BBC Three slammed for 'distasteful' tweet mocking Britney Spears’ breakdown

The broadcaster made an apparent reference to Spears shaving her head in a salon in 2007
'Disgusting': Britney Spears' fans came to her defence
Kevin Winter/Getty
Emma Powell3 April 2017
The Weekender

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BBC Three has come under fire after it mocked Britney Spears’ meltdown in an April Fool’s Day tweet.

The online channel tweeted a picture of Ed Sheeran seemingly shaving off all his hair in an apparent reference to Spears shaving her head in a salon in 2007.

The post – which has since been deleted – was captioned: “BREAKING NEWS.

“Ed Sheeran has gone full 2007 Britney.”

People were quick to slam the “distasteful” post, with some accusing the broadcaster of making a mockery of mental health issues despite vowing to focus on tackling the stigma surrounding mental health in 2017.

One user tweeted: “There's nothing funny about Britney suffering from mental health issues & people taking the p*** out of her.”

Another posted: “You don't care about MH. You're a bunch of fakes tbh. Exhibit A.”

A spokesperson for the site apologised for any offence caused and explained that the intention was not to reference mental health.

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In a statement to Mail Online they said: “BBC Three has a history of supporting mental health issues and the tweet was not intended as a reference to mental health, or designed to cause any offence.

“We have therefore removed it from our twitter feed.”

Spears went through a highly-publicised public meltdown in 2007. Her three-year marriage to Kevin Federline ended in a divorce, and she went on to lose custody of her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James. She later shaved off her hair at Esther's Haircutting Studio and attacked a paparazzo's car with a green umbrella.

The Pop Princess is currently performing her Piece Of Me residency in Las Vegas.

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