Britney's Come Back I Won't Stop Till I'm Free

A new doco has reignited support for the singer

It was heartbreaking to watch – a young, talented and wildly successful superstar suffering through a very public mental breakdown. As Britney Spears shaved her own head in a hairdressing salon, attacked a photographer’s car with an umbrella and lost custody of her precious young sons in quick succession, the world watched on in horror – and it seemed only fitting that her father Jamie Spears should step in to legally take control of his daughter’s affairs before she lost everything she’d worked so hard for.

But that was 13 years ago. Since then, the now 39-yearold pop star has staged a massive comeback and the question is being asked: Why is she still being told what to do by her dad?

With the recent release of the documentary Framing Britney Spears, insiders say the Toxic singer has been thrown a lifeline that could pave the way to reclaiming her freedom.

“Britney has seen the documentary,” says the source. “For the first time in many years, she feels that people are on her side and things will get better for her. She hopes that, because of this, she will be finally freed from the vice-like grip of her father.”

The documentary, available in New Zealand on ThreeNow, explores Britney’s meteoric rise to stardom at the age of 16, her mental health battle – which her mum Lynne later attributed to postnatal depression – and the controversial legal arrangement that catalysed a movement among fans called #FreeBritney.