Britney Spears’s private life has been on display ever since she burst on the scene back in the late ’90s with “…Baby One More Time.” It seems that every few months, new questions arise about the conservatorship the pop icon has been under since 2008 (initially with her father, Jamie Spears, in charge), with some fans even starting a #FreeBritney campaign.
But what, exactly, does a conservatorship mean, and what does the Spears family have to say about it? Let’s break it all down.
What is a conservatorship?
According to the Judicial Branch of California’s official website, a conservatorship is “a court case where a judge appoints a responsible person or organization (called the ‘conservator’) to care for another adult (called the ‘conservatee’) who cannot care for himself or herself or manage his or her own finances.”
In February 2008, Britney Spears was put under a temporary psychiatric hold in Los Angeles, where she was treated at a UCLA facility. Following those measures, her father and an attorney were granted a temporary—then permanent (in October 2008)—conservatorship over her assets, estate, and business affairs.
The order has been in place ever since, though Jamie stepped down as a conservator in September 2019 due to “personal health reasons,” with Britney’s longtime “care manager,” Jodi Montgomery, taking his place.
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In August 2020, People obtained new court documents that show Britney is “strongly opposed” to Jamie’s returning as conservator and instead “strongly prefers” that Montgomery continue in the role. “We are now at a point where the conservatorship must be changed substantially in order to reflect the major changes in her current lifestyle and her stated wishes,” Britney’s court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, says in the filing, according to the outlet.
As of November 4, it seems Britney has filed an official motion to permanently remove her father as a co-conservator of her estate, per Us Weekly. Her lawyer reportedly requested that Bessemer Trust Company be the sole conservator moving forward.
“It is now obvious that any effort to create a viable working relationship between and among BRITNEY, BESSEMER TRUST and JAMES would be doomed to failure even without the added stress of litigating BRITNEY’S objections to the Account,” her lawyer reportedly wrote in the court document.
On November 10, a judge denied Britney’s request to remove her father from her conservatorship. “That’s the subject of another discussion down the road,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny said, according to CBS. Samuel Ingham III, Britney’s lawyer, said the singer has told him “on many occasions” she’s afraid of Jamie and doesn’t want to perform professionally while he’s in his current role.
What, exactly, is #FreeBritney?
There is a certain segment of the internet that’s become convinced Britney is sending secret messages to fans asking for help. It really gained steam back in 2019 but seems to pop back up again every few months, especially when Brit is active on social media. The gist is that fans think Britney wants out of the conservatorship, and they’ve started a movement, #FreeBritney, to support her. For a really deep dive on the movement, click here.
She even responded to fans concerned about her well-being with an Instagram post in April 2019.
What does her family say about all of this?
In July 2020, Jamie Lynn Spears shut down someone on social media who was questioning her older sister’s mental health. “You have no right to assume anything about my sister. And I have no right to speak about HER health and personal matters,” she wrote to the commenter. “She is a strong, badass, unstoppable woman, and that’s the only thing that is OBVIOUS.”
In August 2020, Jamie Spears finally spoke out about the #FreeBritney movement.
“All these conspiracy theorists don’t know anything. The world don’t have a clue,” he told Page Six. “It’s up to the court of California to decide what’s best for my daughter.
Know that (one person a judge) does NOT know what’s best and from experience will only cause huge legal fees and waste life and freedoms.
It’s no one else’s business. I have to report every nickel and dime spent to the court every year. How the hell would I steal something?”
Jamie Spears also spoke out about the aggressive behavior of some fans. “People are being stalked and targeted with death threats,” he said. “It’s horrible. We don’t want those kinds of fans. I love my daughter. I love all my kids. But this is our business. It’s private.”
A VICTIMS TOLD US:
“ASK THE VICTIMS WHO HAVE BEEN ABUSED BY THE SAME JUDGES AND LAWYERS. THE WORLD DOES HAVE A CLUE AND SPEARS IS NOT THE FIRST VICTIM OF THESE CRIMINALS WITH IMMUNITY. Stealing can take place in many forms from paying yourself to unethical legal fees. Like Spears needs to pay MILLIONS to protect herself, ask yourself that question? Ask victims how their accountings were all BS and much was stolen for no work done. But they made notes as to how much they billed so what good is that?”
In late August 2020, news came to light that Jamie Lynn Spears had been appointed trustee of Britney’s SJB Revocable Trust, which means she’s responsible for making sure Britney’s fortune is placed in a trust that will benefit her children in the event of her death. The appointment happened in 2018, according to Entertainment Tonight.
Okay, but what does Britney think of #FreeBritney?
Us Weekly reports there was a September 2 court filing, which the outlet obtained, and in it Britney’s lawyer claims that #FreeBritney is “far from a conspiracy theory” and that she welcomes the support. “Britney herself is vehemently opposed to this effort by her father to keep her legal struggle hidden away in the closet as a family secret,” her attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, said in the document (according to Us Weekly), requesting her case be open to the public.
“Far from being a conspiracy theory or a ‘joke’ as James reportedly told the media, in large part this scrutiny [on social media] is a reasonable and even predictable result of James’s aggressive use of the sealing procedure over the years to minimize the amount of meaningful information made available to the public,” Ingham continued, per Us. “Whatever merits his strategy might have had years ago when Britney was trying to restart her career, at this point in her life when she is trying to regain some measure of personal autonomy, Britney welcomes and appreciates the informed support of her many fans.”
Paris Hilton has weighed in too.
While speaking to Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, Paris Hilton shared her feelings on her friend’s conservatorship. “I saw her this summer. We’ve had dinners, I saw her in Malibu. I just love her so much,” Hilton said in the interview which went live on September 10. “I feel like if you are an adult, you should be able to live your life and not be controlled.”
Hilton continued, “I think that maybe stems from me being controlled so much, so I can understand how that would feel, and I can’t imagine right now if that was still happening to me. After just working your whole life and working so hard, she’s this icon, and I just feel like she has no control of her life whatsoever and I just don’t think that’s fair.”
Hilton did explain that she hasn’t spoken to Spears about the situation first-hand. “I don’t like bringing things up like that,” she said. “She is so sweet and so innocent and such a nice girl. We just talk about happy things. Music, fashion…fun things. I never like to bring up negative things and make people feel uncomfortable, so I’ve never talked about it with her.”
Britney Spears may be done performing for good.
According to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight, Spears is pushing back against the appointment of Andrew Wallet as co-conservator of her estate, as requested by her father. Wallet previously served in this capacity from 2008 to March 2019.
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The documents reportedly claim that Wallet is both too expensive and “uniquely unsuitable” for the role. “To this date, Britney has not resumed performing and has stated that she does not desire to do so at this time,” the docs reportedly state.
Britney’s lawyer further alleges that the change was requested by her father “an hour before the last hearing” because “Britney’s decision not to perform will require him to undertake drastic changes to her budget.”
“Apparently this frugality does not extend to the fees James pays from the conservatorship to the financial professionals with whom he surrounds himself,” the documents reportedly continue, per ET. “Apart from the fact that Mr. Wallet has been extremely expensive in the past, based on what occurred over the 11 years he served as her co-conservator, there is no reason to believe that Mr. Wallet will be able to work with Britney to explain and implement any difficult budgetary choices that must be made.”
Britney has reportedly petitioned to appoint Bessemer Trust Company of California as conservator of her estate, per ET, as she would rather “work with a corporate fiduciary who can offer both a physical office and a team of independent financial professionals rather than a single individual, hand-picked by her father, who is a complete stranger to her.”
Her father, according to additional docs obtained by ET, reportedly claims his daughter’s response to his request is “full of factual misstatements.”
How is Britney doing, according to Britney herself?
The singer said she’s doing great in an Instagram video posted on November 2.
“Hi. So I know that there have been a lot of comments and a lot of people saying a lot of different things about me, but I just want to let you guys know that I am fine,” she says in the short clip. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I’m sending all of you guys a lot of prayers, wishes and a lot of love.”
