Yep. I know this is trashy – but we’re going there.
Britney Spears has been in the news and in the courts this week – the culmination of the #FreeBritney efforts to have her conservatorship (what we call guardianship in Australia) overturned. What was initially imposed as a temporary measure after a very public breakdown in 2008 has continued now for 13 years.
Spears’ conservatorship is unusual. Generally, these legal tools are used in cases of cognitive decline (think of a adult son or daughter making decisions for their elderly parents experiencing dementia). It’s unusual that she would keep working and not have access to her own money. It’s also unusual that, according to Spears, her conservator has the legal power to prevent her from getting married or having children.
In court yesterday, speaking for the first time publicly on the matter Spears said,
"I’m not here to be anyone’s slave… I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I'm happy. It's a lie. I thought that maybe if I said it enough, I would maybe become happy because I've been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized … I’m so angry it’s insane. And I'm depressed… I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. … I don't feel like I can live a full life…”
It has all the makings of a fairy-tale story: A princess trapped by her circumstances and poor choices who is then entrapped by a controlling father who exploits her.
Why does this story resonate? Why do even the buttoned-up and “serious” news outlets still want to gush over the twists and turns of this real-life drama?
Because this is the global story. It’s an arc of the gospel story. The Bible teaches us that all humanity finds itself, as a result of our sin, entrapped. Our captor promises conservation but delivers depletion. Promises freedom but delivers slavery. We might feign happiness and even have moments that look a bit like it – but we are all conscious that we aren’t living a full life.
But our rescue can’t come from appeal to abstract 'justice'. After all, we put ourselves in this situation. The only hope we have is if a rescuer comes to free us. Freedom for Britney, it seems, looks like being able to get married and it’s the same for humanity - just bigger. Jesus the prince comes to vanquish the foe and take his bride – all so he can offer her life to the full.
Grace and Peace,