Comrade Britney Spears! Star calls for strike and wealth redistribution

Britney Spears has amplified a call for a strike and the redistribution of wealth in the US in a post on her Instagram. Spears, 38, shared a graphic by the writer Mimi Zhu, which included the line: “We will feed each other, re-destribute [sic] wealth, strike.”

Spears captioned the graphic: “Communion moves beyond walls” and added three red rose emojis, a symbol associated with the socialist cause online.

Zhu’s post declared: “During this time of isolation, we need connection now more than ever. Call your loved ones, write virtual letters. Technologies like virtual communication, streaming and broadcasting are part of our community collaboration.

“We will learn to kiss and hold each other through the waves of the web. We will feed each other, re-destribute [sic] wealth, strike. We will understand our own importance from the places we must stay. Communion moves beyond walls. We can still be together.”

Zhu said on Twitter that she was “really grateful” that Spears had shared the post – albeit unattributed – and emphasised the importance of crediting artists for their work. A representative for Spears offered no comment.

Zhu tweeted: “At the end of the day I think this is funny and sweet, and I’m happy my work moved her becuz [sic] she moved me a lot while I was growing up – Comrade Britney is an icon and I’m glad we are connected on this wavelength.”

Spears does not control her own fortune or business decisions. She has been under her father’s conservatorship since February 2008, when she was committed to a psychiatric ward after experiencing a public breakdown.

She has since released many albums, toured and staged a lucrative Vegas residency, but has been on a professional hiatus since January 2019, reportedly owing to her father’s poor health. Legal commentators have said it is unusual for an apparently high-functioning adult to remain under such an arrangement.

Earlier this week, Spears participated in the #DoYourPartChallenge on Instagram, encouraging fans in need during the coronavirus pandemic to DM her if they needed help buying food or provisions for their children.

Spears has made few political statements over her 21-year pop career. In 2017, she encouraged fans to tell Congress to pass the Dream Act. She supported George W Bush during the Iraq war and in 2001 was registered in Louisiana as a Republican.