Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Britney Spears tells paparazzi to ‘f*** off’ after being hounded while on holiday in Maui

Pop star’s request comes as the media is scrutinised over its past treatment of her

Roisin O'Connor
Thursday 01 July 2021 04:23 EDT
Comments
Britney Spears enjoys break in Maui vacation video

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Britney Spears has called out members of the paparazzi after apparently being hounded while on holiday in Maui.

The pop star is spending time by the beach with her boyfriend, Sam Ashgari, after testifying at court in Los Angeles for the case surrounding her controversial conservatorship.

While Spears’s holiday Instagram posts have been mostly positive – including videos of the spectacular views from her villa and of her on the beach – she has now been forced to ask photographers to leave her alone.

“So being here in Maui is pretty crazy now… the paps know where I am and it’s really not fun!” she wrote in the caption. “It’s pretty hard going anywhere cause these silly faces keep popping up to take my picture...”

Spears then accused the photographers of editing the images of her: “Not only do they take my picture… they distort my body and mess with the image and it’s embarrassing!”

“I know my body is not perfect but I definitely do NOT look like how they portray me,” she wrote. “It’s rude and it’s mean so paps kindly F*** YOU AND F*** OFF.”

The video clip included a request for “Dos and don’ts if you are a pap, fan or ANYONE in my space.”

“Don’t talk to me while texting, it’s rude,” she wrote, adding a photo of Drew Barrymore drinking from a mug bearing the same message.

“This is my body!” she added. “So stop messing with my pics and editing them to the point where it’s embarrassing!”

The revelation that Spears is being bothered by photographers seems particularly outrageous in light of the ongoing reckoning against the media for the way Spears and her fellow female pop and film stars were treated in the Nineties and Noughties.

Spears herself has spoken of the impact the press attention had on her mental health, and it was also the subject of two documentaries released this year.

Her post was accompanied by Lily Allen’s song, “F*** You”, clipping the chorus that goes: “It’s really distasteful... F*** you, f**** you very very much... ‘cos we hate what you do/And we hate your whole crew/ So please don’t stay in touch.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in