Drew Barrymore (L) has thrown her support to Britney Spears. (Getty Images)
Drew Barrymore has thrown her support towards Britney Spears after she “purposefully” stayed silent on the singer’s tense conservatorship battle.
Only days after father Jamie Spears agreed to eventually step down as Britney’s financial conservator, Britney has found a new ally in the form of the 50 First Dates star.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the 46-year-old said she has vastly shied away from sounding out about the Free Britney movement, the grassroots, fan-led campaign to liberate her.
“I feel that there’s a human being at the core of this,” Barrymore said. “I have very purposefully stayed out of this conversation, but since she put herself out there more – she’s the key to her freedom.
“This is about her and her life and everybody deserves the freedom to make mistakes or a success of their life and everything in between.
“That is what a life is.”
“So whether it’s about her or anyone else, I want people to have their civil liberties; to have the freedom to live their lives,” she added.
Drew Barrymore says Free Britney made sure singer couldn’t be ignored
Since Barrymore doesn’t know Britney personally, she said she’s stayed “silent” on the complex legal arrangement which has seen Britney’s financial and personal affairs controlled by others.
Social media was not the right platform for her to do this, she said, but she applauded Britney for using her Instagram to amplify for voice, one once so silenced by her conservatorship.
“I think one of the things I thought that I could [do to] respect her the most is not Instagram about it, and not talk on social media,” Barrymore explained. “This is too big for that.
“But I also think on the other side of the coin, the noise had to be made in order to start to have change here.
“Social media is a very tricky animal. It can lead to great outcry and people listening, and it can also be a place that has a little bit of empty calories.”
Britney Spears has called the conservatorship “abusive” and compared the limitations on her life to “sex trafficking”.
From her kitchen cabinet colours to the birth control she can use, immense amounts of decision-making power has been granted by the courts to her father, Jamie, and her personal conservator of two years, Jodi Montgomery.
And after a year-long court battle – and years of pushback by the princess of pop herself – Jamie finally budged and paved a path to him stepping down completely.
“It is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms Spears’ best interests,” his lawyers wrote in court filings.
“Nevertheless, even as Mr Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests.”
Matthew Rosengart, Britney’s high-powered Hollywood lawyer and former federal prosecutor, said his party is “pleased” to hear Jamie has “conceded”.
“We look forward to continuing our vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr Spears, and others, over the past 13 years, while he reaped millions of dollars from his daughter’s estate,” he added.
“I look forward to taking Mr Spears’ sworn deposition in the near future.”