Britney Spears Under Fire For 'Encouraging' Animal Abuse

Singer Britney Spears is in hot water with her fans, only this time, it's not over an NSFW selfie.

On Tuesday, the "Oops!...I Did It Again" singer shared a video of a lion with a collar and chain around its neck. Many of her Instagram followers compared keeping an animal like a lion in captivity to her own conservatorship, which officially began in February 2008 and wasn't struck down by a judge until November 2021.

Britney kept the caption of the post blank, but fans weren’t quite sure why she decided to share it in the first place. “Britney don't support this please. You first should know how it is when they take your freedom from away. Animals suffer when they are treated like this,” one follower commented. Another fan told her “Do not encourage that!” while a third user agreed, adding, “I absolutely hate that you promote this kind of stuff.”

DJ and entrepreneur Michelle Pesce didn’t hesitate to call out the “Toxic” singer, commenting, “This is not the way. Ownership of these wild and majestic creatures and enforcing domestication or chaining of them. Def Not the way.” An animal rescue non-profit agreed, adding, “Brit. Nooo. This ain’t it. Leave animals alone” as other fans called her video an example of “animal abuse” and “animal cruelty.”

“The fact that a celebrity is encouraging this is absolutely disgusting," another user added. “and you talk about freedom? Why don’t you see an animal being abused?” another fan asked. “Lion on a chain = animal abuse. The more you post the more I really think you have no idea what's right and what's wrong,” another follower chimed in.

Some followers were definitely in Britney’s corner and claimed that the video was an example of how she felt “chained up” during her stifling 13-year conservatorship. “I don't think she's ‘supporting’ it,” one user wrote. “I think is a way of saying to everybody that got her tamed for so many years that she still had the spirit and anger inside of a lion while she was in the conservatorship... Idk I'm just trying to find the more logical of this post based on the whole situation.”

However, not all fans agreed. “ then she should have right the explanation… otherwise, it’s promoting animal abuse,” one user commented. “This post is too dramatic for a metaphor,” another follower commented.

“regardless of that, she should know her posts have an impact as a public figure,” another fan chimed in. “Also, we all know about her suffering since she has shared it before and several times. Posting something so mean like this is unnecessary, she should go to therapy, honestly. Perhaps picking the one she feels comfortable with, but this post about animal abuse is a huge NO.”

One user felt that some fans were looking for “some means to justify” Britney’s post, adding, “I know most want her to be ok. I think some are just disappointed and shocked. It's like meeting your hero and finding out they aren’t who they are. Who knows who is posting but whoever is doing it is not helping her image at all.”

That being said, some users are sticking by Britney’s side, despite her past history of controversial posts. “Y’all with the animal cruelty and you should know how it feels to be chained comments, haven’t you think maybe that’s exactly why she posted it?” another user asked. “I mean, is that hard to get to that conclusion? Britney was human trafficked, abused, and ‘chained’ in so many ways. This image might make sense to some of her feelings and I’m pretty sure she’s just expressing herself. She means no harm. Even the comments I’m reading here looks like a lot of what we were saying during Free Britney to defend her. Let her be and be smarter. GTFO.”

This is only the latest controversial post from the “Toxic” singer, who shared another NSFW snap on her Instagram page yesterday, drawing ire from fans who expressed concern for her two teenage boys. As one user wrote, “Honestly if my mom was posting this stuff and I had to go to school, I’d hate my f---ing life.”