Former Vine star Gabbie Hanna has had a turbulent career after moving from the short-form video platform to YouTube. While she initially began transitioning her content to YouTube by doing vlogs and storytimes, she eventually began deteriorating due to being under the constant, vigilant eyes of commentary channels remarking on her many slip-ups over the course of her career.
From that point forward, the content creator would constantly bounce back and forth from trying to boost her image, to landing herself in scandal after scandal. After finally seeming to be on the up-and-up, Gabbie made some puzzling comments comparing herself to international icon Britney Spears that has netizens scratching their heads.
In an interview with the Oxford University Union Society, Hanna spoke about her experiences online, particularly citing the ongoing harassment she’s had to endure since embarking on a life of celebrity. At one point in the interview, she says:
I’m literally doing slam poetry about kids dying on the streets, and you open up the comments and section – ‘nurse, she’s out again’, ‘somebody help her, she’s crazy’ – and I’m like, ‘oh we’re all free Britney, free Britney’ until this successful, talented girl is doing real stuff and being constantly told she’s crazy, constantly being gaslighted when I’m telling you I’m fine.
In the interview, Gabbie calls out fans by bringing up the “Free Britney” movement, which was a public movement that aimed to aid in freeing Britney Spears from a legal conservatorship starting in 2008 that took away the pop star’s autonomy and financial independence, all of which was controlled by Spears’ father. Many fans feel like the comparison is apples and oranges at best, but Gabbie continued in the interview, exclaiming that she doesn’t understand why her audience thinks she’s crazy.
Why am I the crazy one, when you’re watching me living my dream?
Gabbie does open up and talk about how much she’s struggled with internet fame and growing her career, something that even the most cold-hearted can appreciate. However, it’s still evident that every time Gabbie returns to the internet, she struggles to handle even the slightest bit of trolling – something that everyone knows just fuels them to continue.