Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has acknowledged it’s time to #FreeBritney.
According to NBC News, Jamie Spears has formally asked the Los Angeles Superior Court to end his daughter’s 13-year-long conservatorship. In a filing on Tuesday, Jamie said his 39-year-old daughter “is entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required.”
“Ms. Spears has told this Court that she wants control of her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship,” the filing noted. “She wants to be able to make decisions regarding her own medical care, deciding when, where and how often to get therapy. She wants to control the money she has made from her career and spend it without supervision or oversight. She wants to be able to get married and have a baby, if she so chooses. In short, she wants to live her life as she chooses without the constraints of a conservator or court proceeding
Related Video
“As Mr. Spears has said again and again, all he wants is what is best for his daughter,” the filing added. “If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance.”
In August, Jamie announced that he would be stepping down as his daughter’s conservator, and intended “to work with the Court and his daughter’s new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator.” Today’s filling, however, asks the court to end the conservatorship outright. Britney’s next hearing is set for September 29th, at which time Judge Brenda Penny is expected to rule on the future of the conservatorship.
Today’s filing is the stunning culmination of a legal battle that has persisted for years — mostly in secret. Britney’s conservatorship was first put in place in 2008, following a series of mental health issues and public breakdowns. For years, Britney hinted at her displeasure over the conservatorship through legal filings and cryptic social media posts, prompting fans to launch the #FreeBritney movement.
Finally, in June 2021, Britney went public in a bombshell court appearance during which she described the conservatorship as “abusive” and said her father should be investigated. She spoke about being barred from marriage and forced to continue using an IUD despite her desire to have more children. She also said she’d been put on lithium against her wishes.
Britney’s testimony had immediate and immense ramifications. Within a week, her court-appointed attorney, her manager, and her co-conservator all resigned from their posts. For the first time in 13 years, she was allowed to hire her own legal representation, who immediately took steps to end the conservatorship. Even Congress became involved, introducing a conservatorship reform bill inspired by Britney’s plight.
When Jamie Spears first announced his intention to step down as conservator, Britney new attorney, Mathew Rosengart, stressed that Jamie’s decision would not impact his “vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr. Spears, and others, over the past 13 years, while he reaped millions of dollars from his daughter’s estate, and I look forward to taking Mr. Spears’s sworn deposition in the near future.”
Last week, Rosengart filed a supplemental petition to immediately suspend and remove Jamie as the head of her conservatorship, accusing him of attempting to extort his daughter into paying $2 million in fees to third parties including his attorneys.
