Britney Spears Wants Restrictive Conservatorship “To End”; “I Want My Life Back,” Singer Tells Court

“I would honestly like to be able to sue my family,” said Britney Spears today via telephone to a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. “After I’ve told the whole world I’m okay, it’s a lie,” the once-time Princess of Pop added to a hearing on her long time and restrictive conservatorship. “I’m not happy, I can’t sleep, I’m depressed, I cry every day.”

“It is my wish and dream for all of this to end. I want my life back,” Spears went on to say in an often hurried manner as family, lawyers and court officials listened in. “I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive … I want to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. I want to petition to end the conservatorship.”

With fevered fans outside the country venue, the much anticipated remote appearance by the “Toxic” singer was one of the few times Spears has spoken out since being placed in the comprehensive conservatorship in 2008. The move handing almost full control of the mother of two to her father Jamie Spears followed a series of public incidents and hospitalizations.

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After years of discord behind the scenes, on social media and in court, the singer’s main attorney Samuel D. Ingham III informed the court back on April 27 that his client wanted to “address the court directly.” With the spotlight intensified due to the #FreeBritiney movement that grew exponentially out of the probing Framing Britney Spears documentary that launched on Hulu and FX in February, Spears indeed did that today.

Spears passionately exclaimed at one point that her father “loved the control he had over me, 100%.”

Telling the judge that “I wish I could stay on the phone to you forever,” Spears’ statements on Wednesday were a far cry from the usual dance moves and cryptic remarks she posts on social media.

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The most public display of discontent by Spears over the past 13 years, today is not actually the first time she has sought to recalibrate her legal equation, Just a few years after the conservatorship was put in place, the multi-platinum singer pushed back in the courts against the vast control her father has over her $50 million and more fortune, her medical, personal and professional choices. According to documents cited in a New York Times investigation published yesterday, the now 39-year old Britney Spears thought the conservatorship had “too, too much” control over her life and affairs.

Despite the fact that in most circumstances, with the exception of severe cases, conservatorships often last a few months or a couple of years at most, Spears’ state has been repeatedly upheld by the courts. This situation has continued even though Spears has been putting out albums routinely and even had a very lucrative Las Vegas residency from 2013 up until she announced “an indefinite work hiatus” in 2019. That pause was in part, Spears said at the time, because of the health of her sometimes estranged father.

Jamie Spears, according to his daughter on social media at the time, “almost died” from a ruptured colon. That same year saw lawyer Andrew Wallet leave his role co-running the conservatorship and later the elder Spears relinquish oversight of his daughter’ s medical affairs, but not her finances and hence her career. Licensed fiduciary Jodi Montgomery was temporarily appointed to the conservatorship two years ago. A role that Britney’s lawyer Samuel D. Ingham III petitioned the court this March to make permanent – though today Spears herself said that “even Jodi is starting to take it too far.”

In a hearing early this year, Ingham told Judge Penny that his client is “afraid of her father” and “will not perform as long as her father is in charge of her career.” Which is why since February of this year, Jamie Spears has shared running his daughter’s cash with wealth management firm Bessemer Trust, who LASC Judge Brenda Penny put in place.

Unsurprisingly, with the mammoth interest in Spears’ appearance, there were some technical glitches in the today’s hearing. Specifically, the LASC website crashed and had to be reset after a seiche of sign-ons overwhelmed the system just before the hearing’s 1:30 PM PT scheduled start. In fact, Spears herself had issues as Judge Penny’s clerk didn’t recognize her when the singer first called in to access the hearing. Asked to identify herself, Spears hesitated and then said “oh me, Britney Spears!”

At the end of Spears’ comments, Judge Penny said to her” It was very courageous, thank you, thank you so much.”

The hearing is currently on a a short recess with Spears’ father expect to address the court from his own remote location later this afternoon.

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