Do I feel for Britney.. Maybe. Its hard to feel for her when the public is making a big deal out of this, but virtually ignoring the plights of individuals with similar and/or bigger situations: Jessica Simpson, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson. Unlike Britney, Mariah spent a childhood in misery, plus ~6 years under the control of a megalomaniac. J-Lo stole her music and f**d over her comeback. She was sequestered for a few years. Janet similarly was under the control of powerful men: First Joe Jackson who she reported chocked her during a disagreement. (La Toya had also said he molested her and Rebbie so I wouldn't be surprised if his physical violence toward Janet was more frequent). He also tried to control the trajectory of her career. Then there was her marriage to Rene who cheated on her incessantly (c.f. What About) and physically abused her. Plus her recent marriage was reportedly similar. She reported, due to the maxims of Orthodox Islam, that she was unable to listen to music.
Do I feel bad for Britney. Yes. But I feel bad for others more. And the fact that its Britney is really the only reason people (not everyone) are on about this. People feel the need to protect her, even if there weren't a conservatorship, people would be the same because of her demeanor and how she conducts herself; similar to Michael Jackson.
+1. Plus when the Britney thing happened he was ~22 and when the Janet thing happened it was 2004 so he'd be 23-24... Should he have apologized.. Probably. Mostly to Janet. But still she was able to maintain a relatively dedicated fanbase and success. Damita Jo and 20 YO went platinum... But really the only reason he felt the need to apologize was because of people feeling bad for Britney now. People don't really understand consequences until they are like 28.
But still celebrities (Shannen Doherty) have ran over boyfriends, threatened to shoot, and other things in teens and early twenties. And I really don't think people in their early twenties should be held accountable when they are in their 40s. Plus, even if he offered an apology to the public that wasn't within a month, the fans would have the same reaction now: too little too late.