Comedian Bonnie McFarlane is being criticised for calling the #FreeBritney movement a “mistake”.
On Thursday (3 March), the 48-year-old Canadian-American comedian tweeted: “That free britney thing might’ve been a mistake.”
“#FreeBritney” is the name of the fan movement which called for the end of Britney Spears’s legal guardianship, which she was placed under following her public breakdown in 2008. The hashtag was first used by a fansite in 2009.
While McFarlane didn’t give any context behind her statement, her post came after Spears posted a series of nude photos and videos of herself on a beach vacation with her fiancé, Sam Asghari.
Spears’s fans were quick to respond to McFarlane’s tweet, defending the 40-year-old “Gimme More” singer.
The Independent has contacted McFarlane for comment.
“Maybe comedians need to stop making light of human rights situations,” wrote one person.
Another person added: “So you think people who live their life in a way you disagree with should lose their human rights… got it.”
A third person suggested: “This person should’ve worded this tweet differently in a way for people to understand the joke.”
“Do you find a woman being free and living life on her terms without harming anyone else a problem?” another Spears fan added.
In November 2021, Spears said she believes her parents “should be in jail” for putting her under a conservatorship for 13 years.
The singer had her personal affairs, career appointments, and finances legally controlled by the ruling, which was petitioned by her father in 2008.
It was Judge Brenda J Penny who brought an end to the controversial conservatorship in September last year, stating that it was “no longer required”.
