Iran’s state news agency took a swipe at Britney Spears on Tuesday for tweeting support for those protesting the country’s morality police in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini.
The pop star tweeted Sunday, “Me & my husband stand with the people of Iran fighting for freedom.”
Spears married Iranian-American actor and model Sam Asghari in June.
In response to Spears’ message — which has been retweeted more than 25,000 times — the Islamic Republic News Agency noted that Spears was involuntarily placed under a years-long conservatorship. That arrangement ended last year.
“American singer @BritneySpears was placed under her father’s conservatorship in 2008 due to her mental health problems,” the IRNA tweet read. “That gave Britney’s father control over her finances and even her personal life aspects such as pregnancy, remarriage and visits to her teenage sons.”
The protests in Iran began in September after Amini, 22, died in state custody. The morality police, charged with enforcing the country’s laws against immodesty, arrested Amini for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.
Authorities claim Amini died from a heart attack, but her family says she was beaten by police.
Protests erupted at Amini’s funeral in her hometown, the western city of Saqqez, with women removing their head coverings in solidarity and some even burning them.
Citizens have continued to rally for freedoms and rights. The unrest has posed the biggest challenge to the government since the mass protests after the disputed 2009 presidential election.