FX and Hulu to air sequel to Framing Britney Spears documentary tonight
Controlling Britney Spears makes its surprise arrival days before Netflix premieres its own Britney Spears doc
At the beginning of the year, FX and Hulu aired the New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears. The documentary gave an extensive look at the effect media and the paparazzi had on Spears’ mental health, as well as the draconic conservatorship she was under, with her father Jamie Spears being in control of her everyday life. The documentary sparked a wider #FreeBritney movement, with thousands joining forces asking for Spears’ conservatorship to end. It also allowed Spears to feel comfortable speaking out about the alleged abuse she experienced under the conservatorship. The widespread attention and backlash towards her father worked; Jamie filed a petition to end his daughter’s conservatorship this month. And now, FX and Hulu are releasing a second part to the documentary: Controlling Britney Spears.
This documentary is set to debut tonight, September 24, at 10 p.m. EST on FX and Hulu simultaneously. In a press statement, director Samantha Stark says, “When Britney spoke publicly about her conservatorship in detail for the first time during a court hearing in June, she said a reason she hadn’t spoken up earlier is she didn’t think people would believe her. She said she felt abused under the conservatorship and questioned whether the judge thought she was lying. Britney’s speech motivated the people in this film to seek us out to share their stories—at great risk to themselves—because they felt compelled to back up what Britney was saying with evidence they had or moments they witnessed.”
This documentary arrives just days before Spears’ court hearing on September 29, where a judge will hear the pop star’s request for her father to be removed from the conservatorship, that’ll determine whether Spears will gain her freedom. Jamie will also speak about his request to terminate the conservatorship for the first time.
Controlling Britney Spears isn’t the only Spears documentary arriving this week. Netflix is also releasing its own documentary, Britney Vs. Spears, that will focus on Spears’ fight to end her conservatorship.