What Britney Spears Is Telling Us With Her Memoir

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( in her words [Ghost Child]( In The Woman in Me, Britney Spears asserts the very fact of her existence. Photo: 2016 WireImage Britney Spears suffered so many forms of injustice when she was under legal conservatorship. She had to tour even when she didn’t want to. She had to perform nightly in Vegas and wasn’t allowed to change any of the choreography. She couldn’t drive a car, her first dates had to submit to blood tests and background checks, and she didn’t have control of her own money. (Once, she tried to pay for dinner for her backup dancers and she didn’t have enough in her allowance account to cover the check — mortifying.) After more than a decade of this, she was institutionalized against her will. That last one was a living nightmare, but it was the little stuff that, as she writes in [her new memoir](, The Woman in Me, “put my fire out.” The thing that really bothered her was when her family would drink in front of her, while she “wasn’t even allowed a sip of Jack and Coke.” [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. Subscribe now to [save over 60%]( on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Saturday Night Live: [Bad Bunny Can Do Whatever He Wants]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Dave Chappelle’s October 19 Whereabouts Are a Mystery That is, if you have feelings about him condemning Israeli policies onstage.]( By Hershal Pandya [Joshua and Vernon on Seventeen’s Super-Silly, Sincere Career “We have so many albums, I’m getting confused.”]( [Comedy’s Scrappiest All-Stars Mark Phillips and his group RDCWorld have built a DIY content empire. Everyone — from NBA icons to Hollywood producers — is taking notice.]( [A Spooky Guide to the Best New Horror Streaming in October Mark your calendars.]( By Brian Tallerico [Maha Dakhil, CAA, Leaves Leadership Roles After Israel-Hamas War Post “I made a mistake with a repost in my Instagram story, which used hurtful language,” Dakhil said in an apology.]( By Jason P. Frank [The 2023 Hollywood Strike for Dummies SAG and the AMPTP are heading back to the boardroom on October 24, after talks were suspended on October 11.]( By Jason P. Frank [Britney Spears Could Have Had Ryan Gosling Forever, Everyday Her now-leaked audition for The Notebook “blew” the casting director away.]( By Justin Curto [Justin Timberlake “Thought Maybe Music Would Help” Britney Spears’s Abortion “… So he got his guitar and he lay there with me, strumming it.”]( By Zoe Guy [The Triple-A Game Studio With an Indie Spirit How does Remedy Entertainment convince billion-dollar companies to make its esoteric games?]( [Squid Game Is Real, Beware of Large Dolls The Challenge is out November 22 on Netflix.]( By Jason P. Frank [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 1-Down, Five Letters: Film that lost Best Picture to The English Patient. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty, Everett A newsletter of TV and movie recommendations. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved