On September 9, 2007, Britney Spears took the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas to do what no one else could do for her: make a comeback.
She had just gone through a divorce from Kevin Federline, a bitter fight over custody of her two children, and a year that had put her fully on display before the world. She was 25. She sang “Gimme More” in a black sequined bikini.
The next day, no one was talking about her comeback. They were talking about her abdomen.
The headlines mocked her body. Days later, CBS News wondered whether it was fair to judge her that way, at a time when Hollywood was being called out for imposing almost skeletal bodies as a model to follow. The contradiction was laid bare: extreme thinness was being criticized, while at the same time a new mother was being punished for not having the toned stomach she had before.
Years later, in her memoirs, Britney said that her team pushed her to go out that night even though she wasn’t feeling well, that she hadn’t slept, and that there had been wardrobe problems. And that people acted as if not having abs, barely a year after giving birth, were an offense.
7.1 million people watched her that night. It was the year’s most-watched program in its time slot.
No one cared how much it had cost her to get there.
