In Sept. 2007, Britney Spears superfan Chris Crocker went viral after he posted his heartfelt "Leave Britney Alone!" video, as tears and mascara streamed down his face. In the four-minute video, Crocker defended the pop star's poorly received comeback performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards just months after her public mental health struggles were captured by paparazzi, including the infamous umbrella incident. It's been 14 years since Crocker's face and name became forever linked to Spears, and now, in the wake of her testimony on June 23 regarding her conservatorship, Crocker has posted some new Spears-related videos.
In a TikTok, Crocker, now 33, said he's been contacted by fans for his thoughts on Spears' situation. (In the testimony, Spears said she was forced to go to rehab facilities, that she can't take out her IUD, and that she was put on lithium against her will, among other shocking statements.) So, Crocker posted a response to the news that Spears has spoken out about wanting to end the conservatorship and is fighting for her freedom. Read on to see the new Chris Crocker videos regarding Britney Spears.
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Crocker posted a TikTok saying that this is "about Britney's voice being heard.
On June 23, Crocker posted a video to TikTok, where he said a lot of people have been reaching out to him for his "thoughts on everything going on with Britney."
But, Crocker said: "I don’t feel it’s my place to speak on it. I feel like today is about Britney being able to be heard and what she wants to say and her getting her freedom and her happiness back. It’s not about what I or anyone else has to say. It’s about Britney’s voice being heard, and that’s what I’m so happy about is she gets to be heard, no one has to speak for her. I think all we all want is for Britney’s voice to be heard, and for her to have her freedoms, because that’s what she deserves.”
During the testimony, which you can listen to in full here, Spears spoke of wanting to petition to end the conservatorship, which puts her father and other co-conservators in charge of everything in her life, from her finances to her body. Though she's been under the conservatorship for 13 years, Spears said she didn't know she had the power to petition it until recently.
With the aftershock of Spears' testimony still rumbling, Crocked uploaded a new video to his Instagram on June 24, reiterating that Spears' frank testimony is about her freedom and not him being "right."
"It's not about me," he said. "The bottom line is that what's happening now has nothing to do with if I was right or if Perez Hilton was wrong at the time. We've all made mistakes in this." In the "Leave Britney Alone!" video, Crocker criticizes Hilton, the longtime celebrity blogger, for saying she was unprofessional and making fun of her performance. (Hilton has since apologized.)
RELATED: Here's Everything Britney Spears Said About Her Dad in Her Court Testimony.
In the new Instagram video, Crocker also explained why he made the video in the first place.
While Crocker has previously discussed what was going on in his life that inspired the "Leave Britney Alone!" video—including in the 2012 HBO documentary Me @ the Zoo—he decided to share the story again on Instagram for those who may not have heard it. In 2007, Crocker said his mother returned from Iraq and was homeless and struggling, leading many family members to turn their backs on her.
"My whole family, I was trying to get them to believe in my mom again. So the parallel between what she was going through and me trying to tell people, 'No, Britney can still turn this around, like, don't throw her away like this,' that is why I made the video," Crocker said. "I was so upset and some people thought dramatic ... because in my own personal life, I was fighting for my mom to get better."
Crocker said at one point, he had resentment toward Spears.
Vincent Sandoval/Getty ImagesIn the Instagram video, Crocker discussed how after "Leave Britney Alone!" went viral, he was mocked everywhere, from South Park to Fox News, and was frequently physically assaulted in bars. But what perhaps hurt him the most was a tabloid story that Spears herself didn't like his "Leave Britney Alone!" video.
"I didn't handle it the best way and thinking that she didn't like me kind of made me resentful at a certain period of my life, especially before I got sober," Crocker said, noting he tore down his posters of Spears. "I do apologize for buying into that hype that that tabloid put out because it really did make me feel like, you know, 'What was this for if the person I'm trying to stand up and be vulnerable for doesn't like me or doesn't like the video?' And the truth of the matter is, where I stand today as an adult is, number one: Britney doesn't owe me or anyone anything. So even if she thought I was weird or didn't like the video, that's her prerogative."
Crocker apologized to Spears and said he hopes that she soon is freed of her conservatorship.
Tinseltown / ShutterstockToward the end of the Instagram video, Crocker addressed Spears directly, apologizing for turning on her because of a tabloid rumor. "To Britney, I apologize. I don't even know if you know who I am, but I apologize for the moments when I believed the anonymous sources and even if you didn't like my video, you don't owe us anything," he said. "I made the 'Leave Britney Alone!' video because I felt like people should leave you alone."
Crocker concluded the video explaining that Spears was "an inspiration [for him] for years as a kid growing up in the South." He added: "She made me feel so confident when I had no one else to look up to. And for that alone, she doesn't owe us anything. And she just deserves to be free and happy."
Ultimately, Crocker said, "I feel like, now, hopefully the conservatorship ends and she can live her life the way she f****** wants to live it. And that's all I have to say."
RELATED: Britney Spears' Boyfriend Just Slammed Her Dad on Instagram.
