Britney Spears has accused paparazzi of editing photos to make her appear heavier, but the photo agency is denying any wrongdoing.
After photos of Spears, 37, and her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, on a beach in Miami surfaced online over the weekend, she took to Instagram Sunday with what she called a “conspiracy theory.”
“A lot of fans, in our world today, they always are subject to really criticize people and say that the pictures and videos that they’re posting are either not on time or they’re fake. But no one ever really asks, ‘Are the paparazzi pictures fake, and do the paparazzi people do stuff to the pictures, and is the news really real?’ It’s a conspiracy theory that I’m actually interested in.”
In the videos, the “Piece of Me” singer wore the same bright bikini top and black bottoms she wore under her cover-up in the paparazzi photos to prove that she looks slimmer than in the photos that were released.
She also told her followers she looked “haggard” because she had just gotten off a jet ski that smudged her eyeshadow.
“Yesterday, I went swimming,” Spears continued. “I look like I’m 40 pounds bigger than I am today. This is how I am right now, and I’m skinny as a needle. You tell me, what is real?”
MEGA, the photo agency that released the photos in question, told Page Six in an exclusive statement that the allegations are “ludicrous.”
“We think Britney looks great and it’s ludicrous to suggest the photos or video were altered in any way,” the rep said. “They were not. We shot thousands of photos of her over the weekend and are very happy to let her see the original files if she so wishes. It was good to see her happy and having fun and we wish her well.”
Meanwhile, some feel Spears is at the center of another conspiracy theory. Fans have speculated the singer’s father, Jamie Spears, who is in charge of her conservatorship, and her management team are posting old content online to make it seem like she is fine when she may not be.
Spears called out the conspiracy theorists last month with a video of her doing three outfit changes, saying, “For those of you who don’t think I post my own videos, I did this video yesterday, so you’re wrong, but hope you like it.”
Spears’ followers first began to show concern after she checked herself into a mental health facility in April amid struggles with her father’s illness.