Kneeling down, the two organizers of the rally, Jessica Cruz and John Fernandes.
Wash. Sq. ralliers hope to ‘Free Britney’
BY BOB KRASNER
Britney Spears has been a lot of things
– singer, songwriter,icon,pop star,
tabloid fodder, actress, mom,
dancer, paparazzi target and punchline
to more jokes than she’s deserved.
But lately, she’s the fi gurehead of a
movement that means to save not only
her but thousands of others who have
become powerless under the confi nes of a
conservatorship. According to Wikipedia,
this is legal situation where “a guardian
or a protector is appointed by a judge to
manage the fi nancial affairs and/or daily
life of another due to physical or mental
limitations, or old age.”
One can imagine uninformed folks
laughing at the “Free Britney” signs and
t-shirts that showed up in Washington
Square Park last week, but there’s nothing
funny about the situation. Despite having
completed world tours, new albums,
judged a reality show and having an
enormously successful residency in Las
Vegas, Spears has been unwillingly under
the personal and fi nancial control of her
father, Jamie Spears for the last 12 years.
While there is no doubt that incidents
in Spears’ life indicated that the superstar
was in need of help, more and more
people are becoming aware of the fact
that she is in an untenable situation. Jessica
Cruz of Free Britney NYC is one of
the people leading the movement to shore
up support for the singer in the city. “If it
weren’t for the ‘Free Britney’ movement I
wouldn’t know anything about conservatorship,”
she explains. “I’m 39, the same
age as Britney, with CP and epilepsy. In a
moment my life could be stripped away.”
Growing up, Cruz was mocked for
being different, but felt empowered by
Spears and wants to give something back.
“Evil, greedy people took her life
away,” Cruz states. “She needs support
and love. “Although she could never afford
to see Britney in concert – the closest
she got was standing in Times Square
seeing her wave from the window while
being interviewed at MTV – Cruz is just
hoping for the best. ”
If she never performs again, if she
decides to just live a normal life with her
kids, that will make me happy at the end
of the day.”
Teaming up with Cruz is John Fernandes,
who created the “Touch of Rose
Project” to bring awareness to the issue.
After meeting at a rally organized by
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
Natalia Vasquez , Katherine Smith and Courtney Norton making their
feelings known.
Cruz at Liberty Island, they decided to
join forces and act up in Washington
Square Park.
“This is not just a fi ght for Britney
Spears,” Fernandes explains. “It’s a fi ght
for thousands of victims.”
One of the other prominent fi gures
he mentions is former ‘Star Trek’ actor
Nichelle Nichols, who is under the
control of her son. He sees the raising of
awareness of the issue as a necessary step
in probate reform.
“If we had a probate court that actually
investigated conservatorship, we wouldn’t
be here,” he claims.
In perhaps a fi tting manner, multidisciplinary
artist Claudia Bitran injected some
controversy into the rally by showing up
dressed as a split personality Britney. Half
of her homemade outfi t was the “not so
innocent” schoolgirl of the ‘Baby, One
More Time’ era, while the other half relived
the endlessly aired incident where the
beleaguered star shaved her head in public.
Bitran, who grew up fascinated by
Britney as a teen in Chile, has been making
art about Spears for years, including
recreations of all her videos.
“The costume was polemic for the
fans, ” Bitran muses. “But it’s not a mockery.
My intent was to visualize her pain.”
While Fernandes was initially taken
aback, he came to understand the empathy
behind the costume. “We are advocating
for a human being here,” Bitran notes,
”not a celebrity icon.”
The fans who created signs on the
spot posed in front of the ‘Free Britney’
backdrop with their friends and children
had something to say to the star as well.
Courtney Norton, Katherine Smith and
Natalia Vasquez gathered together to send
this message to her: “Britney, we love you.
We are here for you. We are your family
and we will fi ght for you every day.”
Look for updates and announcements
of future rallies on Instagram: @touchofroseproject
and @freebritneynyc
18 March 25, 2021 Schneps Media