Britney Spears explains why she shaved her head back in 2007
Britney Spears shocked the world when she shaved her head back in 2007, and now she has revealed why she did it. The then-26-year-old's dramatic makeover made headlines around the world at the time and the images of Spears shaving her head from a Los Angeles hair salon remain an infamous pop culture moment. Now, 16 years on, the 'Baby One More Time' singer has opened up in her new memoir The Woman in Me about how her decision behind the transformation was in response to the tabloid scrutiny she has dealt with from a young age. “I’d been eyeballed so much growing up. I’d been looked up and down, had people telling me what they thought of my body, since I was a teenager,” she told People. “Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back." From 2008, Spears was under a court-mandated conservatorship which her father Jamie Spears was in charge of and this meant the pop star didn't have control over certain matters in her life such as her personal and financial affairs. “Under the conservatorship I was made to understand that those days were now over,” she wrote. “I had to grow my hair out and get back into shape. I had to go to bed early and take whatever medication they told me to take.” Spears was under the conservatorship for 13 years. Jamie was removed as her conservator in September 2021 before it was completely lifted in November 2021, following the singer's plea to a judge to end the ruling as she declared: "I want my life back." In celebration of the conservatorship ending, Spears was pictured holding a glass of champagne and in the post wrote: "I’m celebrating my freedom and my B day for the next two months." “I mean after 13 years…I think I’ve waited long enough. I’m so happy my lawyer Mathew Rosengart came into my life when he did… he has truly turned my life around… I’m forever thankful for that.” Elsewhere, the 41-year-old also claimed in her memoir that she fell pregnant during her three-year relationship with fellow superstar Justin Timberlake. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
2023-10-18 17:45
Who is Mia Khalifa? Ex-adult star facing backlash over Israel tweet
Mia Khalifa has been one of the most vocal supporters of Palestine throughout the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Khalifa, one of the most famous former porn stars, has been using her large following on social media to share messages of support towards Palestine and criticise the Israeli government. Who is Mia Khalifa? Born in Lebanon, Khalifa and her family moved to the United States in 2001. In numerous interviews Khalifa has shared her struggles of racism that she faced, especially during school, that only heightened after 9/11. Despite only working as an adult film star for three months, she became the most-searched-for adult actress on sites such as PornHub and xHamster from 2016 to 2018. Her popularity occurred after she appeared in an adult film scene wearing a hijab, resulting in a range of criticism, and even death threats, as well as her parents publicly disowning her. Since leaving the industry she has been critical of it, claiming to have only made $1,000 per scene - $12,000 in total - despite her videos generate millions of dollars. Khalifa also has no ownership over the videos and images that exist of her online, despite her wishes to have such content removed, referring to that time of her life as a "lapse of judgement". "What I can take away from this is protecting other women and being a cautionary tale," Khalifa told Yahoo Life in 2021. Since leaving the adult film industry she has pivoted into content creation, regularly posting on platforms such as Instagram. Khalifa has also entered the world of sports commentary, previously hosting shows such as Sportsball and Out of Bounds. What has she said on the Israel-Palestine conflict? Khalifa was recently fired by the company Red Light Holland after tweeting "Can someone please tell the freedom fighters in Palestine to flip their phones and film horizontal." "I'd say supporting Palestine has lost me business opportunities, but I'm more angry at myself for not checking whether or not I was entering into business with Zionists. My bad." Khalifa tweeted in response to her being fired by the company." Khalifa has also been sharing posts on her X/Twitter profile such as: "rooting for everyone resisting oppression", as well as another post writing "Hamas ≠ [not equal to] Palestine" and "Jewish people ≠ Israeli government". She later returned to social media to clarify her comments, adding: "I just want to make it clear that this statement in no way shape or form is [inciting] spread of violence, I specifically said freedom fighters because that's what the Palestinian citizens are... fighting for freedom every day." There have since been claims on social media that Pornhub stepped in and started donating her video profits to Israel aid funds since her comments - rumours which were shut down by the company after indy100 reached out for comment. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-10-18 16:50
Biden arrives in Israel after Arab leaders summit cancelled
The US president lands in Israel as Gaza reels from a hospital blast feared to have killed hundreds.
2023-10-18 16:17
China's Xi warns against decoupling, lauds Belt and Road at forum
By Laurie Chen and Yew Lun Tian BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against decoupling from China as he
2023-10-18 15:56
Britney Spears says she had abortion when dating Justin Timberlake
The pop star was in her late teens and dating Justin Timberlake at the time, according to memoir extracts.
2023-10-18 15:54
Britney Spears' Everytime acquires new meaning after Justin Timberlake abortion bombshell
Britney Spears shot to fame as the quintessential sugar-pop princess but, in 2003, she showed her serious side with the moving hit ‘Everytime’. And now, the track has acquired a whole new meaning in the light of revelations made in her upcoming memoir ‘The Woman in Me’. In the autobiography, Spears, 41, claims that she fell pregnant during her three-year relationship with fellow superstar Justin Timberlake. And while she’d been convinced that she and the NSYNC heartthrob would have children together “one day”, she said he “definitely wasn’t happy” about the news. The singer wrote in an excerpt published by People on Tuesday: “I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated. “But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.” She went on: “I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby. I don’t know if that was the right decision. If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. “And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.” Spears then revealed that she had an abortion in late 2000 when she was just 18 or 19 years old, and said the procedure was “one of the most agonizing things” she had ever experienced. Inevitably, the deeply personal disclosure soon dominated social media, with fans convinced that ‘Everytime’ was, in fact, a tribute to her lost, unborn child. They swiftly scanned the music video and performances for clues – and the evidence seems pretty convincing. In the end, the ‘Baby One More Time’ star went on to have two sons — Sean Preston, who is now 18, and Jayden James, who is 17 – with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. Meanwhile, Timberlake also has two sons – Silas, 8, and Phineas, 3 – with his wife Jessica Biel. The ‘Cry me a River’ idol had apparently been “concerned” about what Spears was going to write about him in her book, which will be released on 224 October. “It’s eating at him,” one insider told Page Six. Maybe now, to quote ‘Everytime’, it will haunt him, too. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-10-18 15:50
Higher fuel prices stop UK inflation from falling in September
By David Milliken and Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) -British consumer price inflation (CPI) held at an 18-month low of 6.7%
2023-10-18 15:17
Grimes genuinely thinks Taylor Swift should be the next President of the United States
With the 2024 US presidential elections on the horizon, thoughts are turning to who will stand as a candidate - and Grimes believes Taylor Swift is the woman for the high office job. GrimesAI, an X/Twitter account that simulates the musician through artificial intelligence, tweeted: “it’s not just the fact that Taylor Swift as president would course correct society and fix carbon emissions in 10 years. "it’s that I care about her mental health and she cares about mine (she doesn’t know me but she’d care).” It looks like the actual Grimes agrees as she quote tweeted in response: "In many ways Taylor Swift is the only presidential candidate who can unite the country. Trump v Swift is totally occurring in a parallel universe rn." Now that would be an interesting line-up for a presidential debate. It's fair to say that 2023 has been Swift's year with her recording-breaking Eras Tour and concert film - she is more popular than ever, and the Swifties would certainly flock to the polling booth in this hypothetical scenario. This prompted another person to reply: “Actually not a bad idea, Don’t know how good it would be for her mental health though.” Grimes then answered: “It’s probably exceptionally unadvisable. It just probably would work." “Perhaps she should run as the Republican candidate," someone else added. To which Grimes responded, “She’d be preferable as a Republican I think – actually unbeatable at that point.” However, Swift herself publicly stated back in 2018 that she is a Democrat and endorsed Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives for the midterm elections after years of her political views being unknown. “In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” Swift wrote on social media at the time. “I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent,” she added. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-10-18 14:48
Putin touts solidarity with China in Xi's pitch for new world order as crisis grips Middle East
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday touted his country's deep alignment with China as he appeared on stage as guest of honor at a global gathering in Beijing, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping pitched his vision for a reshaped world order.
2023-10-18 12:56
British navy chief says AUKUS submarine project needs 'rat-catchers' not regulators
By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON The head of Britain's Royal Navy joined Australia on Tuesday in questioning U.S. bureaucratic
2023-10-18 09:18
Israel Gaza: Hospital blast kills hundreds - health officials
Israel's military denies claims it struck the Al-Ahli Arab hospital and blames a Palestinian rocket.
2023-10-18 08:46
Britney Spears writes about having an abortion while she and Justin Timberlake were together
Britney Spears reveals a personal experience she has kept private for two decades in her upcoming memoir.
2023-10-18 06:51