Matt Gaetz, QAnon Followers, and the GOP Are Exploiting the #FreeBritney Movement

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MusicREDEF
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Is the Far Right Trying to Co-opt #FreeBritney? (@ejdickson - @rollingstone)

Matt Gaetz, QAnon Followers, and the GOP Are Exploiting the #FreeBritney Movement
Far-right figures like Matt Gaetz and QAnon influencers are hijacking Britney Spears' conservatorship struggles.
rollingstone.com
4:20 PM · Jul 16, 2021

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/britney-spears-matt-gaetz-qanon-freebritney-1198308/?curator=MediaREDEF

Earlier this week, amidst the throngs of Britney Spears fans gathered outside a Los Angeles courthouse to protest the singer’s conservatorship case, a newcomer arrived at the rally, wearing glasses and a navy blue suit. The newcomer was Rep. Matt Gaetz, the right-wing congressman currently under investigation for allegations of sex trafficking and having sex with a minor. “There were grifters in this process that tried to act like they spoke for Britney,” an impassioned Gaetz said to cheers from the crowd, “that they knew what she wanted. Well, now the whole world knows what Britney Spears wants, and it is the freedom and liberty that should be offered to every single American.” Gaetz then called Jamie Spears, Britney’s father, a “dick” to wild cheers before calling out Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Jerry Nadler for failing to “join our bipartisan effort to create a federal cause of action for people who are constrained of their liberty through guardianship and conservatorship.”

Despite his warm reception at the rally, many on social media following the #FreeBritney movement were puzzled by Gaetz’s presence, accusing him of trying to hijack the movement to distract from his own legal struggles; many also pointed out the irony of Gaetz being accused of trafficking and publicly advocating for the rights of a vulnerable woman.

But the #FreeBritney movement has also more broadly served as a talking point within the mainstream GOP. On Wednesday, Forbes reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee has been using Spears’ case as part of its text message fundraising efforts, referring to her in texts to donors as “a victim of toxic gov’t overreach & censorship”; Gaetz and other Republicans, including QAnon supporter Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have also issued a formal invite to Spears to testify before Congress about her conservatorship struggles. And within far-right circles on the internet, the #FreeBritney case has been a flashpoint of discussion, in large part due to the issues it raises of sovereignty and bodily autonomy.

On Instagram, far-right influencers and promoters of the anti-trafficking #SaveTheChildren campaign have been posting about Spears for weeks. Indeed, one of the top posts under the #FreeBritney hashtag on Instagram is a meme posted on the page for the Free Thought Project, a conspiracy theory account with 367,000 followers. “If Britney’s father’s conservatorship upsets you, just wait until you realize you are in a conservatorship with government,” the post, which has 12,481 likes, says.

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[Thomas Hurt]

1. Her Dad is pulling down 16K a month as conservator...maybe Gaetz is looking to move in on that scam.

[chowder66]

2. It's a feeding frenzy for grifters. Can't miss a money making opportunity! nt