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The 2007 meme star, who rose to notoriety with his heartfelt plea for the media to “leave Britney alone,” is speaking out as a new documentary, Framing Britney Spears, ignites a torrent of media attention.
Crocker, now 33, has revealed that he endured a deluge of abuse from internet bullies following the video’s viral fame.
“Me saying ‘leave Britney alone’ was never really the issue,” Crocker said on Tuesday. “Michael Moore said it and no one batted an eyelash.”
Crocker, who prefers “they” and “them” pronouns, now says they believe their viral moment wasn’t taken seriously because Crocker was “a gender-bending teenager,” calling the backlash to his video “transphobic”.
“When I said it, I had to fear for my life,” the adult entertainer wrote in a text post on various social-media platforms – receiving nearly 18,000 likes on Instagram alone so far.
“Death threats were sent to my grandmother’s house. I was already living in the south as a gender-bending teenager with no money or ways of feeling protected.”
Even members of his own community criticised Crocker for speaking out – and letting his guard down.
“LGBT people [were] embarrassed of me because of the way the media made fun of me,” said Crocker. “Which made them feel I gave them a bad name.”
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Crocker’s followers responded in support of the their admission.
“Reading this actually gave me chills,” wrote @syddnneey on Instagram, where Crocker boasts about a million followers.
“You didn’t deserve that. You were always right. Thank you for always being unapologetically YOU,” said @t.kyle.
Actor Johnny Sibilly (Pose) added, “VERY VERY THAT. A pioneer in many ways.”
Framing Britney Spears chronicles the 39-year-old pop superstar’s ongoing conservatorship battle with her father, Jamie Spears, as well as the singer’s portrayal in the media during her ups and downs in the Toxic spotlight.
In a related Twitter post that recently garnered more than 218,000 likes, @HarryR wrote, “The ‘Leave Britney alone’ dude was right all along. History will look kindly upon him.”
Crocker ended his statement with another message to Spears: “I hope not only Britney gets the freedom she deserves but that Femme queer people are not tortured in the media when showcasing humanity.”
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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