It honestly and genuinely breaks my heart, how much flack Britney has gotten. I think people forget that she was literally so young since she was hounded, stalked and constantly watched. Of course it would eventually get to her and did it did. I show my friends the middle finger all the time and sometimes say things which would be deemed offensive, I would never be able to handle the kind of exposure she was made to go through. It's sad to think that she was under such immense scrutiny by the world, by the standards set by the media back then. Present day would be absolutely SAVAGE! The irony is they can't seem to give the girl a break! I bring this up, only because you mentioned internet flack. Ariana had the doughnut scandal, I mean she apologized, I'm glad people got over it. That was by far, much more extreme than I think anything Britney has ever said or done. If I believe they were able to make the world move on from that, maybe the right team can make certain incidents irrelevant. Although Ari does still live with the consequences, as there are trolls who occasionally bring it up!
Sorry for the long comment. Long story short, Britney is SO BRAVE, I am so impressed by her character. Yes she's ignorant sometimes, but so are all of us. She just has to go through it in front of millions. And I agree, The Media and the world in general has become WAY TO SENSITIVE!