‘Framing Britney Spears’ Director Says She “Tried Everything” to Get in Touch With the Star

When The New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears debuted on Hulu last week, there was one figure notably absent from the interviews but splashed across the entire project: Britney Spears herself. While the new doc uncovers the rise of Spears as a pop icon and the current conservatorship she’s been living under since 2008, Spears isn’t featured outside of old interview clips or performances. In an in interview with Entertainment Tonight, Framing Britney Spears director Samantha Stark explained why the film didn’t include input from the famous singer.

While Stark and her team wanted to hear Spears’ perspective, their attempts to get in touch with the star were unsuccessful. Even the power of the New York Times, one of the most well-known and respected papers in the country, wasn’t enough to secure an interview with Spears, Stark explained. “Most of the time as The New York Times, if I want to interview somebody who’s famous, I would call up their publicist and say, ‘Can you send this request to this person?'” she said. “A lot of times, the person will review it and give it back to the publicist.

“But we’re unclear whether that happened,” she continued. “We went through those usual places, and then we also went through people who know her or know people who know her to get requests in. So, we asked in several different ways, but it is still unclear if she definitely got them.” The New York Times team “tried everything,” and even shot the singer a DM, but never heard back.

“Since Britney has such a tight circle around her, in part because of the conservatorship — or it’s allowed to be that way because of the conservatorship — journalists haven’t really been able to interview her freely,” Stark said. “We, as The New York Times, haven’t interviewed her, because we want to be able to do it freely with no one trying to adjust what she says or anything. It just feels like you can’t ask Britney.”

While Stark wasn’t able to lock down an interview with her film’s main subject, she did hear from figures like Vivian Lee Thoreen, a lawyer working with Jamie Spears, and Adam Streisand, an attorney who attempted to help Spears when her conservatorship was first being established. The Times also got in touch with Felicia Culotta, Spears’ former assistant and friend.

“Felicia is one of the people who has spent the most time with Britney, who knows Britney the best,” Stark said. “I remember Felicia said to me, ‘Everybody’s trying to know what’s in Britney’s heart, and there are just a handful of those who know what’s in her heart.’ And people keep searching for that… It was very challenging to not have people who talk about her and make assumptions. So, many people want to say their whole think piece on Britney, and they don’t know. But Felicia actually knows her.” According to Stark, Spears and Culotta are “still connected” to this day.

Although Stark was able to paint a picture of Spears life thanks to the interview subjects and archival footage included in her film, she admitted “there’s a big ethical conflict” to telling Spears’s story without her participation. “It’s really something that I’ve been thinking about this entire time that’s really challenging,” she said. “I guess I would want to say to her, ‘Call me. I want to hear your side.'”

Head to Entertainment Tonight to read the rest of Stark’s interview, and watch Framing Britney Spears now on Hulu and FX.

Where to watch The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears