Hug-gate!

Some of Britney’s fans like nothing better than a chance to pick holes in something she’s done, no matter how small and insignificant. So they were more than ready to jump on her when they read an account from one of her Meet and Greets, which went something like this: “I asked for a hug at the meet and greet tonight. I was the first person in line and nobody said what was allowed, and when I asked her for a hug she hesitated and looked at Larry and he shook his head. But I didn’t care. I told her I loved her, and she thanked me and was really sweet and gave me a tour book....”

I read this and I have to confess that my sense of outrage fell quite a way short of what some fans around the forums were feeling. “What the hell is gonna happen to her if someone hugs her?” one of them demanded to know. “Will she implode from human connection? This is why there is no way I'd pay to meet her, it's complete exploitation of her fans’ loyalty. The fact that this guy was OK with it, then shows his pic where she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else just goes to show how her management are taking the fans for a ride and the fans are letting them do it!”

One thoughtful fan pondered, “Do you think it'd be good if ‘Britney refuses hug request from fan’ became a big story? Obviously it wouldn’t be good press, but it might make her team realise that this kind of thing is really not good enough. These fans may have waited over a decade to meet her and tell her how much they love her, then they’re treated like freaks who need to be kept at a distance! It must be a horrible feeling, especially when you've paid $1000 for the privilege!”

However, it was reported elsewhere that some fans were receiving hugs! It was all very confusing, and eventually one fan asked Felicia if it was OK to ask Britney for a hug and she replied "They don't really like people hugging her unless she's wearing the robe to make sure her costumes don't get messed up but you can ask anyway." Apparently it wasn’t as much a personality deficiency crisis as a stage costume management issue.

But the outcry hadn’t ended. “Britney’s smile is SO fake and awkward looking in the meet and greets!”, stormed one fan-critic and others kept repeating that she looked scared. Eventually it was pointed out that Katy Perry looked just as awkward and uncomfortable as Britney in HER meet and greet pix.

I dunno. I won’t be paying for a meet and greet even though I’ve spent weeks of my life writing about Britney. I don’t feel comfortable hugging and air-kissing strangers and I don’t suppose she is either. Even if she accepts a hug, it’s not really going to be a closer encounter than a simple conversation, is it? What’s a hug from a stranger worth anyway? I’d prefer not to bother.

I recall that, in an early interview, Britney said “Because of the business I’m in, when people meet me they expect me to be like ‘Ta-DAAA!’ But actually I’m really shy...” Lady GaGa may hug her entire audiences but that’s not the point. She clearly isn't shy. But to Britney it feels awkward and unnatural and false, and nothing is going to change that. So what I'm thinking is this: if the awkwardness and artificiality of the situation were to be reduced or eliminated, it might be possible to engage her in a few moments of pleasant and memorable conversation. I know which I’d prefer to try.