''The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears'' is a 2021 American
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
directed by Samantha Stark, reported and produced by Liz Day, and produced by Liz Hodes, Mary Robertson, Jason Stallman,
Sam Dolnick
Sam Dolnick is an American journalist, film and television producer, and assistant managing editor for ''The New York Times''. He helped launch ''The Daily'' podcast and the documentary series, '' The Weekly''.
Biography
Dolnick was born to nov ...
, Ken Druckerman and Stephanie Preiss. The documentary follows the life and career of American singer
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
; her rise to fame as a global music superstar at age 16, her gratuitous and misogynistic treatment by the media and paparazzi, her highly publicized
breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:
Breaking down
*Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated
*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components
*Decompo ...
in 2007, the
conservatorship
Under U.S. law, conservatorship is the appointment of a guardian or a protector by a judge to manage the financial affairs and/or daily life of another person due to old age or physical or mental limitations. A person under conservatorship is a " ...
that during 2008–2021 placed her involuntarily under the control of her father
Jamie Spears
James Parnell Spears (born c. 1953) is the father of American singers/actresses Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears and producer Bryan Spears.
Early life and family
James Parnell Spears was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, to June Austin Spears (19 ...
, and the #FreeBritney movement sparked by Spears's fanbase.
The documentary was released on February 5, 2021 as an edition of ''
The New York Times Presents
''The New York Times Presents'' (previously ''The Weekly'') is an American narrative investigative journalism docuseries produced by ''The New York Times'' for FX and Hulu.
The program has aired in two distinct formats. The first format, ''The ...
'' on
FX and
FX on Hulu
FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the comp ...
. Shortly after the documentary aired, a probate judge dismissed objections by Jamie regarding the co-conservatorship arrangement. The documentary garnered critical acclaim, and widespread international media coverage, contributing to heightened mainstream public awareness of the conservatorship dispute and a reassessment of Spears' sexist & gratuitous treatment. The documentary won the
TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information The TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information is an award given by the Television Critics Association.
Winners and nominees
Networks with multiple wins
*PBS - 14
* ABC - 6
*CNN - 6
* HBO - 3
* Discovery Channel – 2
*ESPN - 2 ...
, and received two nominations at the
73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
The 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in United States, American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts ...
, including for
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
Synopsis
In 2021, at age 39, Britney Spears, one of the world's most successful pop stars with an estimated net worth of $59 million, has remained legally under the control of her father Jamie Spears since 2008.
''Framing Britney Spears'' re-examines Spears's career, her rise to fame, and personal struggles throughout her three decades in show business. Former
Jive Records
Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...
marketing executive Kim Kaiman, who helped cultivate Spears's image once she signed a recording contract, describes Jamie as being disconnected from his daughter's life and highly financially motivated. "The only thing Jamie ever said to me was 'My daughter's gonna be so rich, she's gonna buy me a boat", Kaiman says.
Interviewers and paparazzi are shown at various times asking Spears sexist and distressing questions.
Ivo Niehe
Ivo Johannes Ignatius Niehe (born 31 May 1946) is a Dutch radio and television presenter, television producer and actor.
Biography
Niehe was born in Amsterdam in 1946. He studied French at the University of Amsterdam and received a graduate d ...
, then 53, asked a 17-year-old Spears about her breasts and her thoughts about breast implants, adding, "You seem to get furious when a talkshow host comes up with this subject." In an interview following Spears's breakup with
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
,
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
accused her of mistreating Timberlake, driving Spears to tears, and of "upsetting a lot of mothers in this country" with her provocative music videos. The film alleges that Timberlake weaponized his breakup with Spears in the "
Cry Me a River" music video, where the song's unfaithful girlfriend was portrayed as Spears, and in an interview where he enthusiastically claims he has had sex with her (contrary to Spears's claim that she was waiting until marriage).
The documentary also explores Spears's breakdown in 2007, and interviews paparazzo Daniel "Dano" Ramos who photographed Spears attacking his car with an umbrella moments after ex-husband
Kevin Federline
Kevin Earl Federline (born March 21, 1978), often referred to, and also known as K-Fed, is an American dancer, rapper, actor, model, wrestler and DJ. He is known for his two-year marriage to American singer Britney Spears, for whom he was previou ...
denied her visitation of her children. "She never gave a clue or information to us that, I don't appreciate you guys, leave me the eff alone," Ramos says, to which the director asks, "What about when she said, 'Leave me alone'?" It is alleged that Spears may have been suffering from
postpartum depression
Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and chan ...
at this time. Intrusive actions of the paparazzi are portrayed as exacerbating factors in her condition.
Spears's relationship with Sam Lutfi, who then identified himself as her new manager, is speculated in the film to be a turning point for her father to first negotiate a conservatorship and is described as "attaching himself to celebrities, often at vulnerable moments for them." The film explains that conservatorships are put in place for people who are unable to make their own decisions or are mentally incapacitated. Spears is shown working consistently throughout her conservatorship. It is alleged that Spears requested that the bank manage her estate rather than her father. Spears's longtime family friend and former assistant Felicia Culotta says she is baffled about the conservatorship arrangement "especially for somebody Britney's age and somebody capable of so much that I know firsthand she's capable of." The film notes that Spears has unsuccessfully moved for her father to be removed from his conservator role and shows clips of her fans in the #FreeBritney movement demanding the courts fulfill her wishes.
The documentary concludes with a list of individuals who declined to comment or be interviewed for the film, which include Spears's family. Spears was also asked to be interviewed, but it was "unclear if she received the requests."
Reception
Ratings
The first-run airing on the FX channel had 265,000 same-day viewers, but it was available on Hulu the same day as the broadcast premiere. In the United Kingdom, its first broadcast averaged over 200,000 viewers on then-months-old channel
Sky Documentaries
Sky Documentaries is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast, which launched on 27 May 2020. Sky Documentaries broadcasts imported programming from US networks HBO and Showtime, alongside new original p ...
, tripling the channel's previous viewership record. In Australia, the first broadcast on the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
attracted 484,000 unique viewers and was the tenth most watched television program of the day.
It was one of Hulu's most watched originals for 2021.
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the documentary holds an approval rating of 94% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''Framing Britney Spears'' asks more questions than it can answer, but remains a sobering examination of the toxic nature of celebrity culture." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has an aggregate score of 75 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Daniel D'Addario of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' stated "This film provides a sort of pocket portrait of a person for whom freedom has been denied, and for whom that denial comes as no surprise. Before
pears'sfather, the culture that idolized her had kept her a captive, too." Reviewing it for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', Ed Potton suggested it was "not an easy watch" due to the negative portrayal of Spears's father.
Writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Lucy Mangan noted the way the documentary emphasizes the consequences of sexism.
For Fiona Sturges of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', the documentary is "lacking in journalistic rigour."
Writing for ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', Nick Levine described it as a "heartbreakingly human story that still lacks a happy ending."
In a critical review for ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'', Anita Singh opined that after decades of unwelcome attention from paparazzi, the documentary is "a help rather than a hindrance as she tries to reclaim control of her life."
''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' named it one of the Best TV Shows of 2021, saying "The very best of the year’s scripted and unscripted projects seeking to reframe and reclaim recent pop-culture history, this doc had a seriousness of purpose and — not for nothing — could be argued to have made a greater impact than any other entrant on this list.".
Public response
On February 7, 2021, the phrase "We are sorry Britney" trended on Twitter. Several celebrities and television personalities received widespread backlash for their past remarks about Spears or interview questions directed at her, including
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
,
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
,
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer.
Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced ''The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...
,
Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed i ...
,
Ivo Niehe
Ivo Johannes Ignatius Niehe (born 31 May 1946) is a Dutch radio and television presenter, television producer and actor.
Biography
Niehe was born in Amsterdam in 1946. He studied French at the University of Amsterdam and received a graduate d ...
,
John O'Hurley
John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, singer, author, game show host and television personality. He is known for his portrayal of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', and was the sixth host of the ...
, and
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid p ...
.
On February 12, 2021, Timberlake issued a public apology to Spears via Instagram, pledging to "take accountability" and that "I can do better and I will do better."
This response was met with further backlash and criticism, as many found the apology "years too late."
After the documentary's release, numerous celebrities voiced support for Spears, including
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
,
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
,
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...
,
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...
,
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...
,
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
,
Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country singer. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and three Academy of Country Music Awards. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Texa ...
,
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...
,
Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
,
Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...
,
Sara Sampaio
Sara Pinto Sampaio (born 21 July 1991) is a Portuguese model best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel. Sampaio is a Giorgio Armani beauty ambassador and works for Calzedonia. She was the first Portuguese model in the ''Sports Illustrated ...
,
Josh Gad
Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action adap ...
,
Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
,
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
,
Charlie Puth
Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after pe ...
,
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
,
Ava Max
Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single "Sweet but Psycho" in ...
,
Hayley Williams
Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore.
Born and raised in Missi ...
,
Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York City bars and clubs while ...
,
Hayley Kiyoko
Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft (born April 3, 1991) is an American singer, dancer and actress. As a child model and actress, she appeared in a variety of films including ''Scooby-Doo (film series), Scooby-Doo!'' film series (2009–2010), ''Lemonade Mouth ...
,
Bella Thorne
Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...
,
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...
,
Jon Bon Jovi
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...
,
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler (; born December 13, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead songwriter of the rock band Evanescence. Alongside her contributions with the band, Lee has also particip ...
,
Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures.
She is perhaps b ...
,
Garbage
Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
,
Emma Caulfield
Emma Caulfield Ford (born April 8, 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as former demon Anya Jenkins on the supernatural drama television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003), which earned her a no ...
,
Jameela Jamil
Jameela Alia Jamil (born 25 February 1986) is a British actress and presenter. She began her career on Channel 4, where she hosted a pop culture series in the T4 strand from 2009 until 2012. She then became the radio host of ''The Official Cha ...
,
Pitbull
Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...
,
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
,
Heather Morris
Heather Elizabeth Morris (born February 1, 1987) is an American actress, dancer, singer, and model. She played the role of Brittany Pierce, Brittany S. Pierce in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee (TV series), G ...
,
Elizabeth Reaser
Elizabeth Ann Reaser (born July 2, 1975) is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films ''Stay'', ''The Family Stone'', ''Sweet Land'', '' Against the Current'', '' The Twilight Saga'', ''Young Adult'', and '' Oui ...
,
Lexi Alexander
Alexandra Mirai ( ar, الكسندرا ميراي; born 23 August 1974), known professionally as Lexi Alexander, is a German-Palestinian film and television director, martial artist, and actress. She is a former World Karate Association world c ...
,
Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Leigh Mader (born 24 April 1977) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Charlotte Lewis in the ABC series ''Lost'', and as Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West, on ABC's ''Once Upon a Time'', for which she garnered critical ...
,
Rico Nasty
Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Maryland. She rose to prominence in 2018 with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin".
While in high schoo ...
,
Andy Cohen
Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer.
Cohen is the host and executive producer of Bravo's late night talk show, '' Watch What Happens Live!'' He also has a pop culture ...
,
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress. She first achieved recognition as a child actress, portraying Barbara Cooper Royer on the sitcom ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984) for w ...
, and
Liz Phair
Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...
.
Chika's support, however, was couched as a reflection on Timberlake's historical behavior, for which he had offered an apology.
Spears's reaction
On March 30, 2021, Spears wrote about her feelings about the documentary on Instagram. While she admitted she did not watch it in full, she said from the parts she did see "I was embarrassed by the light they put me in... I cried for two weeks and well .... I still cry sometimes!!!!". Spears further specified in an Instagram post later in July that she "didn't like the way the documentaries bring up humiliating moments from the past". However, fans remain skeptical on whether Spears posted the caption or not following claims by her former makeup artist, Billy Brasfield, that she did not control her social media accounts.
International broadcast
Outside the United States, the documentary is distributed by
Red Arrow Studios
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media & digital company. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Fran ...
, parent company of co-producer
Left/Right Productions
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media & digital company. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Fran ...
.
Follow-ups
On September 24, 2021, FX aired the follow-up documentary ''Controlling Britney Spears'', being simultaneously added for streaming by Hulu. It was also created by ''The New York Times'' and made by the same creators of ''Framing Britney Spears'', as part of ''The New York Times Presents'' series. Its initial broadcast on FX earned 197,000 same-day viewers. At the
74th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). The awards ceremony was held live on September 1 ...
, it received a nomination for the
.
Left/Right was revealed on April 26, 2021, to be developing a documentary on the
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
The Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004, from Houston, Texas, on the CBS television network, is notable for a moment in which Janet Jackson's breast—adorned with a nipple shield—was expo ...
in which Timberlake partially exposed R&B singer
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
's breast at the end of the halftime show. ''The New York Times'' reportedly reunited with Left/Right on the documentary, and FX and sister service Hulu distributed it on linear television and streaming, respectively. The documentary, ''
Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson'', premiered on November 19, 2021, nine months after ''Framing Britney Spears''.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information
2021 films
2021 television films
Britney Spears
2021 documentary films
American documentary television films
Documentary films about singers
Documentary films about women in music
The New York Times
2020s English-language films
2020s American films