Britney Spears Is Being Held Against Her Will, Fans Allege

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — Britney Spears fans staged a protest outside West Hollywood City Hall Monday afternoon, alleging the singer is being held against her will at a psychiatric facility she's been staying at. They're demanding her release.

About a dozen fans carried signs that read, "Free Britney," "Hands off Britney" and "Justice for Britney" during the live-streamed protest, AOL reported. The "Oops!... I Did It Again" singer checked herself into a mental health facility in late March in order to deal with the stress she's been experiencing due to her father Jamie Spears' current health crisis, according to Entertainment Tonight.

Weeks before she checked herself into the facility, she put her career on an indefinite hiatus, postponing her album and putting her Las Vegas residency on hold before it even began, AOL reported.

“A couple of months ago, my father was hospitalized and almost died. We’re all so grateful that he came out of it alive, but he still has a long road ahead of him. I had to make the difficult decision to put my full focus and energy on my family at this time," Spears wrote on Instagram.

Shortly after, the fan podcast "Britney's Gram" alleged the singer was being held against her will, and the hashtag #FreeBritney quickly started to trend, according to Entertainment Tonight.

The singer's sister Jamie Lynn Spears fought back, writing on Instagram: "10 years ago, who was there?? I have been here long before anyone else, and I’ll be here long after. I love my sister with everything I have. So, anyone or anything that speaks to the contrary can [get out of here] with all the comments about what you don’t understand. Do not come for me or the ones I love anymore."

Jamie Spears was hospitalized in November 2018 after his colon spontaneously ruptured, PEOPLE reported.

“[My father and I] have a very special relationship and I want to be with my family at this time just like they have always been there for me,” she said in her statement to PEOPLE after postponing her album and Las Vegas residency.