Drag artist faces thunderous backlash over ‘disgusting af’ Britney Spears Halloween costume
Britney Spears and drag artist Joshua Vogelsong, aka Donna Slash. ((Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic and Facebook/ Joshua Vogelsong)
US drag musician Donna Slash has prompted blistering backlash after dressing up as Britney Spears during a mental health crisis for Halloween.
Joshua Vogelsong, whose drag persona is Donna Slash, posted photos of the Halloween costume to Twitter on Saturday (30 October), in which he was dressed as Spears in 2007, when she lashed out at paparazzi with an umbrella after being hounded all day during a mental health crisis.
He wrote on Twitter: “HAPPY HALLOWEEN from our unwilling yet resilient queen of mental health visibility, 2007 Britney Spears! May she finally be free!”
PinkNews has not shared the photos due to their offensive nature.
Vogelsong immediately received a massive amount of backlash, with followers trying to explain why the “costume” was incredibly offensive.
TikTok creator Ceddy Lopez said: “This is the moment when the world came crashing down on her and she was at the lowest point in her life yet you saw the need to bring this up and for what?
“Disgusting AF. Even the creators of her Netflix documentary deliberately left this moment out.”
This is the moment when the world came crashing down on her and she was at the lowest point in her life yet you saw the need to bring this up and for what? Disgusting af. Even the creators of her Netflix documentary deliberately left this moment out.
— Ceddy (@CeddyOrNot) October 30, 2021
Another Twitter user said: “Wow, are we really still living in 2007?
“If you really were a fan and understood her situation with empathy then you would respect the fact that she herself that she is tired of the public bringing this part of her life up.
“So much Britney you can dress up as and you chose this.”
Not cool. This is how you do Britney at Halloween☺️😊 pic.twitter.com/xbtLyhMMfG— Chrissssy J🌹🚀 (@mrcjbrowneyes87) October 30, 2021
Vogelsong, however, dug his heels in and insisted that it was during a public mental health crisis that Spears was “most relatable and real”, and added: “This should go without saying but f**k all y’all. This is when she was most relatable and the most real.
“I don’t give a f**k if you don’t like it. Happy Halloween, bitches!”
It’s not that “we don’t like it”. It’s that it’s in really bad taste. At the core of it – you are poking fun at a person’s mental health issues. Personal issues which the person struggled with. Which people close to her weaponised in order to exploit her for personal gain.— Greg Owen (@Greg0wen) October 30, 2021
Vogelsong eventually deleted the tweets two days later, before deleting the entire Donna Slash Twitter account. However, he took the conversation over to Facebook.
He updated his status: “Whew boy, if y’all want some entertainment go check out my Twitter account. The bald Britney pics are NOT going over well and it’s reaching Pizzagate-level insanity.”
The drag musician added in comments: “There’s all this fake outrage. Like I’m not even the only person to do that costume THIS YEAR, let alone every other year.
“It’s such an established go-to quick costume. The Free Britney movement is just mean gays with a fake sense of purpose.”
PinkNews has contacted Vogelsong for comment.
