Is Britney Spears' Story About Being Locked in a Bathroom a Metaphor?

(Image credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin)

published 5 August 2021

Britney Spears' Instagram has featured plenty of mysterious content over the past few years, often leading fans to speculate wildly as to what's really going on behind the scenes. In one of her latest posts, the star told a pretty grim story about finding herself locked in a bathroom in the middle of the night, and commenters were quick to draw conclusions, calling the story an obvious "metaphor" for Spears' ongoing conservatorship battle.

"At 2am I decided to take a bath," Spears wrote under a photo of a slightly opened door. "I went to the bathroom and looked at my leftover coffee from earlier in the morning and said 'gross' but didn’t throw it away and then I looked for my face wash but couldn’t find it anywhere !!!! I was caught up in my head looking for it for about 15 minutes and then realized it’s probably in the other bathroom … then I went to leave and the door was locked … I thought ok well it’s a bathroom, I can open the damn door … no, the lock was stuck !!!!"

She says she tried to call out to her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, for help, but he was fast asleep and didn't hear her until her fourth try. She then goes on to explain how Asghari tried to open the door, then how they had to call security for help, but Spears was locked in the bathroom for a while until anyone was able to free her.

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This is when the caption starts to require extra reading between the lines. "I cleaned the bathroom and thought about taking a shower or something but then I saw it … the door …," Spears wrote. "I just looked at it for the first time with a yearning of just wanting it to open … would my eyes trick me and make it happen faster ??? My eyes widened and the door was more clear … more vast … I could see it with clarity and brightness … please open door !!!!"

At this point security told Spears she'd be out in 10 more minutes. "The old coffee I had left over from the morning was there … I started feeling foggy so I drank it ... I was reenergized and started speaking again!!!" Spears writes. "'Are you guys there ???' … 'Yes we are!' They said, 'Stand back, we’re going to open the door!' It opened … it finally opened !!!!!"

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Commenters on the post were totally convinced that Spears was sending out a message about her conservatorship and her feeling that the end might be in sight. "A metaphor for the doors finally unlocking for you?!!?? Go Queen x," one user wrote. "Girl has a PhD in metaphor," said another.

Miley Cyrus also weighed in, writing, "They Free’d Britney for real!" while Asghari quipped, "You left the part out of me kicking the door down and saving you."

Spears is still living under a strict conservatorship, but has recently made strides towards removing her father as a conservator and ending the arrangement altogether.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.