Entertainment

Britney Spears Is Being Called A "Socialist Queen" Online — Here's Why

by Jake Viswanath
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Britney Spears: queen of pop, Las Vegas, Instagram, and... socialism? Some of her fans now think so. Britney Spears is being called a "socialist queen" online because of one of her recent Instagram posts. And if you read between the lines, you might also start calling the singer Comrade Britney, as she's been nicknamed by some of her followers.

On Monday, March 23, the singer re-grammed a quote by Mimi Zhu, as posted on Refinery29's Instagram page, about the importance of connection during this period of isolation forced by the coronavirus pandemic. Part of the quote called for citizens to "strike" and "re-distribute wealth," two key beliefs for Socialist supporters. Spears captioned her post, "Communion goes beyond walls," complete with red rose emojis. As reported by Mashable, the red rose "has always been an important symbol with anti-authoritarian associations," and has been adopted as one by the Democratic Socialist movement.

Many of her followers have taken these political symbols and run with it online, proclaiming her as a "socialist queen" and coining the moniker Comrade Britney, which trended on Twitter. And then, of course, came the memes. One Twitter user even rewrote the lyrics to Spears' hit "Toxic" to fit her apparent socialism. Who knows, maybe fans will start saying that she's a Bernie Sanders supporters too.

Socialist Spears is a very fun and hilarious thing to imagine (especially as a distraction during this pandemic). But it's also possible that she posted the quote on Instagram simply because she liked the overall message, not to declare herself a socialist. The singer is known for posting random things online, including pictures of flowers, workout videos, and quotes that she likes reading, and her Instagram is all the better for it. Moreover, she's always been private about her political beliefs. In 2016, she shared a photo of herself with then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with the hashtag #ImWithHer. Days later, she deleted the hashtag after reports of her supposed "endorsement." Many outlets took this as a sign of the pop star remaining impartial during the election.

Given how she's been motivating fans online to keep going in the midst of the pandemic, and even participated in the #DoYourPartChallenge, it's very likely that this post was just another one of Spears' ways to encourage light in this tumultuous time. And if she did indeed just sneakily declare herself as a socialist, then it's just another way that Spears is getting us through. We love a positive, generous queen.

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