Hinting further that she may hold radical politics, Spears signed off her caption with three rose emojis, the official symbol of the Democratic Socialists of America.
As the coronavirus outbreak crashes the market and brings an already precarious healthcare system to its knees, advocates for a bailout of ordinary workers and a radical rethinking of the economy may have found an ally in … Britney Spears.
In an Instagram post Monday night, the pop icon—whose personal trials have been splashed across tabloids since she was a teen—seemed to call for a redistribution of wealth and a general strike, or a movement in which workers in most or all essential industries in a community withhold their labor until demands are met.
One recent example of a general strike is last year’s “yellow vest” movement in France. Much of the country was brought to a standstill when transport workers protested pension overhauls, and were joined by healthcare, sanitation, and education workers.
“During this time of isolation, we need connection now more than ever,” Spears’ post, a regram of Instagram user Mimi Zhu, read.
“We wil [sic] feed each other, re-destribute [sic] wealth, strike.”
Hinting further that she may hold radical politics, Spears signed off her caption with three rose emojis, the official symbol of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group affiliated with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The rose has also long been associated with the socialist movement.
Fans proceeded to crown the pop princess as the new “queen of the proletariat” and “Yessssss queen of wealth re-distribution!”
The post follows a video Spears posted earlier this week telling fans, “Our world is going through such hard times right now … whether it’s with food or I’m getting your child diapers or whatever it is, DM me and I will help you out.” It was her contribution to the #DoYourPartChallenge, in which people tape themselves saying how they’re going to help during the coronavirus crisis, and then tag three others to do the same.
Spears’ post also continued to feel love on Twitter on Tuesday as “Comrade Britney” began trending:
Erica K. Landau Erica Landau is a senior social content editor at COURIER. When she's not poring over spreadsheets and analytics reports, she writes about the environment, politics, and Florida, her home state.
