“Don’t Be a Hypocrite” Britney Spears Calls Out Celebrity Criticism Over Body-Shaming

Britney Spears once sparked controversy with a bold Instagram post, criticizing female celebrities who condemn women for exposing their bodies. Though she didn’t name anyone specifically, many speculated that Spears was reacting to a 2016 speech by Selena Gomez, in which Gomez remarked, “I don’t want to see your bodies on Instagram. I want to see what’s here (gesturing to her heart).”

In her fiery rant, Spears wrote, “Don’t you just love the nerve of women who stand firmly getting awards and speak on their beliefs about not showing their bodies on Instagram? They say ‘This is NOT something I would do’ yet those women are the very ones who get 4 million dollar budget videos made about sucking and licking on homemade ice cream.”

According to NME, she continued, “These other girls have nothing but beautiful bodies!!!! Who cares if they flaunt it??? THEY SHOULD! So the next time I see someone with a big-budget video sucking on lollipops yet giving righteous speeches shaming other women for exposing their bodies, I would like to tell those people don’t be a hypocrite…Why would you stand firmly against girls getting attention JUST LIKE YOU and they have absolutely nothing?”

This wasn’t the first time Spears spoke out on such issues. In her memoir, The Woman in Me, she shared harrowing details of her conservatorship, particularly the severe body-shaming she endured from her father. She wrote, “I’d been eyeballed so much growing up, I’d been looked up and down, had people telling me what they thought of my body since I was a teenager. Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back.”

She added, “Under the conservatorship, I was made to understand that those days were now over. I had to grow my hair out and get back into shape. I had to go to bed early and take whatever medication they told me to take. If I thought getting criticized about my body in the press was bad, it hurt even more from my own father. He repeatedly told me I looked fat and that I was going to have to do something about it.”

People magazine reported that Spears revealed these comments crushed her spirit, making her feel inadequate. She shared, “Feeling like you’re never good enough is a soul-crushing state of being for a child. He’d drummed that message into me as a girl, and even after I’d accomplished so much, he was continuing to do that to me.” Living under the conservatorship, she argued, made her feel like a ‘robot,’ stripping her of her womanhood. Reflecting on the years of control over her body and money, Spears expressed her wrath and regret.

“If they’d let me live my life, I know I would’ve followed my heart and come out of this the right way and worked it out. Thirteen years went by with me feeling like a shadow of myself. I think back now on my father and his associates having control over my body and my money for that long and it makes me feel sick.” Spears’ outspoken nature and willingness to confront such issues continue to resonate, shedding light on the pressures and contradictions faced by women in the public eye.