Britney Spears Fans Analyze Her 2007 ‘Blackout’ Era Interview With Ryan Seacrest: ‘It Just Seems Like He Was Kicking Her When She Was Down’
Following the Britney Spears documentaries Framing Britney Spears and Britney vs. Spears, many fans began looking at the pop icon’s life through a new lens. For those who grew up watching and listening to the star, Spears was a huge part of their life and a major influence. However, some interviewers took things too far by asking invasive questions. Her fans analyzed her Blackout-era interview with Ryan Seacrest, with some saying, “It just seems like he was kicking her when she was down.”
Britney Spears’ album ‘Blackout’ was a success
Britney Spears released Blackout in 2007 amid a highly publicized personal life that overshadowed her professional projects. Spears announced in 2003 that she was working on songs for her fifth studio album.
Blackout is a dance, electropop record with dubstep and Euro disco influences. Its themes revolve around fame, love, money, and sex. The album was initially meant to drop on November 13, 2007. But the label had to rush to release it because it leaked online. Still, it was a hit with critics and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
During its first week, Blackout sold 290,000 copies. And by the end of 2008 had sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Spears didn’t do a lot of promotion for Blackout except for an appearance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, where her performance was widely panned.
Nevertheless, Blackout received acclaim at the time of its release, with critics dubbing it the singer’s most progressive and consistent album. Blackout is also considered a career highlight for the artist and has received praise for its impact on 2010’s pop music.
Fans called out Ryan Seacrest for his bizarre Britney Spears interview
Aside from the MTV awards performance, Spears reluctantly went on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS FM to discuss her career. The interview takes place early in the morning, and some note the singer sounds like she just woke up.
In the interview, the host asks Spears and those around her if they plan to promote her new album Blackout. They all collectively tell him that the interview is the album’s promo. Seacrest speaks a bit about the album before going ahead and asking some invasive questions, giving the pop star what sounds like backhanded compliments. For instance, he points out that she must have been eating well since he saw her pictures at several drive-throughs.
Fans pointed out how bizarre the interview was. Some claim Spears appeared hungover, and that she seemed uncomfortable talking about her children and her legal issues.
One Reddit user said, “Obviously, she was having a tough time. It just seems like he was kicking her when she was down.” Many felt that Spears walked out of the interview on the pretext of taking a shower because the interview made her uncomfortable.
2007 wasn’t Britney Spears’ best year
Spears gained fame and notoriety during the ’90s as a teen icon. However, the intense media scrutiny proved too much as every single move the singer made was put under a microscope. Things began to come to a boiling point for her in the mid-00s.
In 2006, CPS investigated Spears after she was pictured driving with her then-infant son, Sean Preston, on her lap. Spears checked into and out of rehab throughout 2007 and infamously shaved her head in February of that year. In July, her divorce from Kevin Federline was finalized. The next month, she was involved in a car accident.
In October, a judge ruled in favor of her ex-husband in their custody battle. And in December 2007, the star was placed under a conservatorship that didn’t end until 2021.
