Britney Spears' fiance says documentaries on the star have left a ‘bad aftertaste’

Sam Asghari took to Instagram to say he hopes coming films about the 'Toxic' singer's life will be 'respectful'

A number of documentaries focusing on Britney Spears and her on-going conservatorship battle with her father, Jamie Spears, have been aired in the past year or are due to soon. AFP
Powered by automated translation

Britney Spears' fiance Sam Asghari has said the numerous documentaries released about the singer's life have left a "bad aftertaste".

Taking to Instagram, Asghari said he hopes that coming documentaries will be more "respectful" in their handling of the star's story.

A number of documentaries have been aired or green lit in the past year, focusing on Spears, 39, and her on-going conservatorship battle with her father, Jamie Spears.

Asghari's comments were posted to social media hours ahead of the Friday premiere of FX and Hulu’s Controlling Britney Spears, the follow up to Framing Britney Spears, which aired in February. Netflix's Britney vs Spears documentary is due to air on Tuesday.

“Apparently my opinion has increased in value over [the] last few days,” Asghari, 27, wrote.

"Past [documentaries] left [a] bad aftertaste. I'm hopeful this one will be respectful," he wrote of the FX/Hulu production. I don't blame CNN, BBC or Netflix (which got me through lockdowns) for airing them because as an actor I tell other people's stories too.

"[But] I question producers who made them 'just to shed light' without input or approval from the subject. Any credit for light being shed should go to #freeBritney."

Asghari also referenced BBC’s The Battle for Britney: Fans, Cash and a Conservatorship and CNN’s coming documentary, Toxic: Britney Spears’ Battle for Freedom.

Last week, Iran-born Asghari commented on a post on Netflix’s Instagram in which the platform promoted its documentary about the singer. His comment, which received thousands of likes, read: "I hope the profit from these docs go towards fighting agains [sic] injustice #freebritney."

Netflix's 'Britney vs Spears' to air Tuesday

Last week, Netflix released the trailer for its documentary which will air on Tuesday.

The teaser begins with the singer saying: “I just want my life back”. The plea is taken from an audio recording of Spears's June 23 testimony at the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she addressed a judge publicly for the first time.

While Netflix has not revealed who exactly is being featured in the documentary, it says that “journalist Jenny Eliscu and filmmaker Erin Lee Carr investigate Spears's fight for freedom by way of exclusive interviews with former employees, attorneys and more.”

The streaming platform also pitched Britney vs Spears as a “shocking timeline of old and new players, secret rendezvous and Britney’s behind the scenes fight for her own autonomy … Text messages and a voicemail as well as new interviews with key players make clear what Britney herself has attested: the full story has yet to be told.”

The trailer also claims that the documentary makers were granted access to a confidential report leaked by someone “very close” to the conservatorship.

Updated: November 14, 2021, 7:23 AM