Newly obtained court records reveal that the singer has requested changes to her conservatorship since as early as 2014
Last February, fans showed growing concern for Britney Spears’ wellbeing after The New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears revealed details of the singer’s 13-year conservatorship battle with her father. Despite the fan-launched #FreeBritney movement, which seeks to end the legal arrangement, Spears has remained primarily silent on the subject.
Now, court records newly obtained by The New York Times reveal that Spears has "expressed serious opposition" to her conservatorship since 2014 at the earliest. According to a 2016 report from a court investigator assigned to the case, Spears “articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her.”
The singer also noted that the system had “too much control,” telling the investigator that she wanted the conservatorship to be terminated immediately. “She is ‘sick of being taken advantage of’ and she said she is the one working and earning her money but everyone around her is on her payroll,” said the investigator. In a 2019 court, Spears stated that she felt the conservatorship forced her to “stay at a mental health facility and to perform against her will.”
Otherwise, the court records reveal that in a 2014 private hearing, the singer’s court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, said Spears wanted to remove her father from her conservatorship due to his drinking and a ‘shopping list’ of other issues.
The 39-year-old singer’s conservatorship began in 2008, after Spears involuntarily spent five days in a psychiatric hospital due to her alleged breakdown. Since then, the singer has asked multiple times for the removal of her father, Jamie Spears, as her primary conservator – requesting that temporary conservator Jodi Montgomery take on a permanent role.
Following the release of Framing Britney Spears, the singer explained in an Instagram post that she had not watched the entire film, but was “embarrassed by the light they put me in.” Continuing, she said: “I cried for two weeks and well… I still cry sometimes!!!!” In another Instagram post, Spears spoke out about her media attention, stating, “These documentaries are so hypocritical… they criticise the media and then do the same thing.”
Otherwise, in a fan Q&A on Instagram, Spears stated that she was “extremely happy.” “I have a beautiful home, beautiful children. I’m taking a break right now because I’m enjoying myself.”
Today (June 23) – for the first time in her 13-year conservatorship battle – Spears will speak directly to the Los Angeles court handling her case. Although the personal address was expedited due to requests from the singer, her intentions for the testimony remain unclear.