Celebrities

People Are Demanding Diane Sawyer Apologize To Britney Spears For Shaming Her During Interview

With the release of the new Britney Spears documentary, Framing Britney Spears, people are rediscovering just how terribly Spears was treated by the media.

In particular, people are latching on to an interview Diane Sawyer conducted with Britney Spears in 2003. 

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In that interview, which is really difficult to watch, Sawyer basically shames and castigates a young Spears for the break-up with Justin Timberlake AND casually informs Spears the wife of the Mayor of Maryland said that she wanted to shoot Spears. All while adopting a demeanor of faux concern and condescension. 

“You broke his heart. You did something that caused him so much pain, so much suffering. What did you do?” Sawyer, 75, asked a then 22-year-old Spears during the interview. 

I mean, it’s really awful. 

Sawyer also tells Spears that Kendel Ehrlich (who later went on to work in the Trump administration) had named Spears as a bad influence on the children and wished her harm: “Really, if I had an opportunity to shoot Britney Spears, I think I would.”

It’s a lot for a young woman to hear, and Spears is understandably really taken aback by the statement. But, she’s a professional, and she keeps her composure and is extraordinarily polite in the face of Sawyer’s blame. 

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“It’s because of the example for kids and how hard it is to be a parent,” Sawyer continues, as if it’s okay for anyone to say they’d like to shoot someone. 

On social media, fans of Spears and decent humans everywhere couldn’t believe Sawyer had acted in such a callous way on live TV.

They also brought up that Sawyer had acted similarly vilely to Whitney Houston in an interview. 

“Diane Sawyer asked Britney Spears what she did to cause Justin pain, then told her the Governor of Maryland’s wife wanted to shoot her, implying it’s Britney’s fault because she’s a bad role model to kids. I don’t care how long was passed—Diane Sawyer should be ashamed of herself,” said one Twitter user. 

https://twitter.com/ellle_em/status/1359164559790141441

“I think it’s time to have a conversation about Diane Sawyer being one of the media’s greatest tools of misogyny in the aughts. Her interviews w #BritneySpears #WhitneyHouston are truly some of the most vile from an era particularly vile to women in the limelight,” another said.  

https://twitter.com/notanothersarah/status/1358505870758301696

https://twitter.com/chcachrycola/status/1358767580945805313

Spears, who did not participate in the documentary, has not commented on the film’s release.

Patricia Grisafi

Patricia Grisafi, PhD, is a freelance writer and educator. Her work has appeared in Salon, Vice, Bitch, Bustle, Broadly, The Establishment, and elsewhere. She is passionate about pit bull rescue, cursed objects, and designer sunglasses.