Britney Spears Asks Judge to Terminate Her Conservatorship
The singer has been under her father's conservatorship since 2007.
After 14 years living under a conservatorship, Britney Spears has finally had her day in court.
While speaking virtually in an open court hearing, the singer spoke candidly about several of the claims made about her mental health, as well as how her father Jamie Spears has abused his position as her conservator. While many reports from her lawyers and other sources have assured the public that Britney does not want to end her conservatorship, but rather replace her father in that role, in her statement, the singer told the judge that she would like to petition the court to terminate the conservatorship for good.
The hearing was open to the public through an audio stream, however, an influx of fan interest caused technical difficulties which led to delays in the start time. After the proceedings got underway, the "Toxic" singer began her testimony by disputing claims she was suffering from dementia. She also called out her family, saying that they did nothing to stop the abuse and that she wants to sue them.
According to Britney, under her father's conservatorship, she was sexually trafficked, her medication was switched with lithium, she was forced to get an IUD implanted in her body, and she is not allowed to get married or have more children despite her desire to do so.
She continued by accusing Jodi Montgomery, her co-conservator whom Britney had asked the court back in March to replace Jamie as her sole conservator, of "starting to take it too far."
The 39-year-old also claimed she wasn't aware a conservatorship could be terminated, and that her inability to select her own attorney has denied her the opportunity to find a lawyer that she feels is trying to help her. Because of the nature of her conservatorship, Jamie controls both his daughter's person and her finances, meaning that her lawyer, Sam Ingham III, is paid by Jamie on Britney's behalf.
When Judge Penny began explaining the process of a conservatorship termination to Ingham, he stated that he didn't necessarily agree with his client's assessment of his representation. However, he offered to step down should the court decide it was necessary.
When Jamie's turn to address the court arrived, his attorney Vivian Thoreen returned these claims with a simple statement on her client's behalf that he "loves his daughter and misses her very much.”
Before the audio stream to the hearing was shut down because of unauthorized live streaming, the judge admonished Britney's conservators for not listening to her and urged them to adopt a proper "care plan" for the singer. However, she explained that she cannot move forward with ending the conservatorship until a petition to terminate is submitted to the court.
Earlier this year, public awareness about the state of the singer's conservatorship reached a new high after the release of the Hulu documentary Framing Britney Spears. The project took a retrospective lens at the misogyny and mistreatment the pop star has received throughout her career by both the media and those in her personal life. By chronicling this intense scrutiny, the documentary carefully unfolds the events that led to her father being assigned to the role of her conservator and the rise of the #FreeBritney movement, a digital campaign of fans who have been calling attention to Jamie's authoritative control over his daughter, her career, and her estate.
While Britney had not spoken publicly about the conservatorship for years, new documents obtained by the New York Times reveal that Britney expressed concerns over her father's control back in 2014, specifically referencing his drinking and a "shopping list" of other issues.
More documentation showed that, when speaking to a court-appointed investigator, Britney said she was "sick of being taken advantage of," before adding that she was “the one working and earning her money but everyone around her is on her payroll.”
