Don’t expect to see Britney Spears on stage in the near future. The singer posted a lengthy message on Instagram Sunday, reflecting on her the work she put out during her 13-year conservatorship and declaring she will “probably never perform again.”
Spears opened the post by lamenting about her lack of creative control over her music videos during that era — she says the only visual she liked from that time was the one for “Work Bitch” — and her unpleasant experience working with photographers. In typical fashion, the post mostly took aim at her father, Jamie Spears, who served as the conservator of the pop singer’s estate from 2008 to 2021.
“…[T]he most offensive SO CALLED professional pictures on every tour. I mean they could have at least cheated and retouched them for me … just saying … 2 day shoots for new show in Vegas literally the worst ever … and me excited for the pictures for 5 months on tour … they never showed me any,” she wrote alongside a (literal) cheeky photo. “I’d rather quit shit in my pool and shoot photos of myself in studios over working with the most offensive people in my life.”
Adding that she was also uncomfortable with the number of dancers she was forced to perform with on stage during her four-year Las Vegas residency, Spears said her past experiences left her “traumatized” and unsure of if she will ever take the stage again. (The closing night of her residency in 2017 also marked the last time she has performed live.)
“I’m pretty traumatized for life and yes I’m pissed as fuck and no I won’t probably perform again just because I’m stubborn and I will make my point,” she said before closing out with a simple “kiss my God damn mother fucking ass.”
Though Spears has talked about the possibility of calling it quits on performing live in the past, this is the first time she’s mentioned the subject since the end of her conservatorship.
But while Spears may not be planning a worldwide tour anytime soon, she recently made her official return to music with “Hold Me Closer,” a disco-infused reimagining of some of Elton John’s classics. The track, which also featured John himself, marked her first new music since her 2016 album, Glory.
At the time, Spears’ lawyer Mathew Rosengart praised the pop star for her triumphant emergence following years of legal difficulties. “After our hard-fought court battles and success in removing her father as conservator and then the termination of the conservatorship last year, I was inundated with inquiries about what Britney would do next,” he told Rolling Stone in a statement. “My response was simple: ‘For the first time in 13 years, that is up to one person and one person only: Britney. Britney is a brilliant artist and iconic person.”