Britney Spears’ longtime friend Lance Bass has admitted she’s acting “out of character” on social media.
The NSYNC star addressed the #FreeBritney movement on the latest episode of his podcast, The Daily Popcast.
Lance said he feels conflicted about discussing the controversy surrounding Britney’s conservatorship, but understands why fans are concerned about her.
He said: “I get a lot of questions about this, but I always stay silent because I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ If I had something positive or some real information to share I probably would.”
“Obviously she’s got some problems. I don’t know what she’s going through, I don’t know exactly what her diagnoses are but online these videos are definitely out of character for her.”
“This is kind of a new thing. So something’s going on. I think that’s why a lot of the fans are like, ‘She’s being held hostage because she’s acting so strange,’ but I think it could just be her medication doing this.”
“She feels very happy and wants to do these videos,” he continued, “I don’t see any danger in it.”
“I think they’re kind of fun and positive… I would be more worried if she disappeared from social media.”
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The 41-year-old also said he knows Britney’s family would never want to “hurt” her.
“They would never want to hurt [their] sister and they would never go along with anyone taking advantage of her. They just wouldn’t,” he said. “I think they would be privy to what’s going on with their parents taking care of her.”
The news comes after Britney’s father Jamie recently slammed the #FreeBritney movement – branding it “a joke”.
Speaking to Page Six, the 68-year-old said: “All these conspiracy theorists don’t know anything. The world don’t have a clue. It’s up to the court of California to decide what’s best for my daughter. It’s no one else’s business.”
Jamie also claimed that the #FreeBritney movement has resulted in people “being stalked and targeted with death threats,” before adding, “It’s horrible. We don’t want those kinds of fans.”
“I love my daughter. I love all my kids. But this is our business. It’s private,” he said.
Britney’s dad also denied rumours he’s ever stolen from her estate by saying: “I have to report every nickel and dime spent to the court every year. How the hell would I steal something?”
Britney was placed under a conservatorship after she suffered an alleged breakdown back in 2008.
A conservatorship is granted to those who are incapable of making decisions, such as people with mental disabilities.
The arrangement put her estate, financial assets, and some personal assets under the control of her father Jamie Spears and lawyer Andrew Wallet.
Jamie served as her conservator for over ten years before he stepped down in September 2019, and was replaced by Britney’s longtime care manager Jodi Montgomery.
Jamie spoke out after Britney’s brother Bryan opened up about her conservatorship during a rare interview last month.
The 43-year-old admitted the situation has been “frustrating” and that his younger sister has “wanted to get out of it for quite some time.”
“She’s been in this thing for quite some time now. Obviously there was a need for it in the beginning,” Bryan told Drew Plotkin on the As NOT Seen on TV Podcast.
“Now they’ve made some changes and all we can do is hope for the best,” Bryan said, adding that the conservatorship has “been a great thing for our family, to this point.”
Speaking about their father, Bryan said: “[He did] the best he could given the situation he was put in.”
“We’ve had to work together as a family to keep it all going. One person might be on stage and doing this, but it’s a sacrifice from everybody. Everyone is putting in, to some degree, a little bit to keep everything going.”
Bryan admitted that Britney has always wanted to end the conservatorship and achieve independence.
“She’s always wanted to get out of it. It’s very frustrating to have,” he said.
“Whether someone’s coming in peace to help or coming in with an attitude, having someone constantly tell you to do something has got to be frustrating. She’s wanted to get out of it for quite some time.”
“[She’s] been surrounded by a team of people since she was 15. So at what level does everyone walk away or at what level does that get reduced?”
