After being restricted for 13 years, Britney Spears has spoken out about her conservatorship in an LA trial. The pop icon’s father was in control of her finances and personal affairs from 2008 to 2019, as part of a court-ordered guardianship which Spears has now labelled ‘abusive.’
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Britney Spears delivers passionate plea for freedom
#FreeBritney campaigners were listening intently yesterday as singer Britney Spears spoke in an open court for the first time, delivering a bombshell testimony about the realities of her conservatorship. The 39-year-old said passionately, advocating for her freedom: ‘I am not happy, I can’t sleep. I’m so angry, it’s insane. And I’m depressed.’
My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship, including my management... they should be in jail.
The star added: ‘I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don't feel like I can live a full life.’
The last time I spoke to you [the judge] … made me feel like I was dead. I am telling you again because I am not lying … so maybe you can understand the depth and the degree and the damages … I deserve changes.
In what was possibly the most jarring aspect of the confrontation, Spears revealed that her management team would not allow her to have another child:
I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I have an IUD inside of myself so that I don’t get pregnant, but [my team doesn’t] want me to have any more children.
At the end of Britney's statement, Judge Penny revealed: 'I’m sensitive to everything you’ve said ... It takes a lot of courage.' This was the same Judge that denied Britney control of her own life late last year, instead, she appointed the financial institution, Bessemer Trust, to be a co-conservator with Mr Spears. Jodi Montgomery was also assigned by the judge as a conservator to manage all of Britney's personal affairs.
Spears was forced into conservatorship by the courts back in 2008 after a public breakdown that took the front page in the press. Spears’ father, Jamie, was then put in charge of the singer’s financial and private life, where he dictated her every move. Jamie stayed as conservator until 2019, when he finally had to stand down from overseeing her personal affairs due to health reasons.
Now, Britney is campaigning to regain control of her multimillion-dollar estate, which Jamie and Bessemer Trust still oversee.
Will Britney ever perform again?
The singer hasn’t performed live since 2018, with Ingham revealing to the court in November that Britney was afraid of her father and would not perform again if he remained conservator.
Most recently, in a Q&A with her fans, Britney detailed that she was unsure if she’d ever perform again. However, earlier this week, the star was forced to reveal that she would ‘of course’ take to the stage, causing much confusion.
The statement was made after Britney’s manager Larry Rudolph said she might ‘never perform again.’ Larry has now released a statement, clarifying what he meant:
Other media sources seem to be picking up my quotes to TMZ as implying that Britney will never work again. That's not what I said. I simply said that the Vegas residency is now officially off and that she hasn't called me in months to talk about doing anything so I'm not sure if or when she will ever want to work again.
He continued: ‘It's that simple. She calls me if and when she wants to work. Other than that, I'm not involved in anything else. Not the conservatorship, not her medical treatment, not her kids. Nothing else.’
