More than 15 years later, Britney Spears explains why she shaved her head

In February 2007, Britney Spears surprised the world by deciding to shave his head and go bald. The period was marked by a series of other controversies involving the singer’s name, who dealt with alcohol and drug addictions and suffered from media overexposure.

What motivated the untimely change of look? The subject was addressed by herself in her new autobiography, The Woman in Me. An excerpt of the work was published on the People magazine website.

Britney reflects on the specific episode in a chapter about the guardianship to which she was subjected for more than a decade. Between 2008 and 2021, all decisions about the singer’s life and career were made by her father, Jamie. The intervention occurred precisely because in the previous period, the artist accumulated controversies — such as shaving her hair.

In the book, the singer explains that the sudden change in appearance was a “way of reacting” contrary to everything they put her through, especially “being watched a lot while growing up”. It is worth remembering that she has pursued an artistic career since childhood.

In his reflections, Spears He came to the conclusion that he was the constant target of comments regarding his body. The pop star believed she had been sexualized since she was a teenager. In his own words:

“I was watched a lot growing up. I was looked at from top to bottom, people told me what they thought of my body, since I was a teenager. Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of reacting.”

Britney Spears and the conservatorship

With the judicial approval of the guardianship, in 2008, Britney Spears lost a series of personal freedoms. The singer says that she felt like a “robot child” and “very childish” for having her father again making decisions in her place, even as an adult. It got to the point where he interfered with the artist’s look.

“If I thought being criticized about my body in the press was bad, it hurt even more from my own father. He repeatedly told me that I was fat and that I would have to do something about it. Feeling like you are never good enough is devastating for a child. He instilled that message in me when I was a little girl, and even after I had achieved so many things, he continued to do that to me.”

During this period, Britney claims to have lost his artistic creativity. She no longer felt passionate about singing and dancing. In her words, guardianship “stripped me of my femininity, turned me into a child”. “I have always felt music in my bones and in my blood; they stole it from me,” she added.

Still according to the artist:

“Under their tutelage, I was made to understand that those days [de liberdade] they were over. I had to let my hair grow out and get back into shape. I had to go to bed early and take all the medications I was told to take. I did little creative things here and there, but my heart wasn’t in it anymore. […] Thirteen years passed and I felt like a shadow of myself.”

Finally, she concludes that she feels bad about everything she has been through, even though she is now free.

“I think now about my father and his associates having control over my body and my money for so long and it makes me feel bad… Think about how many male artists have thrown all their money away; how many had substance abuse or mental health problems. No one tried to take away control over their bodies and money. I didn’t deserve what my family did to me.”