Britney Spears posts videos to assure fans she's doing well
Britney Spears announced she was taking a break and reportedly entered a treatment facility earlier this month. Credit: AP / Invision / Chris Pizzello
Pop star Britney Spears is assuring fans she is fine and well, following the publication of photographs Monday showing her looking glassy-eyed and puffy in what reports called a day off from mental-health treatment.
"Hi, guys. Just checking in with all of you who are concerned about me," Spears, 37, said in an Instagram video posted late Tuesday. "All is well. My family has been going through a lot of stress and anxiety lately, so I just needed time to deal. But don't worry — I'll be back very soon."
She was more pointed in posted text, writing, "I wanted to say hi, because things that are being said have just gotten out of control!!! Wow!!! There's rumors, death threats to my family and my team," she alleged, "and just so many things crazy things being said. I am trying to take a moment for myself, but everything that's happening is just making it harder for me. Don't believe everything you read and hear."
The Grammy Award winner went to accuse her former manager, San Lufti, of having sent "fake emails everywhere" that had been written by him "years ago," adding, "I did not write them. He was pretending to be me and communicating with my team with a fake email address." She gave no details.
Spears said in January that she was taking a career break to be with her family after her father had been hospitalized and critically ill, and wrote on Instagram on April 3 that she was taking "a little 'me time.' " TMZ that day said Spears, who has a history of psychiatric issues and has been under a conservatorship since 2008, had checked herself into a mental-health facility for at least 30 days.
"My situation is unique, but I promise I'm doing what's best at this moment," her Instagram post continued. "You may not know this about me, but I am strong, and stand up for what I want! Your love and dedication is amazing, but what I need right now is a little bit of privacy to deal with all the hard things that life is throwing my way. If you could do that, I would be forever grateful. Love you."
She followed up Wednesday morning with a sped-up Instagram video of herself working out, set to Bad Bunny's portion of "I Like It" by Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin. Wearing dark yoga pants and a yellow sports bra, she works out with light hand weights and an exercise ball, and showcases a dance routine. "Who knew stress would be a great 5 pound weight loss. Yay for me," she wrote in accompanying text.
Among well-wishers commenting on the first video were fellow pop star Miley Cyrus; reality-TV star Jenni "JWoww" Farley, formerly of Franklin Square; and Spears' boyfriend, fitness trainer Sam Asghari.
