"There were numerous, I mean numerous occasions," they explained. It wasn't uncommon for Crocker to go to local bars and get attacked by people who didn't like them or the video, and the attacks were often rooted in transphobia. Sometimes, they explained, those hits were literal. I think no one now can argue with what I said - they just didn't like the messenger.ĭespite the truth of that statement, Crocker became a punching bag for everyone from stand-up comedians to anonymous online commenters, and the hits came from all sides. Like there was nothing funny about anything I was saying." She just had kids and, you know, I was scared she had post-partum or something. "Like I was listing the fact that Britney had lost her aunt. "I always felt that if people just read the transcript and didn't pay attention to how I looked or that I was screaming and just read what I said, there's nothing comical about it," Crocker told NPR. Because there shouldn't be anything controversial or funny about suggesting more empathy for a woman going through a difficult time in her life, all while under an unmoving, unforgiving spotlight. That video got more attention than anything they'd ever posted before - even though they didn't actually say anything the least bit controversial, they pointed out. It was jarring for Crocker, who, before that video, had made comedic videos that were popular but had never experienced anything like what happened in the wake of the "leave Britney alone" post. Law Read Britney Spears' Statement To The Court In Her Conservatorship Hearing And I, in some ways, felt like I had to protect my mom and fight for her." "I was begging them to give my mom a chance, and so there was a parallel in my life, that sort of tension of why I was defensive over a misunderstood woman, because my mom had me at 14 years old, you know, and she was very misunderstood. "I was trying to fight for my other family members to still believe in ," they said. Just like they would later plead with the world not to give up on Britney, someone they described as a Southern, free-spirited woman, and who reminded them so much of their own mother. She was struggling with severe PTSD and Crocker, who was raised by their grandparents, was pleading for their family not give up on her, they said. Their mother was homeless after having returned home from the military and serving in Iraq. Her treatment online and by the media struck a nerve for Crocker because Spears' situation was mirroring difficulties in their own life. Crocker had even seen suicide countdowns online targeting Spears, they told NPR - a breaking point for them.īut it wasn't just about Britney Spears. She'd shaved her head earlier that year, a moment which the paparazzi captured in invasive photos that were splashed across tabloid covers for months. When Crocker made the video, Spears was getting lambasted online for everything from her VMAs performance to her personal life. "Have we learned nothing from Anna Nicole Smith? I know it's hard to see Britney Spears as a human being but trust me, she is. "Do we really want to see a 25-year-old woman leave behind two children and die?" Crocker asked into a grainy camera. In a video that grows increasingly emotional, Crocker outlined everything Spears had gone through recently - deaths in her family, a divorce, a custody battle - and tearfully pleaded with the world to "Leave Britney alone," a rallying cry that led to ridicule at the time but has now, 14 years later, become the general consensus. It would also become a stark illustration of just how much needed to change back then, and how much things still need to change. In 2007, Crocker, then only 19 years old, sat down in front of their camera to film a video that would become a major part of pop culture history. Over the last few days, it's been said a lot on Twitter: "Chris Crocker was right." But as Crocker explained during a recent interview with NPR, they don't want to be right - and it's not about them at all. Over the last few days, it's been said a lot on Twitter: "Chris Crocker was right." But as Crocker explained during a recent interview with NPR, they don't want to be right, and it's not about them at all.
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