Framing Britney Spears: 5 Voices That Are Included In The Documentary (And 5 That Are Missing)

Inspired by the Free Britney movement, Britney Spears’ life, career, and conservatorship are examined in the unauthorized Framing Britney Spears documentary, presented by The New York Times. The 2021 film has been widely hailed as a beacon of information on Spears’ conservatorship and relating struggles.

Viewers learn plenty from the documentary, but filmmaker Samantha Stark does not hesitate to acknowledge that voices from Britney’s inner circle are missing. Just as viewers should know who did not agree to be interviewed, they will want to understand which figures of influence are included, too.

10 Missing: Britney

The most obvious missing figure from the project is Britney Spears. The Free Britney movement holds that Spears may be using social media to reach out to fans for help amid her conservatorship trials. Despite attempts to reach Britney, the documentary curators write, “The New York Times attempted to reach Britney Spears directly to request her participation in this project. It is unclear if she received the requests.”

It is likely that Spears now knows about the documentary. In a strange turn of events, her official YouTube page briefly included an upload of Framing Britney Spears, but it was quickly removed. Fans have also noticed Britney’s February 9, 2021 Instagram post, which includes the words, “Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person’s life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens!!!!” The video in the post was of Britney performing in 2017. She expressed that she “loves being on stage” but is “taking the time to learn and be a normal person.”

9 Included: Senior New York Times Editor Liz Day

Liz Day is credited as the writer and senior story editor of Framing Britney Spears. Day is seen frequently throughout the film and provides context for Britney’s situation under her conservatorship.

With the steps back into Britney’s past and the questions that mark her future, Liz Day helps set up the facts for viewers based on her knowledge of Spears’ life and career. Day also explains that Britney has had to pay for and continues to finance her conservatorship as well as her and her father’s lawyers.

8 Missing: Jamie Spears

Jamie Spears, Britney’s father, is one of the antagonists in the documentary; others include media personalities such as previous interviewers and Spears’ former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake. The documentary explains that Britney is specifically requesting that Jamie no longer act as her conservator.

Jamie is one of the individuals who either declined to be interviewed or did not respond. He has previously shown disdain for the Free Britney movement and called it a conspiracy theory. Not surprisingly, Andrew Wallet, the lawyer who helped Jamie Spears oversee the conservatorship, was also not interviewed.

7 Included: New York Times Critic Wesley Morris

Wesley Morris is a New York Times critic-at-large who weighs in on the cultural context of Britney’s past media coverage. Morris provides valuable insights on the hypersexual atmosphere of the late 1990s fostered by the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair.

Morris connects the Clinton event with the media’s attention on Britney’s sexuality, body, and romantic relationships. Similarly, Britney’s former stylist, Hayley Hill, says that she worked with all the boy bands of Britney’s teen years, and none of the male stars had to deal with what Britney endured.

6 Missing: Lynne Spears

Britney’s mother, Lynne Spears, has been largely silent about her daughter’s situation. She either declined to be interviewed for the documentary or did not respond. Lynne, however, did file court documentation requesting a more active role in her daughter’s trust. It would be great to see the mother speak out on her daughter’s behalf at this time.

5 Included: Felicia Culotta

Felicia Culotta was Britney’s assistant and has known the singer since Britney was just five years old. Without the voices of Britney’s family members, Felicia stands out in the documentary as the interviewee closest to Britney.

The former assistant admits that she doesn’t understand the conservatorship and says that she agreed to be interviewed because she wanted to “remind people of why they fell in love with” Britney. Felicia also notes that Lynne Spears was very proud of her daughter.

4 Missing: Jamie Lynn Spears

Jamie Lynn Spears does not speak of her sister on social media platforms very often. The Sweet Magnolias star either chose not to respond to The New York Times or declined to be interviewed for Framing Britney Spears.

On her temporary Instagram stories, Jamie Lynn shared a nondescript charge for the media to “do better” as everyone fights their battles, and she also mentioned her sister in another slide: “A few media outlets ran a false story about me attending a virtual rally yesterday. In fact, someone represented themselves as me without my knowledge. I love my sister very much, but I was not aware of a rally, nor was I in attendance for a virtual rally. -JLS.” Britney and Jamie Lynn’s brother, Bryan, did not appear for an interview, either.

3 Included: Lawyer Adam Streisand

Adam Streisand is Britney’s former lawyer. In the documentary, Streisand gives an account of meeting Britney at the Beverly Hills Hotel, wherein he found that Britney exercised sound judgment and explicitly said that she didn’t want Jamie to be conservator of her estate or her person.

Streisand explains that a judge in court said he had a medical report showing that Britney was incapable of directing or retaining counsel independently. The judge would not allow Streisand to represent Britney. Adam Streisand knew nothing of the medical report’s contents in the past or at the filming of his interview.

2 Missing: Sam Asghari

Aside from lawyers Andrew Wallet and Samuel D. Ingham III, one salient missing voice is that of Sam Asghari. Asghari could potentially be the person who knows Britney best at this time because he is her boyfriend and has shown himself to be a stable presence in her life.

Ironically, The New York Times lists Sam Lutfi, a toxic ex-boyfriend of Britney’s, as a missing interviewee but does not show Sam Asghari’s name on the list of those who declined to comment or didn’t respond. Perhaps Asghari was not asked to appear in the serious documentary project about the pop star.

1 Included: Attorney Vivian Thoreen

One controversial figure included in the documentary is Vivian Thoreen, the lawyer who currently represents Jamie Spears. Thoreen says she is not able to offer specifics from her own experience, but she speaks hypothetically about the nature of conservatorships. Vivian Thoreen is the only voice in the documentary who stands with Jamie Spears in a tangible, legal sense.

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