Thousands Sign Petition To Replace Confederate Statues In Louisiana With Ones Of Britney Spears

As the wave of direct action since the murder of George Floyd has continued to pick up speed, many activists have increased their calls to remove—if not outright destroy—the many monuments to the Confederacy that stand in cities and towns throughout the country.

To that end, a woman in Louisiana is trying to do more than just remove them, but rather to replace them—with statues of Louisianan pop-star Britney Spears.

All over the country, and especially in the South, protestors have been defacing or destroying statues and monuments to the Confederacy, the collection of 11 states that seceded from the United States in 1861 in opposition to President Abraham Lincoln's moves to abolish slavery, sparking the Civil War.

In Louisiana, which was part of the Confederacy, there are 32 tributes to this racist nation-within-a-nation—far fewer than many other states, but nonetheless comprising 32 public spaces that would be left with a void.

So what better way to fill them than with statues of Louisiana's very own pop princess?

The Change.org petition was created by Kassie Thibodeaux of Lafayette, Louisiana, and appeals to the state's Governor, John Bel Edwards, along with Representative Cedric Richmond and Senator Bill Cassidy to change the five Confederate monuments and statues in New Orleans to honor Britney Spears "with the tribute that she deserves."

The petition implores the elected officials to:

"Do the right thing: Replace the Confederate statues with an actual louisiana [sic] hero and influencial [sic] human being, Britney Spears."

But why Britney Spears?

She hails from the small town of Kentwood, Louisiana, just south of the state border with Mississippi, approximately 85 miles north of New Orleans. And as Thibodeaux's petition details, she has a history of charitable support of her home state, beginning in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2006.

But Thibodeaux also cites Spears's personal triumphs as well.

"Not only has Britney proven her talent, but she's proven her strength of character by not only overcoming highly publicized mental breakdown, but by continuously working towards improving herself. She's an inspiration to millions."

And on Twitter, several people were on board with the idea.

It may sound silly, but lots of people are taking this very seriously. The petition has garnered 25,805 signatures as of this writing.