Chris Crocker posted the original 'Leave Britney Alone!' video to YouTube in September 2007, responding to the backlash against Britney Spears after her performance at that year's MTV Video Music Awards. The emotional, unscripted rant spread rapidly across YouTube, blogs and television, spawning parodies, remixes and news coverage that made Crocker one of the internet's first viral stars. Nearly two decades later, the plea survives as shorthand for exaggerated fandom, used whenever online criticism of a celebrity feels relentless or out of proportion.