Episode #106 | 7.26.22
Britney Spears (Part 2): Lithium, Las Vegas, and a Long-Awaited Emancipation
In this episode
Britney Spears’ 13-year conservatorship was an arrangement so strict and unfeeling that it left her without any control of her career, loopy on lithium, and completely silenced for the sake of seeing her sons and boyfriend. As Britney suffered in silence, she worked nearly non-stop, generating more hits — and revenue — so her father could claim his cut of the profits. But after hundreds of shows in Las Vegas and 137 million dollars in box office sales, Britney buckled and told her conservators “no.” Then her social media went radio silent in 2019. This is the story of what came next — and how Britney Spears finally broke free.
Sources
Britney: Inside the Dream by Steve Dennis
Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World by Lynne Spears
Framing Britney Spears (Hulu)
Controlling Britney Spears (Hulu)
Britney Vs. Spears (Netflix)
Britney Spears Was Drugged, Controlled by Sam Lutfi, Parents Allege (MTV)
Britney Spears released from hospital (ABC)
Britney Spears out of hospital, leads paparazzi on joy ride (Toronto Star)
Britney Spears’ ‘Lawyer’ Ejected from Courtroom After Judge Doesn’t Recognize Him as her Counsel (MTV)
Here's why Britney Spears fans are fueling a #FreeBritney movement on social media (Today)
Read Britney Spears' Statement To The Court In Her Conservatorship Hearing (NPR)
Lawyer for Britney Spears fails to get dad fired as conservator (Los Angeles Daily News)
Britney Spears’ Conservatorship: What’s Going on and What’s Next? (Rolling Stone)
Britney Spears Says Not Making Music Is Her Way of Saying ‘F–k You’ (Rolling Stone)
Here’s How Britney Spears’ Dad Wasted Her Fortune, According To Her Attorney (Buzzfeed)
Disgraceland is a podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. It melds music history, true crime and transgressive fiction. Disgraceland is not journalism. Disgraceland is entertainment. Entertainment inspired by true events. However, certain scenes, characters and names are sometimes fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
Music
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Victoria Wasylak.
Copy editing by Pat Healy.
Mixed and Engineered by Sean Cahalin.
Score by Jake Brennan.
Disgraceland theme song, "Crenshaw Space Boogie" written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak