The taste of freedom seems extremely delightful and delicious, especially when provided to someone trapped in conservatorship for more than a decade. Evidently, Britney Spears is an example of that freedom. Speaking of which, she has grown into an unrestrained woman now. The American pop star and songwriter submitted herself into conservatorship with her father, Jamie Spears, 69, in February 2008, after seemingly going through a series of erratic behaviour and mental health breakdowns. What many may ask is what exactly the definition of conservatorship is? Well, it is a practice where a judge appoints an individual or a well-known organization to take responsibility for an adult who is considered too debilitated to take charge of themselves or to even handle their own finances. As far as Britney’s case is concerned, she is regarded as the “conservatee” while her father is deemed to be the “conservator.”
This implementation of legal guardianship led her father, James Spears, to exercise complete control over her personal life, career, and medical decisions for the last 13 years. After having fought the battle for a long time, a judge in Los Angeles finally came down in favor of Ms. Spears for the termination of the conservatorship on November 12, 2021. Marking the day of its successful outcome, let us throw some light on a plethora of major happenings in Britney’s conservatorship over the last decade.
It all began when Britney indulged in some infamous events – including shaving her head and striking down a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella, after which she was twice sent under the care of a psychiatric hospital. Eventually, Jamie Spears filed a petition in the Los Angeles County Superior Court for an emergency “temporary conservatorship” over his then-struggling daughter. Needless to mention, the conservatorship was prolonged in view of the foreseeable future.
Her father was held as the authoritative figure with reference to the “Womanizer” singer’s fortune and good health, while her co-conservator and attorney, Andrew Wallet, was appointed with the task of supervising and managing her monetary capital. In December 2008, Spears made her powerful comeback with the release of her celebrated song album, ‘Circus’.
Witnessing her thrive so well, her fans introduced the famous movement #FreeBritneySpears in 2009. The said effort surely served as an important milestone in Britney’s conservatorship. Fans took to the streets to protest against the injustice faced by the singer, along with several banners and posters. They questioned the need for and validity of the legal guardianship taken up by Mr. Spears. With the pressure coming from the public, Jason Trawick was approved to be the co-conservator by the law. He was Ms. Spears’ then-fiancé and also her former talent agent.
However, it was only in late 2019 when Jamie Spears was allegedly accused of physically assaulting his 14-year-old grandson, Sean. Consequently, he was forced to step down as Britney Spears’ conservator for a momentary period of time. Meanwhile, Britney’s care manager, Jodi Montgomery, was appointed to take over the role. Following the assault, severe levels of tension stirred up in the family household. In 2021, Britney Spears’ documentary was debuted ensuing the rising up of the #FreeBritney movement and hence gaining lime light yet again.
After the release of her controversial film, she made her first public statement before the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she delivered a very emotional and powerful speech on how controlling her father is. She urged the 13-year-long conservatorship to end and said she wanted her life back. After the singer’s intense testimony, it was decided by the law that she be allowed to pick her own attorney.
On February 5, 2021, the documentary that surfaced online was titled ‘Framing Britney Spears’. This move certainly took the world by storm and garnered a lot of support from her fans. Shocking details in relation to the dysfunctional relationship between Mr. Spears and his daughter and his ill-reputed dominating aspect were revealed. She went on to describe the conservatorship under her father as ‘abusive’ and ‘toxic’.
After enduring the fight for freedom for quite a number of years, in September 2021, the news finally reached our ears that Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has finally been suspended from his position as the controller of the ‘Piece of Me’ singer’s personal life and financial assets. A five-month-long legal battle trailed, which witnessed Spears openly claiming to put an end to the conservatorship. It was during this period of time that she went on to hire a firm of lawyers for the same, and it eventually led to her father stepping down as the controller, thus ending her legal battle for freedom.
Written by- MiloniChheda
Edited by- Riya Khetan