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Rolling Stone contributing editor Jenny Eliscu first interviewed Britney Spears in RS 877, when the pop star appeared on her third cover. Here Eliscu talks about the changes she's seen in Britney over the years, and what it was like getting access to the singer for her new story, Britney Returns.
When did you first meet Britney?
It was in summer of 2001. She had just moved into a new house in
the Hollywood Hills and she was decorating it with her mom. She was
dating Justin at the time. We went into her bedroom, and in the
walk-in closet there was a shirt that was obviously Justin's. It
was a cowboy shirt. It was hanging by itself — I looked at it
and I remember thinking, "That's Justin's! He must sleep over
here!" And she was very down-to-earth and friendly and silly
— I was charmed by her immediately. She was easy to be
around. She was just in jeans and a T-shirt and her eyeliner was
from last night — which always seems to be the case with
Britney. We went to the studio together, and she was working with
producer B.T. She got in the booth and sang, and it was
surprisingly effortless for her.
How would you compare the girl then to the girl
now?
What's most different was the experience. I had interviewed her a
handful of times since that first story, and we'd even talked about
doing a book together a couple years ago. I mean, she used to send
me Christmas cards and thank-you notes and stuff. Which, by the
way, is super rare for anyone to do after you've written about
them. Given all this background, I was really suprised by the
restrictions on my access to her. I was like,"'What's the problem
here?" That made me immediately uncomfortable. So to answer your
question is tough, because compared to my previous experiences with
her, this one was so much more micro-managed. I saw her several
times over the course of September and October, but I was only
allowed to speak with her on two of those occasions. My impressions
are based on the very limited constraints that were put on us. That
said, the first time I saw her on this story, my first impression
was that she looked great. She looked like Britney. But there was
much more of a sense of "can we get this over with" and her manager
had to sit in. It wasn't possible to engage with her in the ways I
was used to, both in my past interviews with her and compared to
what it's normally like in general to talk in-depth with a
subject.
You've heard her quote from the documentary Britney:
For the Record about how she feels like a prisoner. Did you
get that vibe from her?
The thing is, when I met with her, I wasn't looking for that. I had
started to feel uncomfortable with all the restrictions, like
submitting my questions for approval and not being left alone with
her. And whenever I asked who was making these rules, I was told it
had to do with the conservatorship. Like most people, I didn't know
much about conservatorships or how they're supposed to work. Of
course, the funny coincidence is that the most famous
conservatorship in recent years isn't even Britney's: Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac were being run by a government conservatorship. And
we see how brilliantly that turned out.
Anyway, I had done some preliminary research into it, but I was not yet aware how hard Britney had tried to fight it initially and why. As my research progressed, it started to become clear to me that this might not be something that should still be in place. Because it is designed, ideally, to protect people who are seriously ill. We're talking about people who are non compos mentis, according to the lawyers I consulted. Or they're in a vegetative state. Or they're just so old that they can't take care of themselves anymore. But Britney? It was making less and less sense as time went on.
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So, as I say, it wasn't until after my last meeting with her that I realized how far beyond the scope of my interview this level of control extended into all facets of her life. And so, unfortunately, I wasn't, like, checking to see if she blinked out an S.O.S. code or whatever. But in hindsight, I did have a new understanding of the quote of hers at the end of the story, which is the last thing she said to me, in the context of being interviewed. She was describing this song she wrote about artistic expression and masquerade — pretending to be other people and putting on shows. And she says, "Through this, you create your world." The song is about a girl who likes to live in a world of make-believe, and she's got all these people trying to come into her world that she didn't invite in. It's pretty telling. When you think about it, Britney Spears is an artist — a pop artist, in the truest sense — and sometimes artists do crazy things. I'm not sure why Britney isn't allowed to act out in the ways that we normally consider acceptable from artists. And we're guilty too because we created this Britney Spears character and we won't let her change.
What do you think will happen next? Is this
conservatorship thing going to be a problem for Britney in the
future?
It's a problem for her now. And the commissioner recently granted
their request to make it permanent. If something doesn't change
— if somebody doesn't contest it — it would
theoretically remain in effect until her father dies. So far,
Britney has failed in her attempts to hire her own lawyer.
Why do you think the court keeps approving the
conservatorship?
One credible theory goes that the conservatorship manages to remain
in effect due to political pressure on the courts to keep Britney
off the streets. Her reckless behavior definitely was a problem for
tax-paying Los Angelenos, who deserve to be able to drive their
roads without fear of being run down by a Britney-led paparazzi
chase, you know? She was creating mayhem, and it's fair to consider
the impact on her neighbors and community. But I also think it's
important for conservatorship not to be manipulated into a form of
censorship. As Britney herself notes in that documentary, the
punishment for her antics ought to fit the crime. At this point,
it's like we're punishing her for acting shamlessly. and for being
tacky. And this is America! If Britney is famous for acting tacky,
we've got no one to blame but ourselves.