Amber Tamblyn calls out 'toxic' culture of fame in essay on Britney Spears
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Amber Tamblyn is the latest celebrity to publicly back Britney Spears amid the pop star's court battle over her conservatorship. In an essay for The New York Times, the actress opened up about the "parallels" between Spears' life and her own, pointing to "the complications and consequences that come with finding fame and financial success at a young age."
"I can attest to how challenging this combination of factors can be to navigate, even for those with the best of intentions," writes Tamblyn, who first rose to stardom on General Hospital when she was just 11 years old. "I also know how much potential they have to turn toxic, and how vulnerable they can make a young woman."
Tamblyn recalls relating to Spears' "raw anger" when the pop star famously shaved her head in 2007, writing, "I didn't really identify with Ms. Spears's music growing up, but I did identify with this newfound rage. On the outside, she might have looked like a spoiled brat throwing an alcohol-induced tantrum, but I was sure that on the inside a reckoning was taking place, and she was lashing out against some of the same forces that I wanted to."
David Livingston/Getty Images Amber Tamblyn in 2017
She goes on to explain that her parents managed her finances and career as a young actress, which strained their relationship as she got older. "They were supportive and ethical in every way; I was never treated like a 'racehorse,' as Ms. Spears's father reportedly called her," Tamblyn writes. "Even so, having my parents on payroll was damaging to our relationship, whether we understood that or not. I couldn't shake the feeling that every time I had a conversation with my parents about money it felt as if I was asking for an allowance - only the allowance came from money I'd earned.
"More profoundly, the line between where I ended and where others began felt blurred in a way that I couldn't articulate at the time," she continues. "As I made more and more money, the circle of those I supported opened up to include extended family members and friends. I was the one they came to for a small loan or in an emergency, the one who always picked up the check. At one point when I was 21, I even bought an ex-boyfriend a new car in an attempt to break up with him; I was that used to using money to make people happy, or fix problems, or appease my guilt."
Tamblyn also calls out the way money and one's body are "almost invariably intertwined" for young women in entertainment, citing Spears' claim that she has been forced to have an IUD during her court testimony this week. "I've experienced my own version of this dynamic," Tamblyn writes. "Growing up, my weight was openly discussed by everyone, from family members to Hollywood creatives. I'd grin and bear it, because staying silent - and thin - meant I would get hired again; getting hired again meant people would be proud of me and that I would have the money that was needed to keep the ship afloat.
"Again, none of this amounts to the dynamics of control and abuse that we've heard about in Britney Spears's case," she continues. "But I can see how easy it would have been to slip into those dynamics. In these situations, some kind of damage is invariably done - a stunting of the ability of an individual to grow and make the most basic of decisions, or practice good boundaries. When I finally parted professional ways with my parents, they couldn't help but feel as if they had done something wrong. But they hadn't. Money had."
Spears' case has received renewed attention in the wake of the New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears, which details the singer's decade-plus conservatorship under her father. The Times reported this week that Spears has pushed to end the arrangement for years, and her testimony in court confirmed some fans' longstanding suspicions that she had been abused and mistreated under the conservatorship.
"As someone who has experienced a small taste of what Britney has gone through, I know that what she has done is a profoundly radical act - one that I hope will ripple through the bodies and bank accounts of women across industries for generations to come," Tamblyn writes in her essay. "By speaking up, she has reminded us that our autonomy, both bodily and fiscal, is worth fighting for."
You can read Tamblyn's full essay at The New York Times.
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