Last year, the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears drew attention to the unsettling way that Britney had been treated by the press throughout her career.
The documentary focused on Britney’s fans’ efforts to end the controversial conservatorship that she had been under since 2008, which she was freed from later in the year.
But it also highlighted the scrutiny that the pop star had faced ever since she made her TV debut on Star Search with Ed McMahon in 1992.
Britney was just 10 years old at the time, and appeared on the talent show to sing a stunning rendition of “Love Can Build a Bridge.”
And when a clip from her appearance was shown in last year’s film, viewers were stunned to see the host focus on Britney’s love life instead of her vocal ability.
Ed asked, “I noticed last week you have the most adorable, pretty eyes. Do you have a boyfriend?” to which young Britney awkwardly replied: “No, sir.”
She was then quizzed on why this was the case, and when Britney said that it was because boys are “mean,” Ed followed up: “Boyfriends? You mean all boys are mean? I’m not mean, how about me?”
Ed McMahon really tried to say "not all men!!!" and Britney was still like "stfu you know what I meant." queen shit since birth.
And sadly this was just the beginning of Britney having to field sexist and inappropriate questions during interviews, which only intensified after the release of her debut single “Baby One More Time” when she was 16.
The following year, a Dutch television journalist said to the star during an interview: “Your breasts. You seem to get furious when a talk-show host comes up with this subject. In general, what do you think about breast implants?”
This is the weird shit Britney Spears dealt with her entire formative years/career. Idk what we were doing in the late 90s and early 2000s but conducting SUPER creepy interviews was apparently A-OK. #FREEBRITNEY
Britney managed to breezily laugh off the invasive question as she clarified that she doesn’t have implants, but people should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies.
And following her and Justin Timberlake’s messy breakup in 2002, Diane Sawyer famously made Britney cry when she blamed her for the split. She asked: “He’s gone on television and pretty much said you broke his heart, you did something that cause him so much pain, so much suffering. What did you do?”
The media was completely turning on Britney as you can see in this interview with Diane Sawyer. The entire narrative was “what did *you* do to Justin?
Britney’s sex life was also a hot topic of conversation at the time, wiwth the star saying that she didn’t intend on having sex before marriage early in her career.
When she was 18 years old, a Norwegian television presenter asked her: “You're not going to have sex before your marriage. Is that a standard that is hard to live up to?”
Then during a press conference for her 2002 movie Crossroads, a journalist asked, “Have there been any changes on that front?” in reference to Britney’s decision to abstain.
The room erupted in laughter, but Britney once again managed to expertly evade the intrusion by replying: “That’s a personal question.”
And another TV interview from this time period has now resurfaced online, but this one has sparked praise for the host, Asha Gill, who interjected to brutally shut down a seriously inappropriate question before Britney even had the chance to answer it.
Fans have noted the look of relief on Britney’s face when Asha asked if she could answer the question on her behalf, with many sharing their wish that more people had the pop star’s back in this way.
The clip starts with a fan saying to Britney: “Britney, my question to you is, I really want to know whether you are a virgin.”
Britney looks uncomfortable and pulls a face before Asha asks: “Can I answer this for you?”
“Yes!” Britney immediately exclaims. “Please!”
Taking no prisoners, the Malaysian radio host tells the person who asked the question: “Can I just say, can you go back to school, can you go talk to your parents, learn some manners… Then come back and ask a question, because you’re wasting our time.”
Britney beams at this response, and repeats to the host: “Thank you, thank you.”
The moment was shared to both Twitter and TikTok alongside the caption: “This is one of the rare occasions when an interviewer actually defended Britney Spears when she was asked an inappropriate question.”
This is one of the rare occasions when an interviewer actually defended Britney Spears when she was asked an inappropriate question. 👏🏼
And it has caused a stir online after reiterating exactly how Britney was treated throughout her career.
“Like why on earth did she think that’s okay to ask TF” one person asked. Someone else added: “It is absolutely heartbreaking the way we treated her.”
Others shared their appreciation for Asha for having Britney’s back, with a TikTok user observing: “You can tell how truly grateful Britney was.”
Another agreed: “It’s so heartbreaking, you can see how appreciative she is for someone finally being in her corner.”
One more wrote: “so glad the interviewer stood up for her,” while someone else concluded: “Britney needed more people like this in her life 🥺.”
