Barker and Gray received an anonymous voicemail in 2019, saying that Spears’ stay in a mental health facility was involuntary. They shifted gears and began to investigate the conservatorship instead. The two concluded that something seemed suspicious, particularly because Spears was generating so much money and yet had no control over it.
“Generally conservatorships are reserved for people who can’t provide their basic needs for themselves, like food, clothing or shelter. And, you know, it seems like Britney has definitely shown otherwise,” said Gray.
They put up a new episode of their podcast and labeled it “ FREE BRITNEY,” described as “a special emergency episode.” It took off and helped birth the hashtag #FreeBritney. Barker and Gray are now thought of as the founders of the Free Britney movement.
The duo then began covering each conservatorship hearing.
“One of the most surreal things has just been seeing the way the protests have grown in size,” said Barker.
“Early on there would sometimes be literally five people standing outside with their pink signs and frankly, being ignored by people going into the courthouse. It’s really crazy to juxtapose that against (now) where there’s literally hundreds of people, and you can’t even get down the sidewalk.”
