I was never a fan of Britney’s music back when I was in high school (and hated the boy bands and general teen pop scene as well), but have come to empathize with the abuse and manipulation many in the music industry have suffered through.

Like others here have commented, I once loathed what Britney represented and thought she was a terrible role model. Now that I’m old enough to hypothetically be a parent to a 15 year old, I can see that she was a victim of manipulation and abuse at the hands of her family and the record labels who sexualized her and worked her to death. She was a child that was denied a normal life. It’s even more tragic that she’s still surrounded by so many predators as an adult and still doesn’t have a normal life.