Tuesday, iconoclastic pop star Britney Spears posted a graphic to her Instagram. It was created by artist and writer Mimi Zhu, emphasizing the current urgency of speaking with loved ones, penning e-letters and … redistributing wealth on a mass scale!
The full post reads: “During this time of isolation, we need connection now more than ever. Call your loved ones, write virtual love letters. Technologies like virtual communication, streaming and broadcasting are part of our community collaboration. We will learn to kiss and hold each other through the waves of the web. We will feed each other, re-destribute [sic] wealth, strike. We will understand our own importance from the places we must stay. Communion moves beyond walls. We can still be together.”
hi ~ so @britneyspears reposted my work yesterday and i’m rly grateful ! she didn’t tag me and i’ve seen the image floating around. i am the artist and wanna remind to credit artists and put them on i love her and hope she sees this and my original post on ig: @mimizhuxiyuan? pic.twitter.com/4Q0DAhs3Pp
— MIMI ZHU (@mimizhuxiyuan) March 24, 2020
While other celebrities have been spewing literal and metaphorical tone-deaf content of them singing tunes or realizing that you can’t spell “virus” without “us,” Britney is utilizing red rose emojis and helping out fans in a much more material way. Earlier this week, she posted a video in which she promised to help out three fans with funds for groceries, diapers and other necessities. While the scale is arguably quite small, considering a growing double-digit unemployment rate, Britney’s approach is much more down to earth and less entrenched in her ego than a lot of celebrities right now. Spears also nominated other celebrities to take part in the #DoYourPartChallenge to help out fans in need, but Spears’ nominees, Will Smith and Sam Asghari (also Cade Hudson, whose account is private), did not come forward to contribute.
There’s speculation that perhaps Spears only skimmed the manifesto-like message that she shared on her Instagram, and therefore isn’t fully cognizant of the communist teachings embedded in it. But this take seems rather reductive of Spears’ intelligence and her intrinsic connection to commodity culture. She was molded into a brand at a young age, exploited until she broke down, and became relentlessly targeted for her failure to conform to stardom and celebrity—statuses that come with severe mental and physical strain. Especially considering the fact that her $59 million fortune is actually controlled by her father, Spears has firsthand knowledge in having her work exploited for the gain of someone more powerful.
When Comrade Britney said “You betta work bitch” she meant you better unionize and seize the means of production from the bourgeoisie in this treatise i will https://t.co/3uvJeb40mW
— (@mmkaybi) March 24, 2020
Either way, let’s hope more celebrities find it in their hearts (and wallets) to help out the proletariat during this time of mass worker struggle.