‘Framing Britney Spears’: Where to Stream the Documentary
Now that Jamie Spears agreed to step down as Britney Spears’ conservator, the pop star is making headway in her case. In 2008, Spears’ father was granted a temporary conservatorship over his daughter; it later became permanent. So the singer has been fighting to end it. The documentary The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears magnifies the #FreeBritney movement and examines Spears’ life.
Many Britney fans have already seen the film, but others are looking for it now. So which streaming service holds the flick?
What is the Britney Spears documentary about?
From Spears’ public breakup with Justin Timberlake to the scrutiny over her performance choices, the documentary unravels the heavy media attention and its damage to the star.
After Spears broke it off with the fellow singer, Timberlake publicly commented on their relationship. The brief moment degraded his former girlfriend, which infuriated modern viewers. The backlash against the former NSYNC member prompted Timberlake to apologize.
The film also details the public misogyny and humiliation that Spears faced; one scene cuts to when Diane Sawyer questioned the “Hit Me Baby One More Time” singer for her provocative performances.
Where to stream ‘Framing Britney Spears’
In its original Feb. 5, 2021, release, the film premiered on FX and FX on Hulu. Later, clips were available on YouTube but most were subsequently taken down. Since it premiered on FX on Hulu, the documentary is still streaming on Hulu.
The flick was nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program. Should the film win any awards, its star will not receive any. According to Variety, the “Toxic” singer could not be contacted by the production; therefore, she was not involved with the documentary’s development.
What did Britney think of the documentary?
Spears is not a fan of the flick. In a since-deleted Instagram post, the superstar claimed she was “embarrassed” at the sight of her portrayal, according to Rolling Stone. “I didn’t watch the documentary, but from what I did see of it, I was embarrassed by the light they put me in,” Spears wrote.
The singer emphasized that she was and still is insulted by the media. Spears also admitted that she “cried for two weeks” after the documentary was released.
Spears also accused the film of hypocrisy in another Instagram post. “These documentaries are so hypocritical,” Spears pointed out. “They criticize the media and then do the same thing…I think the world is more interested in the negative…Why highlight the most negative and traumatizing times in my life from forever ago?”
Due to Spears’ critical response, the director of Framing Britney Spears acknowledged the singer’s frustration. “While we were making the film, we talked a lot about re-traumatizing Britney and her family by showing these moments,” Stark told The Hollywood Reporter. “Part of the reason it’s called Framing Britney Spears is there are these still-photo frames that were humiliating to her. We thought it was really important to pull outside the frame because so many people had all these assumptions based on one frame, one image they saw.”
