‘This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life’
Earlier this week (June 22), newly-surfaced court records revealed that Britney Spears has “expressed serious opposition” to her years-long conservatorship since as early as 2014. Now, the singer has directly addressed the court presiding over the dispute, requesting that it puts an end to the legal arrangement.
“I want to end this conservatorship without being evaluated,” Spears said, making a rare appearance in the Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday (June 23). “This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life.”
Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, first became her conservator in 2008, following her five-day admission to a psychiatric hospital. Since then, he’s maintained control over her estate and finances, career, and other aspects of her life.
Speaking to the court, she explained that she wishes to marry her current boyfriend and have a baby, but is forbidden to do so under the rules of the conservatorship. “I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out,” she said. “I feel ganged up on. I feel bullied, and I feel left out and alone.”
She also said she was forced to perform while sick with a fever, and gave emotional testimony on the mental impact of the conservatorship. “I am not happy, I can’t sleep. I’m so angry, it’s insane. And I’m depressed,” she added (as reported by the Independent). “My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship, including my management… they should be in jail.”
Spears’ conservatorship came under increased public scrutiny following the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears, which highlighted the 13-year battle when it aired in February this year. It also featured the voices of her most supportive fans, joined under the banner of the #FreeBritney movement (which appeared carrying flags, t-shirts, and cardboard cutouts of the star outside the courtroom on Wednesday).
Spears previously stated that she was “strongly opposed” to her father continuing his role as sole conservator back in August 2020, and her legal team announced a petition for Jodi Montgomery — a temporary conservator who filled in for Jamie Spears — to be named her permanent conservator in March this year.
Jamie Spears has regularly spoken out in defence of his role as her appointed conservator, and has unsuccessfully pushed back against a new ruling that requires him to share financial responsibilities with the financial company Bessemer Trust.
“He is sorry to see is daughter suffering and in so much pain,” reads a statement presented to the court, in response to her recent testimony. “Mr Spears loves his daughter very much.”