Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr, who made a documentary aboutBritney Spears, 2021'sBritney Vs Spears, says discussions about the "Womanizer" singer since her arrest last week are nothing new.
"Watching the way people are talking about Britney again feels painfully familiar," Carr wrote on social media. "Not long ago, we collectively realized she had been living inside what many of us believed was an unjust conservatorship. A system where people around her were financially benefiting while she was being controlled. That was real. That mattered. And it took a massive public effort for the world to acknowledge it."
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Carr's film, which she collaborated on with journalist Jenny Eliscu, investigated Spears' quest to control her own affairs, while locked in a legal conservatorship overseen by the father, Jamie Spears, which was put in place in 2008, when she was in her 20s. It was finallylifted in 2021.
The court's decision to do away with the legal arrangement followed public outcry, via the #FreeBritney movement and reports of exactly how much she had been limited by the conservatorship, including that of Carr and Eliscu.
"Recent events do not suddenly rewrite that history," Carr wrote in her post. "They do not validate what was done to her."
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She continued, "Britney is a woman, a beautiful and insanely talented woman, who has been through more than most of us could imagine while the entire world watched. Maybe the lesson is not to swing from sympathy to judgment depending on the news cycle. Maybe the lesson is compassion."
The Grammy winner wasarrestedMarch 4 on suspicion of DUI. She was picked up by the California Highway Patrol in Ventura County, Calif., about 9:30 p.m., according to records from the sheriff's office. She was then booked and released at 6 a.m. Thursday.
"I am rooting for her. Always," Carr said. "And you should be too."
Following Spears' arrest, her rep said in a statement to PEOPLE, "This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney's life."
The rep added that Spears' loved ones hope the pop icon "can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time." There were plans for her adult sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, whom she shares with ex Kevin Federline, to spend time with her.
"Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being," the spokesperson said.
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Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr, who made a documentary aboutBritney Spears, 2021'sBritney Vs Spears, says discussions a...
