Britney Spears Targeted by Iran's State Media Over Protestor Support

Britney Spears has been targeted by Iran's state-run media, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), after she tweeted support for the nation's protestors.

Demonstrations throughout Iran have gathered momentum following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested by morality police in Tehran in September for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

With protests spreading across the globe, Spears, whose husband Sam Asghari was born in Iran, on Sunday expressd her support for Iranian citizens, writing on Twitter: "Me & my husband stand with the people of Iran fighting for freedom."

The tweet caught the attention of the IRNA, who on Tuesday tweeted a screenshot of Spears' message of support while taking aim at her personal life.

"American singer @BritneySpears was placed under her father's conservatorship in 2008 due to her mental health problems," read the news agency's tweet. "That gave Britney's father control over her finances and even her personal life aspects such as pregnancy, remarriage and visits to her teenage sons."

Spears is inching toward the one-year anniversary of being freed from the constraints of her controversial conservatorship, which lasted almost 14 years.

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

Spears testified in June 2021 that during her conservatorship, she was made to take lithium, a mood stabilizer most commonly used to treat manic depression associated with bipolar disorder.

Her father, Jamie Spears, was at the helm of the financial and personal branches of the conservatorship. Citing health reasons, he stepped down from the personal arm 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 representative of Britney Spears for comment.

Reports that Iranian woman Amini had been beaten with a baton contrasted with the morality police's claim that she had suffered a heart attack three days later—an explanation that was deemed implausible by most.

Anger expressed in protests at her funeral in her home city of Saqqez in Kurdistan province has swelled and morphed nationally into demands for freedoms and an overthrow of the state.

Videos show women defiantly setting their headscarves on fire and cutting their hair in public to chants of "Woman, life, freedom" and "Death to the dictator" in reference to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

There has also been anger directed at President Ebrahim Raisi, who since he took office in 2021 has increased policing of the dress code for women. Human rights groups say Raisi should be held accountable for the executions of 30,000 detained leftists in 1988 while chief prospector of the Tehran revolutionary court, although he has denied involvement.

Violent clashes have broken out at times, with protestors torching buildings of the security forces. The crackdown on protests across 191 cities over 33 days led to around 400 deaths and 20,000 detentions, according to the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, an opposition group looking to establish a democratic Iran.

Strikes have been reported in schools, universities and the oil sector while demonstrations have also spread to European capitals with women cutting their hair to show solidarity.

Last week, President Joe Biden stated that the U.S. stands with the women of Iran and said Tehran has to end the violence against its own citizens simply exercising their fundamental rights.

Raisi responded by accusing Biden of trying to "fan the flames of unrest" and referenced the U.S. as the "Great Satan," the Iranian state-run Fars News agency reported.