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Sam Asghari says Britney Spears documentaries have left ‘bad aftertaste’

Comments come as another two documentaries about the embattled pop star are announced

Roisin O'Connor
Saturday 25 September 2021 09:33 BST
Trailer for Controlling Britney Spears documentary
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Britney Spears’s fiancé Sam Asghari has spoken of the “bad aftertaste” left by the many documentaries about the pop star.

Shortly before the premiere of the surprise new programme, Controlling Britney Spears, was released to FX and Hulu on Friday 24 September, Asghari shared his thoughts about filmmakers trying to depict Spears’s ongoing legal battle over her conservatorship.

“I hope the profit from these docs go towards fighting against injustice #freebritney,” he wrote in the comments section of Netflix’s Instagram page, on a post promoting its new documentary, Britney vs Spears.

In an Instagram Story on his own page he added: “Apparently my opinion has increased in value of the last few days.

“Past docs left bad aftertaste. I’m hopeful this one will be respectful. 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.”

He continued: “I question producers who made them ‘just to shed light’ without input or approval from subject. Any credit for light being shed should go to #FreeBritney.”

It is unclear whether Asghari was still referring to the Netflix documentary, or to the Framing Britney Spears follow-up, Controlling Britney Spears, which was released on Friday.

In Controlling Britney Spears, it is alleged that Spears’s father, Jamie, hired a security company that monitored the pop star’s private conversations and also placed an audio recorder in her bedroom.

A lawyer for the security company said in a statement Good Morning America: “Black Box have always conducted themselves within professional, ethical and legal bounds, and they are particularly proud of their work in keeping Ms. Spears safe for many years.”

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Jamie Spears’s lawyer said his actions “were done with the knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney and/or the court”.

“Jamie confirms that he has no access to her calls, voice-mail messages, or texts,” they told the New York Times.

Filmmakers for the new documentary told Variety that Britney Spears’s explosive court testimony in June this year had a major impact on encouraging members of her inner-circle to come forward.

“Britney speaking out in court was really the game changer, in terms of people saying they’re willing to break an NDA, or they felt it was important to speak,” producer Liz Day said.

The Independent has contacted Britney Spears’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, for comment.

Spears announced she was engaged to Asghari earlier this month. The couple first met in October 2016 on the set of her “Slumber Party” music video.

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