Britney Spears attacked by Iran’s state media after supporting protestors
Britney Spears has been attacked on social media by Iran’s state-sponsored media service, the Islamic Republic News Agency.
The IRNA hit out at the singer-songwriter after she shared a message in support of the Iranian citizens protesting the country’s morality police.
Spears, who is married to Iranian-American actor and model Sam Asghari, tweeted last week: “Me & my husband stand with the people of Iran fighting for freedom.”
In response, the IRNA tweeted about Spears, making reference to her controversial conservatorship arrangement, which was dissolved last year following a protracted legal battle.
“American singer Britney Spears was placed under her father’s conservatorship in 2008 due to her mental health problems,” the organisation wrote on its official Twitter account.
“That gave Britney’s father control over her finances and even her personal life aspects such as pregnancy, remarriage and visits to her teenage sons.”
The tweet has been interpreted as an attempt to discourage support for the nationwide protests currently taking place across Iran.
The protests began after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old activist who was arrested by the so-called morality police in September, with authorities claiming she was not clothed in accordance with religious modesty laws.
Amini died in police custody. While the IRNA has maintained that Amini’s death was the result of a heart attack, her family have alleged that she was beaten to death by the police.
Protests have taken place across Iran in the weeks since, with many Iranian women being filmed defying the dress rules and cutting their hair.
In September, Asghari shared a video on Instagram articulating his support of the Iranian people.
“After 1979, the Islamic Republic regime took over and forced its ideology, propaganda and dictatorship on the people,” Asghari, 28, said. “It slaughtered, murdered and stole from innocent people,” he claimed.
“The country is now known for being the biggest sponsor of terrorism. It’s now hated by every single country because of this horrible government. But they are the biggest terrorist for its own people,” he said in the video.
