Britney Spears has disabled her Instagram account, where she has shared personal updates amid the ongoing fight over her conservatorship. A source confirmed to Vulture that Spears made the move herself and was not suspended. “Her father had nothing whatsoever to do with this,†the source said. “It was her decision, and she is simply taking a break as she said she would.†The deactivation came just after a post on Monday in which Spears seemed to reference her father Jamie’s recent petition to end her conservatorship — a move that is far from final and now awaits a ruling from a judge. “I’ve waited 13 years and counting for my freedom !!!!!†Spears reportedly wrote in the deleted post, per Variety. About a month before, Spears had written in an Instagram post that she was “gonna post a little less from now on,†citing alleged “horrible and mean lies about me†in recent coverage.
Spears’s exit from Instagram comes days after she shared the news of her engagement to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari, whom she has dated since 2016, on the app. In her recent explosive testimony about her conservatorship, which has been in place since 2008, the 39-year-old Spears said that she wanted to get married and have a child but that under her conservatorship she could not get approval to have her IUD removed. “I deserve to have a life,†she said at the time. “I feel alone. I deserve to have a child and family.†Celebrating her engagement on Instagram on September 13, Spears wrote, “Words can’t even say how shocked I am 💠… geez although the asshole was way overdue 😜 !!!! It was definitely worth the wait.â€
Update, 6 p.m. ET: Spears confirmed on Twitter that she is taking time away from her Instagram. “Don’t worry folks … just taking a little break from social media to celebrate my engagement !!!! ğŸ’😉,†she wrote, adding to fans that she’ll “be back soon.â€
Reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum.