An odd piece of Britney Spears fanfiction has resurfaced amidst revelations on her conservatorship and how she has been treated in the media.
Be careful, someone is hacking into people’s private computers and finding their secret Britney Spears fanfictions. Oh wait, “the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal“, Nature, MEANT to release that.
The short fiction piece, titled When Britney Spears Comes To My Lab, has received backlash for commemorating toxic attitudes towards Britney Spears and women in science.
““When Britney Spears comes to my lab” is incredibly misogynistic, as UN-scientific as you can get,” one user commented on the piece.
They added that it also “perpetuates the abusive culture that drives women out of STEM“.
The piece was published in 2008, shortly after the release of Spears’ fifth studio album Blackout, and is a hypothetical of a professor imagining her as a student in his lab.
The story opens with: “When Britney Spears comes to LSU she’ll be wearing a silver strapless stretch top that doesn’t show too much of her belly (unless she actually moves her arms), and black Capri pants with a little dip in the waistband. Soon after she arrives she’ll start working as a student researcher in my laboratory,”
“I’ll teach Britney not to chew gum over the experiments, how to untangle her hair from the pH meter, and what the label “use only with adequate ventilation” means.”
Chief Magazine Editor for Nature, Helen Pearson, told IFL Science that the author had been contacted regarding the backlash the piece was now receiving.
“This 2008 article, published in Futures, the science fiction section of Nature, was recently flagged to us. We understand the concerns raised and would like to apologise for any offence caused. We have contacted the author of the piece regarding next steps,” she said.
The article is yet to be removed, but the author of the story said that he is “actually rather sad that the article has gotten recent negative reactions, as I wrote it as a humorous but positive piece about Britney Spears“.
I’m not entirely sure that assuming “the first time she’s asked about her research on Entertainment Tonight she’ll mispronounce the word ‘adipocyte’,” constitutes a positive piece.
The article has resurfaced amidst revelations in regard to Spears’ battle with her conservatorship, and the spotlight that has been placed her treatment in the media over the years.
What – and I cannot emphasize this enough – the fuck is this? https://t.co/Oz12Mp7om9
— Caitlin A. Murphy (@camurphy3) June 26, 2021
During her first court appearance, Spears revealed shocking accusations against her father, including one that she was forced to take Lithium and to perform in Vegas, after requesting a break.
The medication left her feeling “drunk” and unable to carry a conversation with her parents.
According to LoveBScott and a (now deleted) TMZ article, Britney Spears’ lawyer has just filed legal paperwork to end her 13-year-long conservatorship! #FreeBritney
— “This is the first step Britney has taken to become a free woman — and we’re wishing her the best.” pic.twitter.com/OT8lU2hS7u
— Fan Account (@TheSpearsRoom) June 29, 2021
