Earlier this year, two comedians recorded an “emergency episode” of their podcast, "Britney’s Gram".

Tess Barker and Barbara Gray were concerned that pop star Britney Spears was unfairly involved in a court-approved conservatorship against her will.

Spears has been subject to a conservatorship overseen by her father since 2008 after some erratic behavior.

Shortly after the episode, #freebritney was trending on Twitter. Spears’ supporters showed up outside of a downtown Los Angeles courthouse ahead of a hearing.

The comedy duo Frangela, featuring Francis Callier and Angela V. Shelton, had differing points of view on whether Spears is mentally capable of taking care of herself.

“[The price of fame means] that you can’t be an actual human being sometimes when you’re famous,” Callier said. “I’ve seen a lot of kids grow up in this Hollywood system and it’s hard. And when they get to a certain age, it is difficult. And the problem I have with ‘free Britney’ is conservatorship is really serious.”

Shelton, said she can see why some people might think the conservatorship should end.

“She has been doing a Vegas show. This is a person who is, quite clearly, competent in a number of ways. She’s still recording, she’s performing, they’re all making money off of it – a lot of money off of it,” she said. “I’m kind of ‘free Britney.’”

In the midst of the #freebritney movement, the entertainer addressed her fans in an Instagram post. In the video, she says everything is going well and that she’s needed time to deal with family stress and anxiety.

Jim Rainey, Enterprise Reporter for The Los Angeles Times, said this movement may have started as tongue-in-cheek, but has gotten more serious. He talked about the online element to all of this.                                                                                                    

“The fact that the whole discussion is taking place, and people are making decisions and we’re making our judgments based on posts on Instagram,” he said.

Shelton says the social media aspect makes people feel as if they know celebrities personally.

“And that’s created a level of care that maybe you couldn’t see as easily from the outside,” she said.

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