Chris Crocker is speaking out about the death threats he received after posting his "Leave Britney Alone" video in 2007.
In the viral video, the then-19 year old expressed utter sadness over the way the media and public treated Britney Spears. At the time, a tearful Chris implored, "All you people want is more, more, more, more, more—leave her alone!"
This emotional clip became a talking point for comedians and talk show hosts, mainly at the expense of Crocker.
Now, Crocker is once more back in the spotlight, but this time critics are seeing the error of their ways. As one person tweeted, "The 'Leave Britney alone' dude was right all along. History will look kindly upon him."
Looking back at society's response to the video in a Feb. 9 Instagram post, Chris said he believes the outrage was actually rooted in his gender identity and not in concern for Britney.
Chris continued, "Maybe people reaching out to tell me 'Chris, you were right' would feel good if I knew that people could unpack that the reason no one took me serious was because I was a gender-bending teenager and the reaction to me was transphobic."
He added that he faced death threats, which compounded the issues he already faced as a "gender-bending teenager" in the south.
Moreover, Chris claimed that members of the LGBTQ+ community attacked him after the video went viral. "Not just verbal, but physical attacks were made towards me at gay bars and out in the streets," he shared. "(By LGBT people who were embarrassed of me because of the way the media made fun of me. Which made them feel I gave them a bad name.)"
"This was during a pre-Drag Race time, before everyone & their mom was saying 'Yass queen!'" he stated. "It was a time of only embracing the HETERONORMATIVE people in media."
Chris concluded his statement, "I hope not only Britney gets the freedom she deserves, but that Femme queer people are not tortured in the media when showcasing humanity."
The internet personality is just one of the few public figures facing praise for their conduct during Britney's mental health crisis. Following the release of FX's The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears, social media users applauded Michael Moore and Craig Ferguson, the latter of which refused to make jokes at the pop star's expense.
He explained at the time, "Here's why: The kind of weekend she had, she was checking into rehab, she was shaving her head, getting tattoos, that's what she was doing this weekend. This Sunday, I was 15 years sober. I looked at her weekend and I looked at my own weekend, and I thought I'd rather have my weekend. But what she was going through reminded me of what I was doing. It reminds me of where I was 15 years ago when I was living like that. I'm not saying Britney Spears is an alcoholic... but she clearly needs help."
On the flip side, Diane Sawyer and Justin Timberlake are being criticized for the way they allegedly vilified Britney, particularly following her split from the boy-bander in 2002. Neither parties have addressed the calls for apologies from fans.
Meanwhile, Britney has taken to social media to seemingly communicate that she's okay, despite the drama surrounding her private life and conservatorship. She wrote on Instagram and Twitter, "I'll always love being on stage .... but I am taking the time to learn and be a normal person."