The Woman in Me

Content Warning: This section includes references to mental illness, substance use disorder, and coercive psychiatric treatment.

A few days after shaving her head, Spears returns to Federline’s house with her cousin. On the way, paparazzi harass them. Spears’s cousin asks them to leave them alone, but they do not listen. Spears starts screaming in frustration. Paparazzi record her while she does this, looking smug. Spears takes an umbrella and smashes it on a paparazzo’s car. She is embarrassed by this and sends an apology letter to the photo agency.

Spears’s father tells her that she is a disgrace, but that if she goes to rehab, she might get custody of her sons back. When she gets out of rehab, she is able to negotiate a temporary 50/50 custody agreement with Federline. 

Spears’s management team forces her to perform at the 2007 VMAs to combat the negative portrayal of her as mentally unstable. They believe a televised performance will send the message that she is fine, though she does not feel fine. Backstage at the VMAs, she runs into Timberlake. The encounter unnerves her—it’s a shock to see him, and devastating that he’s on top of the world in his life and career, while she feels like everything is falling apart.