Britney Spears Conspiracy Theory Takes Off Amid Kanye West Missing Rumors

A conspiracy theory that Britney Spears has gone missing has continued to spread on social media, amid similar rumors about fellow pop star Kanye West.

Over the past several weeks, fans of Spears, 41, have speculated that she has not been in control of her Instagram account, with some suggesting that videos and images of the star have been edited.

One TikTok user claimed that Spears was dancing in front of a green screen, while others said that those around her have edited her voice into videos to give the impression that all is well behind the scenes.

This comes as West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, has fallen notably silent following months of controversy when he made a string of antisemitic comments on social media and in interviews.

Those comments also included posts that led to his being temporarily locked out of his accounts on Twitter and Instagram. His Twitter account was permanently suspended last month after he posted an image of the Star of David with a swastika inside.

After he stepped back from social media and slowed down on the interviews, rumors started to spread on social media that West, 45, had gone missing. A recent viral tweet from makeup artist Jeffree Star about "the Hollywood elite" added fuel to the fire.

"In 2020 I was going to expose everything," Star wrote on December 30. "In a matter of days, the Hollywood elite tried to ruin my entire career, villainize me and flooded the news with lies to discredit me. If you guys only knew the truth about what they are doing to Britney & Kayne."

In West's case, it appears that the missing speculation is due to an article published by The Sun last month. His former business manager, Thomas St. John, told the newspaper that he was having difficulty in tracking the star down to serve him legal papers over a $4.5 million lawsuit over alleged unpaid fees.

However, TMZ reported that West had been seen out and about in Los Angeles on "several" occasions. The website also published a photo of the musician, dated December 14, 2022.

In the case of Spears, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who has also added to the speculation in recent weeks, shared on Wednesday a snippet of his podcast, Perez Hilton Podcast With Chris Booker, in which he spoke about the pop star.

"Britney Spears continues to be not seen in public and that has a lot of her fans very worried," Hilton, whose given name is Mario Lavandeira Jr., said in the clip shared on Twitter. "There are a lot of theories about Britney.

"I have been given information from those who love Britney. And a lot of Britney fans were upset at me because I said I know what's going on, but I don't feel it's appropriate to publicly share the private health information that I know. I'm respectful," Hilton said.

He then addressed unfounded fan allegations that Spears was still under conservatorship; that she was purportedly under the control of her husband, Sam Asghari; and that the images shown on Instagram were of a clone.

"I made this one video a couple of weeks ago," Hilton said. "When I first made my video, nobody had been speculating about what really was going on with Britney Spears. So I felt it was important to say, 'Listen, all of you are wrong.'"

In his recent Instagram video, Hilton admitted to being "nervous" about updating fans on Spears because their "concern is warranted."

"Britney Spears fans have been sharing a lot of theories because we have not seen her in public in a long time," he said. "I just dismissed a lot of these theories as silly talk.

"However, I just spoke to a friend of mine, somebody that I know in real life that I trust, that I respect, that works in the industry. That is a professional somebody that I hadn't spoken to in a while, who's very plugged in. We spoke about Britney, and my friend shared what they claim is going on. And I believe my friend."

Hilton continued: "Why am I making this video? First of all, for many reasons, I'm not going to repeat what my friend told me...but my friend did share that things are bad."

He dismissed theories such as the one about the green screen, Spears being replaced with a clone and that she was still under her conservatorship. But he said he had not "seen a single video mention what's really going on."

"Nobody, nobody has speculated on what's really happening. And I just want to send Britney genuine love," Hilton said.

"I hope she knows the world is rooting for her. She is beloved. And this is mainly for Britney's fans. Your concern is warranted. But if and when the truth comes out, I think it would really surprise people. It surprised me."

While the comments have boosted speculation about Spears' whereabouts, some fans have said on Twitter they believe she is just taking a break.

"BRITNEY SPEARS ISN'T MISSING SHE'S JUST TRAUMATISED," said one.

Spears has taken breaks from, and deactivated, her Instagram account on a number of occasions. In September 2021, she explained on Twitter that one of the breaks she took at the time was to give her space to celebrate her engagement to Asghari.

Amid all of the speculation, the singer shared an Instagram post late Wednesday night—her first in several days. She shared a video that showed her dancing to a Jennifer Lopez track, although she said she was inspired by a Shakira hit.

"Found my hands with some red gloves!!!" Spears captioned the video. "I meditated to 'Hips Don't Lie' by @shakira!!! I just said 'keep shaking your a**' and I did for 3 hours!!! Not really punctual and will probably take down in two days ... but I think I just found the playground!!!"

As has been the case with previous posts of late, Spears has not allowed comments on the upload.

In a sidewalk interview with TMZ last month, Asghari, who tied the knot with Spears last summer, denied allegations that he was controlling his wife's Instagram account.

"I don't even control what we have for dinner," he said while speaking with a videographer. He then said why he believes Spears' fans have embraced so many conspiracy theories regarding her private life.

"You know, man, in the past there has been a lot of stuff going on, so I understand where they're coming from," he said. "If anything, they're just being good fans."

The pop star has experienced some major life changes over the past year and a half, including getting married, successfully fighting for release from the 13-year conservatorship and enduring a miscarriage.

Amid the many headline-making moments, Spears has been sharing—and later deleting—photos on social media showing herself in various states of undress.

In January of last year, Spears was defended by fans for previous nude Instagram posts, with many saying that she was celebrating being free from the constraints of her controversial conservatorship.

The arrangement, which was put into place in 2008 amid mental health concerns about Spears, had the star's personal and financial decisions taken out of her hands, until a judge ruled in November 2021 that it could be dissolved.

Her father, Jamie Spears, oversaw the financial and personal parts of the conservatorship.

Citing health reasons, he stepped down from the latter responsibility in 2019. He was suspended from the arrangement altogether in September, amid accusations of misconduct, allegations he has consistently denied.

Newsweek has reached out to a Spears representative for comment.