LOS ANGELES — #FreeBritney — it's the hashtag that's become synonymous with the fight to end Britney Spears' 13-year conservatorship.
The pop star herself used the hashtag for what's believed to be the first time after Wednesday's hearing in an Instagram post thanking her fans.
"Coming along, folks ... coming along 🖕🏻!!!!! New with real representation today ... I feel GRATITUDE and BLESSED !!!" she wrote under the video of her riding a horse and doing cartwheels in celebration.
This public mention of the conservatorship battle online is rare for the pop star. A report by The New Yorker published earlier this month said that Spears doesn't run her own Instagram account, but rather submits what she wants to post to a social media company called CrowdSurf, which then posts them for her.
“She’s not supposed to discuss the conservatorship,” a team member from Spears' management told the magazine.
Celebrities and popular voices in pop culture flooded the comments in support.
"🤍 YOU ARE SO VERY LOVED AND SUPPORTED. 🤍," singer Ariana Grande wrote. Spear's boyfriend Sam Asghari commented, "Internet is about to explode #freebritney."
Wednesday marked a breakthrough in the case as a judge allowed the singer to hire an attorney of her choosing after she broke down in tears while describing the “cruelty" of her conservatorship.
She was approved to hire former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, who represents huge Hollywood names such as Steven Spielberg, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Keanu Reeves, and Sean Penn, Variety reports.
Rosengart called on Spears' father, Jamie Spears, to immediately resign as her conservator.
“The question remains, why is he involved,” Rosengart said outside the courthouse.
Last month, Spears spoke in open court for the first time in the case, condemning her father and others who control the conservatorship, which she said has compelled her to use birth control and take other medications against her will, and prevented her from getting married or having another child.
“This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good,” the 39-year-old Spears said. “I deserve to have a life."
“I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive," Spears said, adding at another point, “I want my life back.”
Spears' court-appointed attorney, Samuel Ingham III, resigned after the dramatic hearing three weeks ago.
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