Jim Morrison. Marilyn Monroe. John Lennon. Jimi Hendrix. Whitney Houston. Elvis Presley. Brittany Murphy. Kurt Cobain. Michael Jackson. There have been plenty of entertainment icons who led puzzling lives that ended with mysterious deaths; in some cases, a small number of obsessives claimed the celebrities were still alive. Dead or alive, those celebrities were shuffled off the stage and out of the limelight, leaving the public to linger on their former images and artistic output.
Singer Britney Spears, one of the top-selling artists of all time, seems to have disappeared from public view over the past few years but for one of the most bizarre and befuddling Instagram accounts in the history of that site. There is disagreement amongst her fans as to whether the person in the Instagram videos is really Spears. The videos feel uncanny; my gut tells me it's a double, but then I had the same unsettling reaction to her VMA appearance in 2007. The mystery album of 2004 only adds to the intrigue.
Plastic surgery furthers doubt as to what’s real, but no matter how much Michael Jackson changed his appearance, there was (to me) something that was still essentially “Michael Jackson” there, and no matter how good a Michael Jackson impersonator might have been, everyone could still tell the difference. Ditto with Madonna. There is also Photoshop, but again, while it might make a person look better, they are still essentially identifiable.
There are other elements to Spears’s Instagram that don't add up. Fans are left with questions for which it seems impossible to find answers. Where is she? Who is running her Instagram? Is it all an elaborate prank? Is she in danger? Is she still alive? The media reports on her Instagram posts and what the fans are saying but leaves it at that. There is no further investigation.
As one Youtube commenter put it: Isn't this just downright scary though. Someone so famous , yet, no one can help her. The people that have control over her ,are more powerful than law. That's terrifying. What are we gonna do? Call the cops? It's just so absurd this can go on in the public eye. Other commenters reply that she is having a mental breakdown of some kind, or that she is drugged, or that she is releasing steam from her conservatorship and/or healing from trauma and should be left alone (I assume she would get off social media if she really wanted privacy). Of course, internet commenters could always be bots as opposed to real people.
I have begun to wonder if this is all part of an AI project or psychological test of some kind, an experiment in capturing the public’s attention to determine if they can discern “doubles” or “fakes” and gathering their various reactions. Will we believe media or our lying eyes? Are we disturbed or complacent in the face of such uncertainty? If that seems farfetched, take a look at her Instagram and get back to me.
If a new, well-reviewed biography by a reputable publisher came out about Spears, I would, like most librarians, purchase it for my library’s collection, even if I felt the book consisted of utter fabrications. I would, however, begin to feel increasingly uneasy if I thought we were moving into a world of unreality.
We aren’t there… yet. On most pressing topics, there are still alternative viewpoints to mainstream opinion being published, and, even when not reviewed by the major journals, those books are popular enough that they warrant purchase by libraries. Although they could be “off base” in any number of ways, having a wide range of opinions in circulation helps prevent an “Emperor’s New Clothes” situation from taking absolute hold.
Top photo: Britney Spears - 52235180387.jpg/ Wikimedia Commons
Thanks for this post. Her Instagram Persona is one of the most bizarre spectacles of the past few years. I have begun compiling a list of some of the conspiracy theories, mostly around attempting to decode symbolism in her posts and in her often lengthy bouts of logorrhoea. It is similar to the reviews of theories surrounding the Templars and the Rosicrucians. We are witnessing an opportunity for the next Foucault’s Pendulum in front of our eyes. Perhaps it is already being drafted...
When I wrote this piece I had yet to go down the TikTok rabbit hole where people are deconstructing her IG posts to detail all the evidence of photoshop, green screens, and AI. If the media continues to ignore this story I am sure this will only grow. https://www.tiktok.com/tag/whereisbritney?lang=en
We are missing a new crop of public intellectuals in the vein of Camille Paglia to interrogate this stuff. Instead we have random people on TikTok. Maybe that's the future.
Thanks for this post. Her Instagram Persona is one of the most bizarre spectacles of the past few years. I have begun compiling a list of some of the conspiracy theories, mostly around attempting to decode symbolism in her posts and in her often lengthy bouts of logorrhoea. It is similar to the reviews of theories surrounding the Templars and the Rosicrucians. We are witnessing an opportunity for the next Foucault’s Pendulum in front of our eyes. Perhaps it is already being drafted...
When I wrote this piece I had yet to go down the TikTok rabbit hole where people are deconstructing her IG posts to detail all the evidence of photoshop, green screens, and AI. If the media continues to ignore this story I am sure this will only grow. https://www.tiktok.com/tag/whereisbritney?lang=en
And, in addition to the lost album, there was this anime music video of her blowing up a clone factory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQFIKP9rGhQ
Also at the beginning of this podcast there is some discussion of her family background. https://www.spreaker.com/user/15144188/rachel-wilson-2
There is also this doc: https://www.slaveprincess.com/
And I stumbled across this 2017 Guardian article regarding a musical that was about conspiracy theorizing around the Illuminati and pop stars. The dance number is insane and brilliant at the same time: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/13/illuminati-rosie-kay-adam-curtis-cult-dance-mk-ultra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtkZzhrIu7g
I didn't realize when I wrote this that a book, a memoir, is in fact coming out about her... and it may well be fake...https://twitter.com/crissaaddams/status/1647385183882969090
Aha! Ill check it out.
Am writing up more as we speak. So fascinating.
We are missing a new crop of public intellectuals in the vein of Camille Paglia to interrogate this stuff. Instead we have random people on TikTok. Maybe that's the future.
Here is another one: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/i-know-i-sound-crazy/its-not-britney-at-nobu-bitch-SRXjhpiraKm/
I had to take a break from TikTok. It’s just so dumb or irritating. The Britney stuff was fun...but most of it...just so exploitative
That's the only time I ventured into TikTok! BTW that podcast episode mentions this story... you can't make this stuff up: https://www.thewrap.com/bizarre-death-and-life-publicist-michael-sands-exclusive-37005/
What a Los Angeles story! Bizarre
That’s what we are here for. Ha
MSM story coming https://twitter.com/TSBrit114/status/1641181789862387715
Another update. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPsBG-dJel8&t=266s
An attention seeker. Shaving her head. Same antics, different means. But hey, she's good at it.