In a lengthy new profile from The Los Angeles Times, Dua Lipa reflects back on her pre-fame life, what moving to LA right before the pandemic was like, and how becoming a pop star felt like her destiny. But one of the most interesting and timely subjects she discusses is the treatment of Britney Spears by paparazzi and the media in the early 2000s, and what it feels like to be under the microscope in that way as captured in the new documentary Framing Britney Spears.
Even though her second album, Future Nostalgia, helped cement Lipa as one of the most prominent new stars in the genre, she’s still not a massive icon like Britney was back in 2008 when her paparazzi run-ins were reaching a peak. Still, the level of scrutiny that Dua has received so far makes it easy for her to pinpoint what was going on with Britney, and how jarring it can be to experience that kind of scrutiny.
“The feeling of going down the street and they’re trying to catch you in this very awkward picture — it can be anxiety-inducing, honestly,” she told the Times. “And Britney’s time was pre-Instagram when everything was purely about the tabloids, and there were no laws in place about what paparazzi were allowed to do. She was being harassed — that’s exactly what it was.”
Read the full profile here.