- The New York Times' documentary '
Framing Britney Spears ' premiered last month on Hulu and FX. - It ignited criticism of the questions journalists asked her during old interviews.
- Insider rounded up the most inappropriate interviews Spears endured in the 2000s.
In the early 2000s, Britney Spears went from being an adorable Louisiana-born child star on "The Mickey Mouse Club" to a record-breaking pop phenomenon seemingly overnight.
Her global success, however, came hand-in-hand with the public's unrelenting demand for details on her personal life.
The New York Times' documentary "Framing Britney Spears," which examines the events leading up to the #FreeBritney movement and the pop star's ongoing conservatorship battle with her father, shows just how far people went to get a scoop on Spears.
Journalists frequently asked the "...Baby One More Time" singer shockingly misogynistic questions in old interviews, some of which director Samantha Stark resurfaces in the documentary.
Since watching "Framing
Here are some of the most problematic interviews Spears sat through in the late '90s and 2000s.
Diane Sawyer seemingly defended a woman that threatened to shoot Spears
In 2003, the journalist sat down with the then-21-year-old for an exclusive interview on ABC's "Primetime Thursday."
Right off the bat, Sawyer's questions seemed to put Spears on the defensive. She asked the singer if she "liked" her voice, commented on how little clothes Spears wore, and brought up her "world famous bottom."
After telling Spears that she "upset a lot of mothers in this country," Sawyer seemingly defended Kendel Ehrlich, the then-governor of Maryland's wife, who said she would shoot Spears if she had the opportunity due to the example the singer set for young women.
The pop star remained composed throughout the interview, even as Sawyer inquired about her breakup with Justin Timberlake.
The journalist's questions -"He pretty much said you broke his heart. You did something that caused him so much pain, so much suffering. What did you do?" - suggested that the split was her fault.
It wasn't until Sawyer said that Spears had a "year that would test a lot of people" that the "Everytime" singer teared up and asked to stop the conversation.
Ivo Niehe asked the teenager about her breasts
Ivo Niehe, a Dutch television journalist, interviewed Spears when she was 17 years old.
At one point during their conversation, he said, "There's one subject we didn't discuss. What was that? Everyone was talking about it."
The "Crazy" singer leaned forward and asked, "What?"
"Your breasts," he replied, adding, "You seem to get furious when a talk-show host comes up with this subject. In general, what do you think about breast implants?"
Spears laughed for a moment before saying that people should do whatever they want with their bodies, adding that she personally doesn't have implants.
After the clip appeared in "Framing Britney Spears," Niehe released a statement saying that the interview was taken out of context. According to him, the moment was an "opportunity to react" to the rumors surrounding Spears' changing appearance.
"Britney was pleased to make extensive use of this," he wrote, according to Dutch News. He continued, "The atmosphere after the interview was good and her management was more than happy."
Tucker Carlson had a lot of questions about Spears' kiss with Madonna at the 2003 VMAs
Tucker Carlson, who was the cohost of CNN's "Crossfire" at the time, interviewed the then-21-year-old in 2003.
While on the topic of Spears' kiss with Madonna at the 2003 MTV VMAs, Carlson asked Spears if she had ever kissed a woman before. When she said she hadn't, he asked Spears if she'd do it again.
Spears squealed and said she wouldn't unless it was Madonna.
Carlson then questioned what the singer's mother thought of the on-screen moment, and the singer told him her mom thought it was "cool" and "liked the performance."
After the interview ended, Carlson joined Anderson Cooper, who seemed to mock Spears' gum-chewing by asking: "Did she at least offer you a stick of her own gum?"
Carlson then shared his judgment of Spears, who wasn't present to defend herself.
"She seemed very young. She seemed younger than a person who would bare her midriff," Carlson said.
He continued, "The impression I came away with was that it would be wrong to have adult thoughts about Britney Spears."
While Spears was promoting 'Crossroads,' a reporter asked about her sex life
As Spears answered press questions about the movie "Crossroads" in 2002, one reporter brought up the speculation surrounding the pop star's virginity.
The "Gimme More" singer said she wished she hadn't talked about saving sex for marriage but said it was "part of growing up" and something "we all have to deal with."
The reporter followed up, "Have there been any changes on that front?"
After the entire room erupted in laughter, Spears said, "That's a personal question."
Another interviewer also asked the then-18-year-old about her virginity
When Spears was 18 years old, she appeared on a Norwegian television program. Midway through the interview, the reporter brought up the singer's decision to abstain from sex until marriage.
"You're not going to have sex before your marriage. Is that a standard that is hard to live up to?" he asked.
Spears responded, "No, not at all. I'm 18 and I have so much of my life to look forward to."
The singer went on to say that she hadn't found the "right" person yet.
"My mom always told me once you do do that, there's so many more emotions involved. I just don't want to go there right now," she said, adding, "I'm so busy focused on my career and focused on me."
After a reporter asked about Spears' 'sexy Lolita look,' she defended her clothing choices
Like so many of Spears' interviews in the early 2000s, her segment on the Swedish television channel TV4 in 2000 included a conversation about her public image and clothing choices.
The reporter said that there's been "a lot" of buzz about the then-18-year-old's "sexy Lolita look," a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's controversial 1955 novel. She asked Spears if she was "comfortable" with her evolving image.
"I think we're all girls, and that's a part of who we are," she replied, adding, "You'd be lying if you said you didn't like to feel sexy."
Spears said that her 1999 Rolling Stone cover, which showed her laying in silk sheets in a bra and shorts hugging a Teletubby doll, was the "edgiest" she'd ever been but explained that she was targeting an "older audience."
The interviewer then said she read that Spears' record company advised her to show less cleavage.
"Oh, all the time. They don't want me showing any skin," the teen replied.
The reporter then asked what Spears' parents thought about her "sexy look," leading Spears to defend herself and say that they don't perceive her performances as "that sexy."
"They just think of it as being me," she said.
In an interview with Matt Lauer, Spears spent the entire conversation denying vicious tabloid rumors
Dateline aired a special segment in 2006 called "Britney Spears Speaking Out" that gave the 24-year-old an opportunity to respond to attacks from tabloids and paparazzi.
At the time, she was married to Kevin Federline and pregnant with their second son.
Matt Lauer, a former "Today" host that was fired after a staffer accused him of rape, conducted the interview with Spears at her home, using biting headlines to drive their conversation.
In the interview, which is available in several clips on YouTube, Lauer brought up reports that she has a "lousy marriage."
At one point, he asked if Spears worried that Federline would leave her in the same way he left his ex Shar Jackson while she was pregnant.
"As someone who is now several months pregnant, do you ever stop and think, 'He left someone else when she was a couple of months pregnant.' Does that ever cross your mind?" he asked.
Lauer later talked to Spears about reports that she was a "bad mother" to her son, replaying videos of her nearly dropping the child and driving with him on her lap.
After Spears said the paparazzi was taking "cheap shots," Lauer told her that "all these legitimate people" thought her actions were dangerous.
While the interview was supposed to give Spears a chance to reclaim her story, Lauer only seemed to be pushing forward the damaging headlines.
On a 2017 episode of "Watch What Happens Live," Lauer said that the only "controversial" part of the interview was when Spears cried about wanting the paparazzi to leave her alone.
"I think I did my job," he said, explaining that they offered to stop the interview multiple times.
Lauer added, "If people didn't think it went that well then I apologize, but I would do the same thing again."