Free Britney cause helps underscore much larger issue
Stigma of mental-health challenges is real and ongoing, say protesters
At the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a small group of protesters stood for nearly two hours in the midsummer heat and cried for federal authorities to do what courts and conservators in California have allegedly opposed for years: free Britney Spears.
Spears last month asked a court to terminate the conservatorship. Spears has received bipartisan support as lawmakers including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have spoken of the need to investigate conservatorship laws.
Cassandra Dumas, a member of Free Britney America, the organization that put on the Washington rally, said the group wants a congressional hearing.
“This is something that can affect all Americans. It doesn't matter race, creed, nationality, this could happen to you,” Dumas said. The rally was organized by Dumas, Erika Gutierrez, Patrick Thomas and Dylan Spence in under a week, planned via Instagram and Zoom.
Attendees carried signs with language including song lyrics (“Britney's not a Slave 4 U,” “Not A Girl, Not Yet a Free Woman,” “Keep on Fighting 'til the Conservatorship Ends”) and more clear-cut calls to action: “We want a Congressional hearing ” and “We want federal oversight.”
Rally attendees Terri and Rick Black say many others are struggling under similar arrangements.
The duo said they established the Center for Estate Administration Reform three years ago after what they called lengthy and unsuccessful legal battle to end the guardianship of Terri's father.
When Terri heard Spears was under an allegedly abusive conservatorship, she said she knew it was a grave issue. The two drove from North Carolina to attend.
Rick Black said that since establishing their non-profit organization, they receive two or three calls daily from people seeking help for family members in similar situations.
“What Britney does for the movement is give it a face and a name and a voice,” he said.
“How can a 39-year-old, vibrant, successful, mother-of-two entertainer be in a conservatorship for 13 years?”
Melanie Carlson, 39, at first thought of Spears as a “corporate Pop-Tart.” But in 2007, the same year that Spears attacked a paparazzo's car with an umbrella, Carlson herself had her first psychotic experience.
She saw Spears as a proxy for people experiencing mental health crises.