Why Did Britney Spears Post About Tillamook Cheese on Instagram?

The legendary Miss Britney Spears has shredded records for decades, but what about shredding cheese?

The Princess of Pop’s enigmatic Instagram presence is somewhere between that of a shitposter and a world-class mixed-media artistâ€"her twirling dance videos fascinate anyone who’s watched Maya Deren climb stairs, but confuse nearly everyone else. But Spears, who goes by Xila Maria River Red on the Meta platform, blessed her Pacific Northwest fans with her latest cryptic post.

“When people say let’s celebrate love and freedom this year…I prefer to just fuck [shrugging woman emoji]!!!” Spears posted on Thursday, July 18, captioning a stock product photo of Tillamook Creamery’s Mexican Blend shredded cheese.

Anyone with an Oregon connection and a love of Spears’ genre-defining discography shared Spears’ post across social media sites, with both excitement and speculation about what the otherwise context-free post means.

Is she showing love to her Portland gays during what has become the city’s Pride month, skewering cheesy corporate messages and provoking homophobes by doubling down to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community’s sexual liberation? Is she making a statement about her own sexuality, with a photo of packaging that reads, “There’s no stopping this topping?” Is she following Paris Hilton and Dolly Parton with her own kitchenware line, now that her Instagram bio reads “Chef in the works”? Is she teasing the heart note of what should be her newest perfume for the lactose intolerant: Legs & Dairy Fantasy? Is she enjoying her freedom with some delicious nachos, after years of her food intake being restricted by the conservatorship, as well-documented in her 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me?

Without a direct line to Spears, as she resents media attention, it’s hard to know exactly what she means in this case. (WW was unable to leave a message with Spears’ team at Creative Artists Agency.)

But for its part, Tillamook says there are no current endorsement or sponsorship plans in the works with Spears. Tillamook did not offer its own fan theories on what the post means.

“We were just as surprised as the internet when the post went live this morning,” Austin Blythe, Tillamook’s senior PR manager, said via email. “[S]he appears to be a genuine fan of the brand and shared that post of her own volition.”