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Britney Spears’ fight to be free of her conservatorship has drawn both Democrats and Republicans to champion the singer, including Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who showed up at a Los Angeles courthouse Wednesday to throw his support behind Spears—and potentially rehabilitate his image as a guy who maybe committed statutory rape.
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Gaetz is allegedly under investigation for possible sex trafficking. His former wingman, onetime Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty in May to a slew of federal charges, including sex trafficking a child. The Daily Beast reported in April that Greenberg had written a letter accusing Gaetz of paying for sex with multiple women, including a 17-year-old girl.
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing, but he apparently still felt the need to show that he’s a Good Guy by cameoing in California, where a judge is holding a court hearing in Spears’ conservatorship case.
Last month, Spears spoke out against the 13-year conservatorship, which has put her finances under her father James “Jamie” Spears’ legal authority, and sparked nationwide cries to free Spears from its clutches. Supporters of the #FreeBritney movement rallied outside the courthouse Tuesday, where Gaetz spoke.
“Now, the whole world knows what Britney Spears wants, and it is the freedom and liberty that should be offered to every single American,” Gaetz told the crowd. “There’s a lot that still divides us, but one thing we can all agree on is that Jamie Spears is a dick.”
Though there were cheers in the crowd, not all #FreeBritney adherents were not particularly impressed.
