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As reaction continue to pour in following the new documentary "Framing Britney Spears," the singer says she's trying to be a "normal person." USA TODAY

Jessica Simpson can't watch it. Jennifer Love Hewitt said it "hurt my heart." Paris Hilton suggested it clarified her own mistreatment. Drew Barrymore said it was familiar when the world thought her crazy, she was stripped of autonomy, too.

"Framing Britney Spears,"a New York Times documentary that examines the pop star's court battle to regain control of her life, was released in February but many female celebrities are still publicly talking about it. "Framing Britney" not only exposed the media's mistreatment of Spears, but also the toxic culture for all high-profile womenin the late 90s and 2000s.

The documentary is part of the trend of content revisiting big stories from the past with women at the center ("I, Tonya," "Truth and Lies," "The Price of Gold," "The Clinton Affair"). Many of those women are now speaking about the misogyny they faced and the sexism they internalized. Hewitt said she was "hopeful" things were changing. Are they?

"In some ways, absolutely it's better. In other ways, it's perhaps worse," said journalist Allison Yarrow, author of "90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality.

Analysis: 'Framing Britney' exposes a problem bigger than Britney

Experts in media, gender and pop culture say there is acknowledgment that many women who dominated the spotlight a couple of decades ago were far more dimensional than the media wanted us to believe. There's recognition now that there are certain questions which are inappropriate to ask, including whether someone is a virgin a question Spears, Simpson and other teen stars repeatedly faced. It's no longer acceptable to remark on the size of a woman's breasts in an interview, at least not without the Internet erupting in outrage.

Jessica Simpson said she won't watch the Spears' documentary because she "lived it."(Photo: Getty Images)

But female celebrities are still on the front lines of the nation's culture wars, balancing their own aspirations with their audience's desires and society's expectations. They are trying to navigate success in a culture that still demands access to their bodies and in many cases their private lives. Grammy Award winning singer Billie Eilish is known for wearing loose-fitting clothes to avoid sexualization and scrutiny, and people's preoccupation with her style shows what an anomaly she is.

Experts say there is also far more demand for content now than decades ago, making celebrities more vulnerable. While a rise in social media means public figures no longer need to be mediated through traditional mainstream news outlets, newer platforms come with their own perils: audiences feel an even greater entitlement to access and women become easier targets for online abuse. Last week, Chrissy Teigen left Twitter, saying "This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively."

While we debate past culpability, experts say we cannot ignore how the public continues to treat high-profile women in the present.

More: Britney Spears doc reminds Jennifer Love Hewitt of 'gross' interview questions she faced

"In each case, the shameless shaming that was aimed at these women when their stories were breaking is being retroactively revisited, rethought, and reframed with new insights that came from #MeToo, anti-bullying campaigns, and a general I hope increase in enlightenment about gender in America," said Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. "Although some of the discussions that have been catalyzed by 'Framing Britney Spears' invite a sense of optimism, I'm not quite so sanguine about the countless other cases that don't get to be argued on Hulu."

Much of what makes people gasp at the Spears documentary are the media questions she fielded: Ed McMahon asking a 10-year old Spears after a stunning performance on Star Search, "do you have a boyfriend?"Diane Sawyer askingSpears to react to the First Lady of Maryland wanting to "shoot her" for being a bad influence on her daughters.

Hewitt said it took her years to understand that the questions she was expected to answer, especially about her body, were wrong.

"For some reason, in my brain, I was able to just go, 'OK, well, I guess they wouldnt be asking if it was inappropriate," she said in an interview with Vulture. "Now that Im older, I think, 'Gosh, I wish that I had known ... so I could have defended myself somehow or just not answered those questions.' I laughed it off a lot of the time, and I wish maybe I hadnt."

For years, the mistreatment of Spears and her peers was invisible. Experts say these questions were completely normal at the time. No one thought otherwise not the interviewers, not the audience and as Hewitt demonstrates, sometimes not even the women themselves.

"People look back and they want to sort of point fingers and blame, acting as though they would have known better at the time, which they wouldn't have, because it was the time. Those were the types of questions that were asked," said Kristin Lieb, author of "Gender, Branding, and The Modern Music Industry: The Social Construction of Female Popular Music Stars." "Are they horrifying? Absolutely. Did most of us recognize them as horrifying? Some did and some didn't. Now we're much better at knowing where those lines are."

When Spears rose to fame, the mainstream media was far more powerful in shaping public narratives. There were fewer options for celebritiesto create alternatives.

Now, most celebrities and public figures have millions of followers on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, platforms which allow them to tell their stories in unadulterated ways or, at the very least, better control their messages.

"Monica Lewinsky ...can speak directly to more people now than the magazines and newspapers who pilloried her in the '90s," Yarrow said. "There is something better about the ability of women in public to speak directly to their audiences and to their fans."

At the same time, a 2017 reportfrom the Pew Research Center found women are about twice as likely as men to say they have been targeted online as a result of their gender.

Lieb said there is now more intense pressure for female celebrities to overshare in order to compete and satisfy audiences. A pop star, for example, who doesn't share as much of their life may receive less coverage "for not wishing to overextend themselves in increasingly personal ways."

When a female celebrity chooses to share the most intimate parts of herself, she also risks punishment. When Teigensuffered pregnancy loss earlier this year, she posted a picture of herself in the hospital in the throes of grief. Some social media users accused her of exploiting her own pain.

Chrissy Teigen on the red carpet during the 89th Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre.(Photo: Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY NETWORK)

Experts say part of the public's entitlement extends to women's bodies. Hyper-sexualization was a feature of the '90s, and continues to persist.

Simpson, who was frequently body shamed at the height of her fame, said in an interview with People magazine she "spent so many years beating myself up for an unrealistic body standard that made me feel like a failure all of the time. ... I don't think people always realized that there was a human being, a beating heart and working eyes with actual feelings behind those headlines and that words can hurt and stay with you for a lifetime."

Experts say it's a useful cultural exercise to think critically about the ways in which the public let many female celebrities down. But these reflections are just the start.

Yarrow said much of the conversation has focused on the mistreatment of white women and needs to expand to include women of color. After the Spears documentary, attention was paid to Justin Timberlake's past behavior toward Spears, but Janet Jackson fans also saidhe owed her an apology after their infamous Super Bowl halftime show performance in 2004. He eventually apologized to them both.

"The Britney Spears documentary opens up a conversation for the way that women were treated in the '90s, for conversations about fixating on body image and little else. And it is exciting to hear these other folks who experienced the same treatment speaking about it publicly. But it's only really the beginning," Yarrow said.

Yarrow cautions women who feel complicit in these stars' mistreatment against blamingthemselves. It's much bigger, she said, than any one interviewer, comedian, fan or troll.

"Let's look at some of the structural misogyny and racism that allowed women to be covered in the news media in this way," she said, "that allows them to still be covered in the news media in this way, and that has produced this next stage of public identity in social media that allows women to continue to be harassed and abused."

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Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, and why women of the '90s are still being triggered by Britney Spears - USA TODAY

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated Egypts Gypto Pharma City, the largest pharmaceutical city in the Middle East.

Gypto Pharma, also known as Medicine City, has been set up to produce safe and effective medicines at reasonable prices, and will manufacture coronavirus remedies and drugs for chronic diseases. Production of some vitamins will also be given priority.

The new city in Al-Khankah aims to increase cooperation between the state and the private sector in order to transform Egypt into a regional center for the pharmaceutical industry in the Middle East.

Gypto Pharma uses the latest technologies and automated machines to ensure production is of the highest quality.

Devices are self-cleaning so that the production process can continue without interruption.

President El-Sisi stressed the necessity of the city to produce high quality products, starting with the packaging.

The medicine package produced by the new city must be distinct so that the citys mark on its products cannot be tampered with, he added.

We started thinking about this project almost seven years ago.

It took a lot of time to create the most efficient factories using scientific methods so that the medicines produced in the city follow the European standards or the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the president said.

The medicine city on an area of 180,000 square meters is the largest of its kind in the Middle East

It is set to become a regional center that attracts major international pharmaceutical companies.

We must have the ability to produce medicine at the highest levels. The antibiotic produced in the medicine city will be as efficient as its counterparts in the most prestigious countries in the world, El-Sisi added.

Presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said that Egypt produces 97 percent of its medicine needs.

Rady said that the city is a huge national project that aims to produce medicines scientifically in accordance with WHO standards.

The project comes in line with the series of initiatives in the field of health and medical care. The aim is to provide medicines to citizens at the highest possible level with upgraded facilities.

Rady added that medicine production is among one of the most important national projects that the state implemented to possess modern technological and industrial capacity in the field.

The project allows citizens to obtain high-quality and safe treatments, preventing any monopoliztic practices and controlling drug prices. It boosts the efforts undertaken by the state in the field of various medical and health initiatives.

He stated that the project places Egypt in the ranks of the countries producing medicine at the highest level.

The city works according to the latest and most accurate operating standards.

It applies the highest international quality standards, with a focus on human resources especially a young workforce capable of dealing with modern technology.

The city includes a regional center for manufacturing medicine in cooperation with foreign companies, and has plans to export to African, foreign and Arab countries. This is in addition to research and development laboratories.

The second phase will include entering into the field of specialized medicines, such as cancer treatments, to be offered at affordable prices to Egyptian citizens.

The city will include 160 lines to manufacture 150 types of medicines.

The first phase will also include manufacturing 150 million packages of medicine annually.

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EU chiefs to see Erdogan in Turkey next week - Arab News

ANKARA: The Turkish government faced a tough challenge over the weekend after a video of Kursat Ayvatoglu, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), was publicized on social media where he was seen snorting what is believed to be cocaine in a luxury car.

The news coincided with more than 400 kilograms of heroin being seized in south-eastern Turkey and more than 3.8 tons of marijuana seized in the countrys north-west in separate operations.

Although Ayvatoglu initially defended himself against drug charges by claiming he was just snorting powdered sugar that looks like cocaine as a joke, he later admitted in an official letter that he was a drug user and dealer.

Ayvatoglus cocaine use along with his ultra-luxurious lifestyle, that goes against the Islamist values that are promoted by the AKP, drew anger from every segment of the society, except for the AKP voters.

Several photos showed Ayvatoglu, in his 20s, using drugs, gambling, taking bubble baths, driving luxury cars that are not affordable with a parliamentary staff salary and consuming alcohol a lifestyle often criticized and sometimes criminalized by the AKP.

He was detained on March 26 and dismissed from his post at the AKP. Ayvatoglu is known as the adviser to AKP vice-chairman Hamza Dag with several photos showing him closely assisting the lawmaker in meetings and keeping an eye on him at all times, although Dag rejects the claims.

The employment contract of the person in question who has been working as bureau personnel at the headquarters for almost one year, has been ended, Dag announced in a tweet on Friday.

Ayvatoglu, who was employed there for about 3,000 Turkish liras ($370) per month, said in his press statement that he stood on the side of prominent politicians from the AKP in order to get strength and open new doors for him.

Several photos of Ayvatoglu with Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as other figures of the government also sparked widespread outrage.

They want to politicize the issue, Soylu said in reaction to the allegations of corruption.

After being released on condition of judicial control the day after, he was again arrested on March 28 after harsh criticisms on social media and the testimonies of other individuals who were in the same car and who confirmed he was using cocaine.

Im the victim here. I was blackmailed. Ill file a complaint against this, he said, adding that those who leaked the video were trying to get some money in exchange for deleting the footage.

Opposition lawmaker and a lawyer by profession Haluk Peksen submitted an inquiry to the investigative prosecutor about the origins of Ayvatoglus wealth.

Why was a forensic medicine examination not conducted? Why isnt there a single questioning about corrupt assets? What is the source of his wealth? Did he provide someone else powdered sugar as well? Are there any more powdered sugar stockpiles?, he asked.

The legislation requires the chief prosecutor to examine the assets of the suspects without getting permission. However, there is still no public declaration about whether this examination will be conducted.

In contrast, last week, a court sentenced Turkish rapper Burry Soprano to four years and two months in prison for inciting drug use in his song lyrics and video clips. In May 2018, another famous rapper named Ezhel was also arrested on the same charges. He was acquitted in his first hearing in June 2018.

Ayvatoglus case exposed a much deeper youth profile in Turkish politics, especially those who appear to be affiliated with the government.

Powdered sugar has become a symbol of a problematic human profile that has emerged in the last 20 years in Turkey and has spread especially among the youth. Even if they do not believe in the AKPs ideas, ideology or lifestyle, they always side with them. They talk about conservatism, nationalism, the Ottoman period, and they make Rabia salute of the Muslim Brotherhood in their social media posts, Deniz Zeyrek, a dissident journalist, wrote in his column at Sozcu newspaper.

They are labeling those who criticize the government, who talk about the injustice and double-standard practices of being a traitor or immoral. But they are doing their job in the background too and they are benefitting from all the blessings of power. They are getting rich. If they are in trouble, they take shelter in the shadow of the leader, the party. If necessary, they lie without hesitation or even hit the bottom of demagoguery.

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Drugs and corruption scandal rocks Erdogan's ruling party - Arab News

Nairobi, Kenya Sarah Obama, the matriarch of former President Obama's Kenyan family has died, relatives and officials confirmed Monday. She was at least 99 years old.

Mama Sarah, as Mr. Obama's step-grandmother was fondly called, promoted education for girls and orphans in her rural Kogelo village. She passed away around 4 a.m. local time while being treated at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital in Kisumu, Kenya's third-largest city, according to her daughter, Marsat Onyango.

"She died this morning. We are devastated," Onyango told The Associated Press on a phone call.

"Mama was sick with normal diseases. She did not die of COVID-19," family spokesman Sheik Musa Ismail said, adding that she had tested negative for the disease. He said she had been ill for a week before being taken to the hospital.

Mr. Obama was informed of the death and sent his condolences, Ismail said.

She will be buried Tuesday before midday and the funeral will be held under Islamic rites.

"The passing away of Mama Sarah is a big blow to our nation. We've lost a strong, virtuous woman, a matriarch who held together the Obama family and was an icon of family values," President Uhuru Kenyatta said.

She will be remembered for her work to promote education to empower orphans, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o said while offering his condolences to the people of Kogelo village for losing a matriarch.

"She was a philanthropist who mobilized funds to pay school fees for the orphans," he said.

Sarah Obama was the second wife of President Obama's grandfather and helped raise his father, Barack Obama, Sr. The family is part of Kenya's Luo ethnic group.

President Obama often showed affection toward her and referred to her as "Granny" in his memoir, "Dreams from My Father." He described meeting her during his 1988 trip to his father's homeland and their initial awkwardness as they struggled to communicate, but said they developed a warm bond. She attended his first inauguration as president in 2009. Later, Mr. Obama spoke about his grandmother again in his September 2014 speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

"My family and I are mourning the loss of our beloved grandmother, Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama, affectionately known to many as "Mama Sarah" but known to us as "Dani" or Granny," the former president said in a statement Monday.

His statement continued:

"Although not his birth mother, Granny would raise my father as her own, and it was in part thanks to her love and encouragement that he was able to defy the odds and do well enough in school to get a scholarship to attend an American university. When our family had difficulties, her homestead was a refuge for her children and grandchildren, and her presence was a constant, stabilizing force. When I first traveled to Kenya to learn more about my heritage and father, who had passed away by then, it was Granny who served as a bridge to the past, and it was her stories that helped fill a void in my heart. ...

"We will miss her dearly, but celebrate with gratitude her long and remarkable life."

For decades, Sarah Obama helped orphans, raising some in her home. The Mama Sara Obama Foundation helped provide food and education to children who lost their parents - providing school supplies, uniforms, basic medical needs, and school fees.

In a 2014 interview with the AP, she said that even as an adult, letters would arrive but she couldn't read them. She said she didn't want her children to be illiterate, so she saw to it that all her family's children went to school.

She recalled pedaling the president's father six miles to school on the back of her bicycle every day from the family's home village of Kogelo to the bigger town of Ngiya to make sure he got the education that she never had.

"I love education," Sarah Obama said, because children "learn they can be self-sufficient," especially girls who too often had no opportunity to go to school.

"If a woman gets an education she will not only educate her family but educate the entire village," she said.

In recognition of her work to support education, she was honored by the United Nations in 2014, receiving the inaugural Women's Entrepreneurship Day Education Pioneer Award.

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Sarah Obama, matriarch of Obama family branch in Kenya ...

March 29 (UPI) -- Sarah Obama, the step-grandmother of former President Barack Obama, died in Kenya on Monday. She was 99.

The Standard newspaper in Kenya reported that Obama died while undergoing treatment at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu. Relatives did not disclose the cause of death.

Kisumu is about 170 miles northwest of the capital Nairobi.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta acknowledged her death in a statement.

"The passing away of Mama Sarah is a big blow to our nation," he said. "We've lost a strong, virtuous woman. A matriarch who held together the Obama family and was an icon of family values."

The second wife of the former president's paternal grandfather, Hussein Obama, Sarah Obama helped raise Barack Obama Sr., the father to the 44th U.S. president.

In his memoir Dreams From My Father, President Obama referred to his step grandmother as "granny." She was also known to friends as "Mama Sarah."

The former president first met Sarah Obama during a trip to Kenya in 1988 and had to communicate through interpreters, as she only spoke Luo. Two decades later, she would attend his first inauguration in 2009.

"My family and I are mourning the loss of our beloved grandmother, Sarah Ogwel Onyango Obama, affectionately known to many as 'Mama Sarah' but known to us as 'Dani' or 'Granny,'" the former president tweeted Monday, with a photo of the two during the 1988 trip.

"We will miss her dearly, but we'll celebrate with gratitude her long and remarkable life."

Kenyatta said Sarah Obama will be remembered for her philanthropic work, especially in her hometown village of Nyang'oma-Kogelo in Siaya County.

Sarah Obama founded The Mama Sarah Obama Foundation to help educate children in her native Kenya. For her efforts, she received the inaugural Women's Entrepreneurship Day Education Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2014.

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Sarah Obama, step-grandmother to former President Barack ...