[Red Moon]

Britney Spears - Why I'd rather resign from the human race than live like her, says Polly Hudson

I hated Britney’s X Factor performance. Not because she mimed while half-heartedly waving and strolling about, or because she hadn’t washed her hair, or even because of the awkward, robotic interview.

I hated it because the spark has gone from her eyes.

Watching her documentary on Monday night it became all too clear why.

Britney: For The Record was a chilling portrait of modern celebrity that every kid who says they want to be famous should be forced to watch in full.

It made me want to resign from the human race.

If you’ve ever felt envious of Britney’s success, money or looks here’s a bittersweet irony – she’s been jealous of you the whole time. Because you can leave your house right now if you want, and do something simple like go for a walk. And she can’t. Ever.

She’s literally a prisoner. She can’t pop to the shops, meet a mate for a drink or take her sons out without chaos ensuing. So she got cut off from the world, then so desperately lonely she let bad people into her life, and the rest is pop culture history.

Britney’s life has now been taken over by her dad, who thinks it’s best for her to immerse herself in work because then she’s removed from “the real world” and will have no time or energy for anything else.

She’s being analysed by doctors and lawyers – and every celebrity junkie in the world – so daddy’s word is law. And so Britney works, constantly smiling no matter how she’s feeling, and then she goes home, to a different kind of prison, where her father’s the warden.

She says, “There’s no excitement, no passion, it’s like Groundhog Day, every day.”

Later she decides that “it’s better just not to feel anything at all”, which may well be the most depressing sentence I’ve ever heard in my life.

The pressures of superstardom wrecked Britney’s head (and hair) so it’s absolutely baffling that anyone could think pushing her back into the limelight JUST as she’s beginning to recover is a smart move.

It’s like waiting for your sight to return so you can poke yourself in the eye again.

And yet Britney’s new album, and tickets for her 2009 world tour went on sale this week.

Outwardly, she’s going through the motions, but that’s all she’s doing. She explains: “When I tell people how I feel, they’re hearing but not listening. It’s bad.”
And then her face crumples, her eyes fill with tears and she whispers simply: “I’m sad.”

I’m much more scared for Britney now than I was when she was shaving her head and being strapped down for her own safety. Because at least then the people around her were aware something was wrong.

Source: Daily Mirror