Paris Hilton praises Britney Spears as a 'fighter' who has endured 'trauma and abuse' in an emotional essay for Time's 100 Most Influential People list

• Britney Spears was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2021.
• In an essay for the list, Paris Hilton called Spears "a fighter."
• Hilton wrote that Spears has lived through "trauma and abuse" and shifts "pain into purpose."

Time revealed its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People on Wednesday, and it's not surprising that pop star Britney Spears made the list. Her legal conservatorship battle has been in the spotlight this year, which has helped begin important conversations about disability rights and the rights of people with mental illness (though Spears has not confirmed that she personally has any disability or mental illness).

While Paris Hilton might seem like an unexpected choice to author an essay about Spears for Time's list, she has emerged as one of the singer's biggest celebrity advocates this year. In her moving new op-ed for the magazine, Hilton calls Spears "a fighter" who has "survived more than a decade of trauma and abuse from her conservatorship."

She also describes Spears as "a sweet soul" who "grew up in the tabloid culture of the 2000s, when the paparazzi machine was accepted, unforgiving, and cruel."

The heiress also mentions #FreeBritney, the fan-fueled movement to bring more attention to Spears' concerning reality. "In 2021, the battle cries of #FreeBritney roared louder than ever from her global network of devoted fans and a concerned public. Our hearts broke when Britney spoke about her pain," Hilton writes.

Hilton says that she believes Spears will come through this dark time with her "unwavering spirit stronger than ever." Spears "embodies joy" and "shares the light of her beautiful heart" with the public, according to Hilton.

Things have been looking up for Spears in recent weeks.

The pop star got engaged to her longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari on Sunday. She subsequently decided to take a break from social media, reportedly deleting all of her Instagram posts on Tuesday and explaining on Twitter that she wanted to take some offline time to celebrate her engagement.

Before that, Spears' father Jamie, the coconservator of her estate, filed to end Spears' 13-year conservatorship ahead of the next scheduled court hearing on September 29.