff like the #MeToo movement played a big role in how this topic exploded in 2019. 

[PokemonSpears]

2 minutes ago, studlygeorge said:

All of these points are spot on.

But for OP while social media was a big thing, it wasn’t quite what it is today. Movements weren’t really being formed and as for the ways celebrities connect with fans, it was still very much in its infancy. Not only that, topics like mental health or even stuff like the #MeToo movement played a big role in how this topic exploded in 2019. 

exactly I don't think any news outlet would've taken seriously a movement that was started on Facebook or Twitter about a popstar that is selling arenas. Heck, even after 2019, how long it took for the media to pick up on what was going on? For the longest time all we had was TMZ picking up the trends and twisting all the things we were trying to communicate. How long it took even for Lou Taylor to be named in an article?

[RulesRules]

1 minute ago, PokemonSpears said:

exactly I don't think any news outlet would've taken seriously a movement that was started on Facebook or Twitter about a popstar that is selling arenas. Heck, even after 2019, how long it took for the media to pick up on what was going on? For the longest time all we had was TMZ picking up the trends and twisting all the things we were trying to communicate. How long it took even for Lou Taylor to be named in an article?

Was the 2011 Army aware of Lou Taylor? What were their thoughts?

Also, was Jamie Spears more positively looked upon back then?

[TakeYourHand]

I mean tbh something was set up in 2019 with that voicemail that Tess and Barbs got. It came out April 17th my bday and I never heard of their podcast prior to that and even today its not well known. Something changed on the inside. I do wonder if they have ties to Sam somehow. Maybe through Sam's sister or something? 

Also covid gave people the time to focus on things they normally wouldnt before. We owe a lot of credit to people like thatsurprisewitness for their time and effort put in once the attention grew. She literally translated the law in a way that makes sense to us after purchashing documents and being attacked. 

Shes just an example of many who took action once it grew. That voicemail from 2019 came at a great time with covid following the next year. I believe it was good karma and part luck for Brit.

[Leolileinstein]

Deffo should've happened earlier. The Cship should've never happened 

[devilsadvocate]

No one realizes if it wasn’t for covid we would have never heard her testimony .. the link was available because people were remote 

[MintChocoLatte]

plus, in 2019 Britney was in a mental health facility and that combined with the voice message made the movement explode. back then if you said you were suspicious of the cship, people would just come at me and say I'm just trying to excuse Britney's laziness. fake insiders everywhere claiming Britney just wants to be a mom, but everything's fine, the cship is just "on paper" to prevent legal chaos.

[ChrisBritSlo]

Because Jordan was fighting Jamie on his own. I remember the agony he went through. But in 2008 fanbase wasn't "based". It was all over internet. Over the years, we settled on certain social media outlets and along with better information preserving, movement began

 

Btw, I can't even watch this FF special. It's... ew

[descg]

The main reason: the #freebritney movement by certain stans had not yet emerged.
And also later the media starts began to publicize the issue.

[PokemonSpears]

4 hours ago, RulesRules said:

Was the 2011 Army aware of Lou Taylor? What were their thoughts?

Also, was Jamie Spears more positively looked upon back then?

I don't think so, at least not the vast majority. Personally I hadn't heard the name until a few years ago and for the longest time I thought it was a man lol until someone brought up again that 2011 picture of "Britney's team" with the photoshopped Britney. 

I don't remember what people thought about Jamie. I think people disliked Lynne more because of the book, and For the Record kinda put him in a better light, like this caring father that makes cheese grits for her and stuff

We knew he was rude and strict with everyone that worked for them, but it just kinda made sense for him to be so overprotective. 

Jamie Lynne though, she was loved in here and y'all are not gonna come here and say you never liked her  because I always hated to see topics about her just because she was Britney's sister. Everyone stanned Zoey 101 and her country record and whatever and I was always like whenever a JL thread came up (and still am but now the threads are made for very different reasons) and people also thought that Bryan was hot and that Britney definitely seemed much better around him, but that wasn't until 2016

[Whyshouldibsad21]

6 hours ago, PokemonSpears said:

She didn't stop working, she had had 2 #1's in a row, a #1 album, but most importantly, we couldn't hear directly from her. Or if you wanna be more specific, there was no podcast that got a whistleblower.

2011 and 2012 aren't any different than any other year of the conservatorship, we can mention when Jordan was posting things since 2009, and the constant was that we couldn't hear from Britney what she really thought about this whole ordeal, whether we were crossing a boundary or not. All there was was speculation, whether it was because of her kids, or because of legal matters, or she really needed it, or it wasn't even that bad, etc. nobody knew for sure what was going on, or how bad was it, or whether it was legal or not, or how much she was suffering if at all.

Is she looking bad because of her handlers, or the few positive things we get are actually THANKS to them? Nobody knew.

If you could read the threads from back then, for the most part people weren't blaming the conservatorship nor her father or team for every time she looked bad onstage or in a public appearance, they were blaming HER.

 

So imagine someone trying to start a movement to free her in 2011. The vast majority would've been like, don't you see her performing? Don't you see her doing interviews? Don't you see her with her kids? Don't you see her releasing albums? Don't you see her receiving the Video Vanguard Award? etc She was even straight up asked in Europe if she didn't feel overprotected in that interview, and she was like "no, because I'm here" like **** off with your questions. So... it would've been very hard. In fact, probably she would've been forced to come out and say that she was alright and to stop paying attention to the tabloids or the trolls, etc.

 

If 2019 was so different was because for the first time since forever, we didn't know anything about her, she was not performing, she was not on vacation, no paparazzi pics, no Instagram posts, she was nowhere to be found for the first time basically since her career started. That was the ultimate red flag, not to mention that the excuse about her dad being ill, but her family acting like nothing, including her own father attending weddings and stuff, was like wait wait wait wtf is going on here? We didn't have any of that before. Andrew Wallet quitting, Domination being cancelled just weeks before it started, it was just a combination of things that didn't make sense unless something bad was going on behind the scenes.

This is a really good summary of the feelings during that time. There really was no way of knowing what was actually going on. I remember being especially frustrated as a fan during this time because she seemed so dead behind the eyes and her dancing just lost everything that made it special. I remember people saying if she didn’t have her father and team that she would probably just slip back into her "breakdown"  behavior. Trying to argue against what most thought was the only thing holding her together would have been very futile. 

[BratzBitch]

6 hours ago, PokemonSpears said:

She didn't stop working, she had had 2 #1's in a row, a #1 album, but most importantly, we couldn't hear directly from her. Or if you wanna be more specific, there was no podcast that got a whistleblower.

2011 and 2012 aren't any different than any other year of the conservatorship, we can mention when Jordan was posting things since 2009, and the constant was that we couldn't hear from Britney what she really thought about this whole ordeal, whether we were crossing a boundary or not. All there was was speculation, whether it was because of her kids, or because of legal matters, or she really needed it, or it wasn't even that bad, etc. nobody knew for sure what was going on, or how bad was it, or whether it was legal or not, or how much she was suffering if at all.

Is she looking bad because of her handlers, or the few positive things we get are actually THANKS to them? Nobody knew.

If you could read the threads from back then, for the most part people weren't blaming the conservatorship nor her father or team for every time she looked bad onstage or in a public appearance, they were blaming HER.

 

So imagine someone trying to start a movement to free her in 2011. The vast majority would've been like, don't you see her performing? Don't you see her doing interviews? Don't you see her with her kids? Don't you see her releasing albums? Don't you see her receiving the Video Vanguard Award? etc She was even straight up asked in Europe if she didn't feel overprotected in that interview, and she was like "no, because I'm here" like **** off with your questions. So... it would've been very hard. In fact, probably she would've been forced to come out and say that she was alright and to stop paying attention to the tabloids or the trolls, etc.

 

If 2019 was so different was because for the first time since forever, we didn't know anything about her, she was not performing, she was not on vacation, no paparazzi pics, no Instagram posts, she was nowhere to be found for the first time basically since her career started. That was the ultimate red flag, not to mention that the excuse about her dad being ill, but her family acting like nothing, including her own father attending weddings and stuff, was like wait wait wait wtf is going on here? We didn't have any of that before. Andrew Wallet quitting, Domination being cancelled just weeks before it started, it was just a combination of things that didn't make sense unless something bad was going on behind the scenes.

That's very true and we had no way of knowing any of the red flags at the time cause no one reported back on the conservatorship in a negative way around that time. All we were hearing was "it saved her life" or whatever narrative they were shoving down our throats. 

Her interviews were so controlled too that there was no way of knowing what she really thought. We only heard what team CON wanted to hear. The red flag that struck me the most was the Jonathan Ross interview in 2016 when it was reported that they cut the question he had about the conservatorship. I really raised an eyebrow at that and of course the whole thing exploded after the podcast in 2019. 

But other than that incident, it was kinda hard to really prove anything after it was put into place. I feel like in 2008, they were very sloppy putting it into place and we could argue that it was done with malicious intent at that time. But after that, they managed to control the narrative and keep it "hidden" for so many years by gaslighting fans and making everyone sign NDAs left and right. It's really insane how much went into it just to keep the façade that "everything's fine". 

[DollyParton]

This is a stupid question. A lot of stuff happened in 2019 that made the freebritney movement explode. Also, Britney started to fight back *next level* in 2019.