Britney Spears Gets Real About Her Mental Health In Instagram Video

Britney Spears has enough on her plate, so can we stop tweeting #FreeBritney now?

Earlier this month, news broke that Britney Spears, AKA sweet angel and queen of the millennials, had entered a mental health treatment facility for extra support following her father’s very serious illness. Fans rallied around her at the time, which was amazing to see. But now, those same fans — and their overzealous concern — have become part of the problem, forcing Spears to post a candid video update to assure them that she’s doing OK.

Last week, the hashtag #FreeBritney started circulating on social media amid rumors that Spears hadn’t entered treatment voluntarily, but had actually been committed against her will months ago. The rumors seem to have been founded in some emails that circulated online, supposedly written by Spears, but that she now says were faked years ago by her ex-manager, Sam Lutfi.

Alongside a video of herself posted to Instagram, she wrote, “I wanted to say hi, because things that are being said have just gotten out of control!!! Wow!!!”

Apparently, fans got a little too crazy about those rumors, because she continued, “There’s rumors, death threats to my family and my team, and just so many things crazy things being said. I am trying to take a moment for myself, but everything that’s happening is just making it harder for me. Don’t believe everything you read and hear.”

In the accompanying video, Britney looks great, and appears to be in good health and good spirits. She doesn’t explicitly say whether she’s still undergoing treatment for her mental health problems, but she did write, “My situation is unique, but I promise I’m doing what’s best at this moment.”

She also added this bit, which, TBH, we already knew: “You may not know this about me, but I am strong, and stand up for what I want!”

Brit ended her note with a plea to her fans to dial back their involvement and stop spreading falsehoods about her health.

“Your love and dedication is amazing, but what I need right now is a little bit of privacy to deal with all the hard things that life is throwing my way. If you could do that, I would be forever grateful,” she wrote.

That’s a pretty small request, so can we all stop with the #FreeBritney nonsense now, please?

Listen, Britney Spears has been through enough in her life. She’s been in the spotlight since she was a literal, tiny child, and amid the mounting pressure of being an international superstar as a teen, suffered a very public mental breakdown in 2007. She’s recovered from that more gracefully than anyone could have expected, and rebuilt her career into the undeniable success it is today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnHXDVjHZA2/

On top of all that, Spears has revealed that her father very nearly died from a ruptured colon earlier this year, which is the reason for her taking this time off. That would be a difficult thing for anyone to go through, and we’re glad she’s prioritizing her family and her own health while they all work through that.

Britney Spears deserves to be able to do whatever she needs to keep herself happy and healthy. She’s let us all know she’s OK, so let’s finally give her the space and privacy she deserves.