Craig Ferguson’s Monologue Defending Britney Spears Resurfaces Amid ‘Free Britney’ Movement

With the release of the documentary Framing Britney Spears, people are examining how Spears was treated by the media at the height of her fame. While Spears has made vague references to the doc, a source told Page Six that she has not watched it at this point. “As of Sunday, Britney hadn’t watched the documentary, but she’s aware of it,” the source said. “She had not seen any of it… She’s chosen not to watch it because she’s fed up with the conservatorship. She feels there is a hole missing in her life because of the conservatorship and that she won’t be able to live a normal life until that’s over. She knows it’s a battle for her whole life.”

While Spears hasn’t watched it, pretty much everyone else has, and it has stirred up some major reactions online. People are re-examining what was seen as acceptable back in the ’90s and ’00s and how Spears was treated at the time. One video clip that is getting traction on Twitter is a monologue that Craig Ferguson gave on The Late Late Show in 2007.

At the time, Spears was dealing with a very public mental breakdown and, shave her head, and check in to rehab, and many saw this as a free pass to mock her. Ferguson took a different route. A Britney Spears fan account on Twitter shared the clip, writing “Never forget when Craig Ferguson refused to make fun of Britney Spears.”

“I’m starting to feel uncomfortable making fun of these people,” he said in his monologue. “Comedy should have a certain amount of joy in it. It should be about us attacking the powerful people, attacking the politicians and the Trumps and the blowhards, going after them. We shouldn’t be attacking the vulnerable people.”

“I think my aim’s been off a bit and I want to change it,” Ferguson admitted. “So tonight no Britney Spears jokes. This woman has two kids. She’s 25 years old. She’s a baby herself. She’s a baby.” This level of understanding and empathy wasn’t often extended to Spears due to her level of fame and the deeply ingrained societal misogyny. Spears is currently fighting a legal battle against her father, Jamie Spears, as she attempts to dissolve the conservatorship he has had over her and her estate since 2008.