Britney Spears has taken to Instagram to respond to people who have been questioning her recent posts on social media.

Britney often uses her Instagram page to share inspirational quotes, dance workouts and impromptu fashion shows with her fans, though it seems like not everyone is a fan of the superstar singer.

Indeed, it was only recently that her boyfriend Sam Asghari leapt to her defense after rapper and producer Timbaland appeared to mock her on social media.

After the Give it to Me rapper mocked a video of Britney dancing - where she can be seen grooving to Nelly Furtado's song, Say It Right, which features Timbaland's vocals - Sam rushed to the defense of his girlfriend.

"Okkkkkkk @britneyspears like @lilduval said @TEYANATAYLOR you got 24 hours to respond," Timbaland wrote on Twitter, comparing Britney's freestyle moves to R&B artist Teyana Taylor's dancing.

Watch Britney dance below: 

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Asghari responded, "Since when someone being themselves (extremely talented) is a problem? Don't bother for a response from her she actually has real fans and people that have been inspired from her work unlike you that had to buy followers.

"I mean 3M followers 11k likes? Doesn't even make since. I even had to look you up? [sic]"

And now, Britney has taken to Instagram to share a message with her fans, including those who are critical of her social media posts.

The singer shared a quote from a bible verse that reads, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong."

She wrote her own caption underneath the quote, which reads;

"I get how some people might not like my posts or even understand them, but this is Me being happy ….. this is Me being authentic and as real as it gets !!!!! I want to inspire people to do the same and just be themselves without pleasing others ….. that’s the key to happiness" 

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And fans were delighted with the message. One wrote, "Yes Brit!! ??? We love you and all want you to be happy. X"

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"I love you Britney. You're so real..." Another fan added.

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Yesterday, Britney shared a selfie with her fans on social media. She wrote, "It’s nice to go outside and shoot ??? .... the natural light always reveals the magic in the eyes ☀️?? !!!!!!  Ps no photoshop on this photo !!!!!!"

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Justin Timberlake has responded to his former partner Britney Spears discussing their relationship, their breakup, and dancing to one of his songs in one of her recent Instagram videos.

Spears and Timberlake first started dating way back in 1999, but split in 2002. Their fans were stirred up last week when Britney took to her official Instagram account to share a video of herself dancing to dancing to Timberlake’s song Filthy.

Britney recently pledged to help fans affected by COVID-19 in this video: 

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Wearing a white cropped top and white shorts, Britney could be seen performing a series of twirls and moves to the tune outside on her balcony while self-isolating.

Britney captioned the footage: "This is my version of Snapchat or TikTok or whatever the cool thing you're supposed to do these days  ...As you can see I’m not really dancing folks."

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She continued: "I’m just very bored. PS I know we had one of the world's biggest breakups 20 years ago …… but hey the man is a genius !!!! Great song JT  !!!! Pssss if you KNOW WHAT'S GOOD  !!!!!! [sic]"

However, it seems as though Justin himself approves of Britney's dance tribute to his tune. According to a new post by the Instagram account Comments by Celebrities, Justin seems to have commented on the post by posting a string of positive emojis in the comments.

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Britney Spears took to Instagram last month to pledge to do what she could to support fans whose lives have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In a video posted to her account, Spears stated: "So our world is going through such hard times right now, and my sister just nominated me to help people. Whether it's with food or I'm getting your child diapers, or whatever it is, DM (direct message) me and I will help you out."

Britney Spears has had an interesting several days on social media - following the backlash from her body-shaming post this week, the 'Toxic' singer has received support from her fans after uploading a video of herself crying while dancing.

The 40-year-old has become somewhat of a cultural icon in recent years, as her 42 million followers seem to love her energetic improvised dance videos. This week, however, fans got a little more than they bargained for when Spears burst into tears halfway through her routine.

Posting the clip to her Instagram page, Spears captioned it: "It's been a while since I've cried on camera !!! It's not a breakdown a**holes, it's a release that I’ve needed for a very long time now !!! Spiritual experience for sure !!! I think I need to do that way more !!! Psss… bawling."

Many of her followers - including her new husband, Sam Asghari - sent messages of support, while others appeared to express concerns about her mental health.

"Awww babe," one person wrote, "There are so many of us here that support you in whatever you need to do for your journey! We can't even fathom what it must feel like to be trapped for over 13 years. You have come leaps and bounds! We adore you."

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"If we don't release our tears they build up and are stored as pain. I am in awe of how you process your emotions so gracefully," another commented.

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Spears' husband, Sam Asghari also posted a message of support to his new bride, saying: "Vulnerability=strength=lioness."

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Though, not all comments offered support - many users seemed to be worried about the singer's mental health, with one user commenting: "Looks like a cry for help....."

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"I'm not perfect. And I'm a big fan of Britney… But watching this with no audio actually made me shiver. It's not the first time, but, goodness gracious… if you love this woman stop encouraging this behavior. We need a new movement. This woman needs help before it's too late [sic]," someone else wrote.

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"Try watching this video without audio, the range of emotions in 1 minute is seriously scaring me," said another person, while someone else chimed in with: "All these videos are so bizarre! You can't blame people for being concerned."

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The post came mere hours after Spears wished her sons - Jayden James, 16, and Sean Preston, 17 - a happy birthday in a now-deleted Instagram post.

Her two sons, who she shares with her ex Kevin Federline, have not seen their mother in months after saying they were embarrassed by her constant social media posts in the wake of her terminated conservatorship.

As previously reported, Jayden joined his father - who received roughly $1 million after his divorce from Spears and continues to receive more than $20,000 a month in alimony from her, per Newsweek - in a TV interview to discuss his severely fractured relationship with his mother.

Spears' sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, have not seen their mother in months after alleging they were embarrassed by her constant social media posts in the wake of her terminated conservatorship. Credit: Alamy / Joe Martinez / PictureLux

Jayden also defended his grandfather, Jamie Spears, who controlled Britney as her conservator for 13 years - controlling every aspect of his daughter's financial and medial affairs. "They are not bad people. They know what we are going through now. They want our future to be what we want it to be. They just want to watch over us," Jayden stated in his interview.

He also added that his mother's risqué uploads on Instagram bothered him, saying: "It's almost like she has to post something on Instagram to get some attention. This has gone on for years and years and years, and there's a high chance that this will never stop, but I'm hoping for me that she will stop."

Following the interview, which was aired on ITV in the UK, Spears maintained that she did the best she could as a mother to her sons, despite being limited by her conservatorship.

In since-deleted audio messages, the 'Circus' singer said she feels she has "no purpose anymore," amid the damaged relationship she has with her sons.

While Spears has become the butt of harmless jokes about her improvised dancing and lengthy captions on social media, we have to explore the wider picture.

The media failed Britney for over a decade - we are to blame for allowing the constant hate and misogynistic vitriol that was directed at the mom-of-two for years. Now, we have to ask ourselves the question: how will we prevent this from happening again?

Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy

Britney Spears has taken to Instagram to say she wants fans to see the real her, and has shared photos to show the difference between "Instagram versus reality".

The 38-year-old pop star posted several pictures of herself wearing glasses, a checked shirt, and jeans, and said she often feels "insecure" when photos are taken of her without feeling prepared.

"Instagram versus Reality!!!! I wanted to show you what I really look like on a daily basis," Spears captioned the post. "I can get insecure when photos are taken of me that I'm not prepared for… so I have always put so much effort into my appearance."

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She continued by saying that "sometimes it's nice to not try so hard and pull down your walls every now and then… It takes a lot of strength to do that."

The singer then added a "fun fact" about herself, revealing that instead of cheerleading, she played basketball when she was at school. The Toxic star said she was the point guard and "called the shots" but "dear God we sucked… we only won 3 games each season."

And many of Britney's 26.5 million followers adored the candid and relaxed snaps:

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However, other Instagram users were left concerned for the singer, and took to the comments section to voice their worries:

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This comes after Spears was proffered support by the American Civil Liberties Union after a court ruled that her father Jamie Spears remains the sole conservator of her estate.

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Fans have speculated that Britney may be suffering due to the conservatorship she has been under for the past 12 years. She was first placed under a conservatorship by her father back in 2008 after suffering a series of mental breakdowns, which necessitated medical intervention.

The hashtag "#FreeBritney" has subsequently been making the rounds on social media.

The singer has had much of her personal affairs – including her finances, mental health, and music career – controlled by legal guardians (largely her father, Jamie Spears) under the terms of the conservatorship.

Now, the ACLU has publicly reached out to the singer. "The ACLU has since publicly reached out to Britney after the non-profit organization tweeted: “People with disabilities have a right to lead self-directed lives and retain their civil rights. If Britney Spears wants to regain her civil liberties and get out of her conservatorship, we are here to help her," they wrote.

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The organization then proceeded to share an article published on aclu.org, titled “How Conservatorship Threatens Britney Spears’ Civil Rights."

Conservatorship "is the court weighing into the person’s life and saying you, as a person with a disability, are no longer able to make decisions about yourself and livelihood – such as where you live, and how you support and feed yourself – and we are putting someone else in charge of making those decisions. Because it’s such an extreme step to take, it’s really supposed to be a last resort," Zoe Brennan-Krohn, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Disability Rights Project, wrote in the article.

"We don’t know if Britney Spears identifies herself as a person with disabilities, or what, if any, diagnoses she has received,” Brennan-Krohn added.

"But by virtue of being under a conservatorship, we know that the court has determined that she is disabled, and has stripped away her civil rights because of that disability. So it’s inherently a civil rights/civil liberties issue," she continued.

"What we don’t know is what the info the court had, what Britney has said about what she wants specifically, what other options have been tried, or what her lawyers have said," she added.

"So while it’s possible that this is an example of a thoughtful conservatorship that was implemented as the last resort and is being reviewed carefully, thoroughly, and regularly, that is not the norm for conservatorships, and it appears inconsistent with what we see of Britney publicly."

Britney Spears has slammed her internet "bullies" after being trolled for her swimsuit pictures on Instagram.

Recently, the 38-year-old has posted a number of pictures of herself in a white bathing suit to the social media platform. In many of them, she poses with boyfriend Sam Asghari, 26.

Britney shows off her toned body in a steamy yoga video: 

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However, trolls took umbrage with the number of posts the Toxic hitmaker posted, claiming that they all looked the same, and others claimed that the 38-year-old's boyfriend was only dating her for her money.

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One hater wrote: "I think hes there for the money huney [sic]."

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A second implied that Britney wasn't changing her bathing suit, writing: "Girl professional hygiene is a must ? ily."

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A third questioned: "Who is the photographer? They may have joke on you."

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Now, Britney has hit back at them in an Instagram post of a quote that read: "Nobody watches you harder than people that can't stand you."

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Britney captioned the post: "I've read a lot of things online of people criticizing my posts …. saying I post the same 15 pictures with the same red background and wearing the same white bathing suit.

This coffee machine went viral for sounding like Britney: 

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The singer continued: "For me I get really excited about my posts …. and I like to share them with you all !!!! I've never owned a white bathing suit before and I simply liked the red background !!!! [sic].''

"Reading all of the mean comments really hurts my feelings …. and I wanted to share because you really shouldn't be saying all of these mean things to someone you don't even know .… this goes for bullying anyone really !!!!!! [sic]"

In response to Britney's decision to hit back at her haters, fans flooded the comments section of the post with support.

One wrote: "You are amazing!!! Beautiful special gal! Don’t even listen to haters!! People are always going to hate/ jealously."

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A second simply added: "We can only stan".

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Meanwhile, in other Britney news, she recently shared a video of the moment her foot broke while dancing.