Members of the Free Britney movement have issued a statement in support of Britney Spears following her arrest for DUI earlier this month.
“FreeBritneyLA was created to advocate for Britney Spears’ right to autonomy,” began a statement shared by the Free Britney L.A. Instagram account on Monday, March 9. “That principle guided everything we did, and it remains just as true today.”
The statement — cosigned by movement activists Kevin Wu, Leanne Simmons and Meg Radford — went on to argue that Spears’ recent arrest does not justify a return to the conservatorship she spent 13 years living under.
“It is also common for people who have experienced prolonged control and trauma to both need support and struggle to accept it,” the message continued. “These realities can coexist without justifying a return to the very structures that harmed her. A DUI is not grounds for conservatorship.”
The statement further noted that their advocacy helped create “stronger safeguards” in California to prevent conservatorship abuse.
“Britney Spears is a human being who has endured an extraordinary amount of trauma,” the statement concluded. “We hope she receives whatever care, support or treatment she may need on her own terms, and that the people around her honor her freedom and autonomy. We love Britney and will always be in her corner — rooting for her health, her peace and her freedom.”
Spears, 44, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs on March 4 after she was seen “driving erratically at a high rate of speed,” according to the California Highway Patrol.
Police released the “Toxic” singer from jail the following morning, but the incident is still under investigation as officials await the results of a blood test that Spears took at a nearby hospital while in custody.
After the arrest made headlines, a spokesperson for Spears called her arrest “completely inexcusable” in a statement to Us Weekly.
“Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law, and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life,” the rep said. “Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.”
The spokesperson added, “Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue, needed plan to set her up for success for well-being.”
Spears shares sons Preston, 20, and Jayden, 19, with ex-husband Kevin Federline. Earlier this week, an insider exclusively told Us that the Grammy winner has seen her kids following the arrest. (Preston and Jayden moved to Hawaii with Federline, 47, in 2023 but have since returned home to California.)
In 2008, Britney was placed under a conservatorship overseen by her father, Jamie Spears, following a series of highly publicized mental health crises. A judge terminated the conservatorship in 2021 after 13 years.
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