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Being in the public eye has been both a bane and a boon for Britney Spears. On the one hand, pop stardom made the Toxic singer an easy target for unrelenting attention, specifically from the paparazzi.
On the other hand, the active #FreeBritney movement put pressure on forces that constricted her personal freedom under conservatorship. What started as an Internet hashtag turned into a full-blown social movement of concerned fans, fellow celebrities, and even politicians protesting Britney’s conservatorship. And after 13 years of being under the legal control of her father, James Spears, Britney finally gained her freedom back this year.
The publicized Spears vs Spears saga prompts a whole slew of questions — from what exactly a conservatorship is and what happened to her all those years, to how she was finally able to get out.
What Is a Conservatorship, and Why Did Britney Spears Have It?
Under usual circumstances, one would expect the 40-year-old singer to have power over her own health, career, and finances, among other things. But under a conservatorship, her ability to decide these important matters is limited. Here’s how The Judicial Branch of California defines this arrangement:
“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.”
It’s more common for the elderly to require this kind of guardianship. However, adults who are deemed physically and/or mentally unfit can also be assigned conservators who will care for them and their estate.
Guardians are typically relatives of the conservatee, but if none are available or considered responsible, then the Handbook for Conservators states that a professional fiduciary or a court agency can assume the role.
A conservatorship isn’t a lifelong setup, and conservatees can petition to terminate it. It’s up to a probate judge to decide if they are ready to transition into a guardianship-free life.
In Britney’s case, her father James Spears was her primary conservator for most of the arrangement. The Spears family, at least James and his wife Lynne, saw it as a necessary step after a turbulent 2006-2007 for their daughter. Those were the years that tabloids and news outlets followed what they dubbed ‘Britney’s Meltdown.’
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We’ve all seen the pictures. Media feasted on Britney driving with her infant son on her lap, reeling from a divorce and a custody battle with Kevin Federline, and shaving her head bald. It’s only in hindsight that these seem less a scandal and more a natural path of someone doing her best when the world was determined — delighted, even — to see her fail.
Seeking conservatorship became the family’s way of supposedly getting Britney the help she needed at the time. Here’s how that went down.
Britney’s 13 Years of Conservatorship
2008
January
Britney is hospitalized under the influence of an unidentified substance. She is then transferred to the UCLA Medical Center for an involuntary psychiatric hold under California state law.
February
While Britney undergoes a mental health evaluation, James files for and is granted temporary conservatorship over his daughter, which he shared with court-appointed lawyer Andrew Wallet. This permitted James to control Britney’s decisions and assets, including her home and finances.
James and Lynne released a joint statement justifying the arrangement. It states, “We are deeply concerned about our daughter’s safety and vulnerability, and we believe her life is presently at risk.”
October
Co-conservators James and Andrew file for several extensions to the conservatorship, which was only set to last until the end of 2008.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz approves the request, saying, “The conservatorship is necessary and appropriate for the complexity of financial and business entities and her being susceptible to undue influence.”
Britney’s court-appointed lawyer reports that the musician is on board, especially as the move could help her win custody of her sons.
November
The documentary Britney: For the Record, which touches on her personal struggles and conservatorship, premieres. She describes herself as a prisoner. Being in the conservatorship, she says, was waking up to Groundhog Day every day.
2012
April
Jason Trawick, her then-fiancé, is added as co-conservator. Unlike her father, however, his scope of control did not cover her assets. Jason was only in charge of her decisions on personal care, such as food and healthcare.
Britney continues to work through her conservatorship and rarely addresses the situation. From 2011 to 2018, she releases studio albums Femme Fatale, Britney Jean, and Glory, and goes on several global tours.
2019
January
Britney takes to Twitter to announce a hiatus from work and the cancellation of her Las Vegas show. She cites her father’s illness and hospitalization as the primary reason for taking a break.
Andrew Wallet resigns as co-conservator after nearly a decade of managing her estate.
April
Dealing with the stress of her father’s ill health, Britney checks into a mental health facility.
In the same month, the #FreeBritney movement is born. A podcast discussing the life and conservatorship of the icon plays a voicemail from an unidentified source, who claimed that Britney was being held in the psych ward against her will. Fans flocked to the West Hollywood City Hall, with Free Britney signs and cutouts in tow, clamoring for Britney’s release.
May
Britney attends an annual hearing on her conservatorship and requests to terminate it. Judge Brenda Penny orders a professional evaluation, which entails a physical and psychiatric evaluation of the conservatee.
September
Reports of James Spears’ alleged physical abuse of one of Britney’s and Kevin’s sons surface. Kevin obtains a restraining order against the kids’ grandfather. The court appoints Britney’s care manager Jodi Montgomery as conservator to temporarily replace James.
2020
August
Samuel Ingham III, Britney’s court-appointed attorney, submits a court filing of her request to make Jodi her permanent conservator. Britney’s legal counsel also requests to replace James’ role as conservator of her estate with a fiduciary.
However, Judge Penny extends the arrangement of Jodi and James as co-conservators until February 2021.
September
James requests to regain full guardianship status over the singer and her estate, alongside Andrew Wallet. Samuel files a court objection to Britney’s father sealing the details of the case.
A source reveals that Lynne Spears was getting worried over the conservatorship and how it’s straining their family. She allegedly asked James to start creating a plan for Britney to transition out of their arrangement, who disagreed with the idea that their daughter was ready to have full control of her life.
November
Samuel reveals that Britney will remain in career hiatus as long as her father controls her life. He tells the judge, “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father.”
James’ legal camp responds in defense of his “perfect record” as Britney’s conservator. “I don’t believe there is a shred of evidence to support my client’s suspension,” lawyer Vivian Lee Thoreen said of James.
Judge Penny doesn’t remove James’ power, but finally approves Britney’s request to instate Bessemer Trust as co-conservator over her estate.
I deserve to have a life. I’ve worked my whole life.
Britney, in her June 2021 conservatorship hearing.
2021
January
James files an objection over having Bessemer Trust as co-conservator, stating some of his powers have been taken away. Samuel files a document in response to this, arguing that it would not be in Britney’s best interest to reinstate James as the sole conservator of his client’s estate.
February
Britney’s boyfriend, Sam Asghari, posts a series of stories on Instagram sharing his thoughts on the conservatorship and his girlfriend’s father.
“Now it’s important for people to understand that I have zero respect for someone trying to control our relationship and constantly throwing obstacles our way. In my opinion, Jamie is a total dick, I won’t be going into details because I’ve always respected our privacy, but, at the same time, I didn’t come to this country to not be able to express my opinion and freedom.”
March
Samuel submits a court filing to remove James as Britney’s conservator and transfer the responsibility to Jodi Montgomery.
April
In a hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court, Samuel declares, “My client has requested a hearing at which she can address the court directly. My client has asked that it be done on an expedited basis.”
June
Details of the much-awaited hearing in which Britney was scheduled to speak to the judge directly are revealed. The singer gave an impassioned 23-minute speech on her “abusive” conservatorship, which not only controlled her estate and career but also the decisions she made over her body.
“I would like to progressively move forward, and I want to have the real deal. I want to be able to get married and have a baby… I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it. The control he had over someone as powerful as me — he loved the control, to hurt his own daughter, one hundred, thousand percent,” she said of her father.
Britney also admitted that she wasn’t aware she could petition to terminate the conservatorship. “I’m sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn’t know that. But honestly, I don’t think I owe anyone to be evaluated. I’ve done more than enough. I don’t feel like I should even be in a room with anyone to offend me by trying to question my capacity of intelligence, whether I need to be in this stupid conservatorship or not. I’ve done more than enough.”
Meanwhile, Vivian Thoreen spoke on behalf of her client James in a brief statement of apology.
Amid Britney’s powerful statement and the public outcry for the termination of her conservatorship, Judge Penny refuses to remove James as co-conservator.
July
Britney hires well-known Hollywood lawyer Mathew Rosengart. Soon after, she announces her intent to file abuse charges against James.
Mathew files to terminate his client’s conservatorship. At this point, Bessemer Trust no longer acted as co-conservator, so James was once again in full control of Britney’s estate. Mathew also files to replace James with CPA Jason Rubin to manage the estate.
Britney’s medical team, which included caretaker Jodi Montgomery, tells the court that James is not acting out of the musician’s best interest and needs to be removed from his role.
August
As the #FreeBritney movement gains more steam online and on the streets, James Spears finally agrees to relinquish his role in the conservatorship.
His legal team cites the highly publicized nature of the arrangement as the main reason for stepping down, and asserts that there were no real reasons for him to be suspended or removed.
September
A Los Angeles judge appoints CPA John Zabel to take over the conservator role temporarily.
November
James formally petitions to end the conservatorship. Some sources say that this was fast-tracked because of an upcoming hearing questioning how Britney’s father and conservator managed her estate all these years. Nevertheless, the request is approved by Judge Brenda Penny effective immediately.
Sam Asghari once again takes to Instagram, this time in celebration of this pivotal moment with the caption, “History was made today. Britney is Free!”
What’s Next for Britney?
Britney Spears spent more than a quarter of her life under an abusive conservatorship with her parents. For thirteen years, she had no real ability to choose the direction of her career, spend her hard-earned money, or start a new family. Thankfully, that’s all over now and fans can only wait to see what she does next — a decision that’s finally fully hers to make.
As of this year, Britney is officially retired from her music career, so it’s unlikely that she will grace us with a performance outside of short video clips on social media. She is ending 2021 a free woman, though, and that’s what matters.
She has also been vocal about wanting to have another baby, and a recent Instagram post expressed her desire for a girl this time. Hopefully, she’ll inherit her mom’s incredible strength.
