For the second time in less than a month, Britney Spears spoke out in court, doubling down on allegations against her father, Jamie Spears, and reportedly asserting that she wishes to charge him with conservatorship abuse.
"I don't need to be investigated,” said the singer, who joined the Los Angeles hearing by phone, on Wednesday. “You need to investigate him. Investigate the conservator.”
“I want to charge my father with conservatorship abuse after he broke down the door and shook my son,” she said, referencing a 2019 incident in which Jamie shook Britney and Kevin Federline’s 13-year-old son, Sean Preston, after an argument at Jamie’s condo. As a result, Federline was granted a restraining order against Jamie.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Britney reportedly went on to claim that her own “fear” of her father and her other issues began when she was young. She mentioned Jamie’s history with alcoholism, saying that she feared that he would “show up drunk and embarrass her.”
“This conservatorship has allowed my dad to ruin my life,” Britney said.
She further described the kind of “fucking cruel” control and manipulation that her father and other conservators allegedly had over her: making her work 70 hours a week, not letting her drink coffee or take hair vitamins, taking away her driver’s license, and telling her “repeatedly” that the conservatorship would end after she completed her 2009 Circus tour. “Their goal was to make me feel crazy and I’m not,” she said. “And that’s not okay.”
“I want to work on my confidence to go back into the world and I want my Dad gone today,” she concluded.
In response, Jamie’s lawyer, Vivian Thoreen, reportedly told the judge that Britney was “misinformed,” made “misstatements” both in this hearing and the last, and has a “lack of understanding and lack of recollection.”
During the hearing, Judge Brenda Penny also granted Britney the ability to hire her own lawyer, former federal prosecutor Matthew S. Rosengart, who addressed the press outside court.
“Can anyone disagree that it is not in the best interest of the conservatee for James Spears to be co-conservator?” he asked. “Pursuant to Britney Spears’ instructions, we will be moving promptly and aggressively for his removal. The question remains: Why is he involved? He should step down voluntarily, as that is in the best interest of Britney Spears, consistent with the laws of conservatorship.”
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Britney has been in a conservatorship since 2008, but it wasn’t until her June 23 hearing that the public realized what had really been going on in her private life. In the three weeks following the hearing and the singer’s bombshell statements, her sister Jamie Lynn and mother Lynne spoke out in support of Britney, though many fans felt there was reason to doubt Jamie Lynn’s intentions. Britney’s father filed court documents on June 29 requesting an investigation into the “serious allegations” put forth by his daughter in court, and denied any responsibility. He then pointed the finger at Jodi Montgomery, the temporary conservator of Britney’s person, who he claimed would be potentially responsible. Montgomery’s lawyer pushed back, reiterating that Britney has been clear that she has “wished for her father out of her life for years.”
Britney also acknowledged the #FreeBritney movement for the first time, stating that the fanbase (who, for years, have questioned the need for a conservatorship), gave her the power to fight back. "It's because of them I am here today,” she reportedly said. “It’s because of them I have the fucking strength to speak up against my family who have silenced me for years."
Britney’s next court hearing is scheduled for September 29.
Refinery29 has reached out to representatives for both Jamie and Britney Spears for comment.