‘My first immediate thought was she should have worn sunblock’: Britney Spears’ pole dancing clip draws bemused reactions

Britney Spears has raised eyebrows with a new social media post in which the singer can be seen pole dancing on a new installation for the “first time.” Taking to Instagram, Spears shared a video of herself making use of the pole as Nine Inch Nails’ sultry 1994 track “Closer” plays in the background. “Got this pole two days ago,” the popstar wrote in the accompanying caption, “last night was my first time on it.”

It’s an impressive effort for the first-timer, especially given the notoriously challenging nature of pole dancing in itself, but some fans have taken Spears’ post as more evidence that the singer is “going through it.” Commenting on the reddish color of Spears’ skin in the video, one Twitter user wrote that their first thought was that Spears “should have worn sunblock,” while another “pray[ed] for her to regain her senses.”

As with much of Spears’ social media activity in the years since the end of her conservatorship, the post was not without its fair share of supporters, too. One called for fans to simply let Spears “live her life,” with a fellow supporter declaring that the singer “is in incredible shape.”

In any case, it’s not the first time audiences have seen Spears dance alongside a pole. In 2007, the singer donned a fedora and shimmied against a pole as part of the music video for her Blackout single “Gimme More.” Later, she took to the stage alongside Rihanna at the Billboard Music Awards for a duet of the latter’s song “S&M,” with both singers making use of an on-stage pole prop. 

It marks the most recent social media post to attract attention among Spears’ fans, with the singer previously causing a stir after uploading a video in which she seemingly spoke in multiple accents. Regardless of the chatter it inspires, Spears shows no signs of halting the Instagram dance train, uploading a twirl-friendly video to Instagram earlier this month.