In September, we learned that the #FreeBritney movement was not a hoax — a moment that felt almost as cathartic as seeing Britney Spears paint flowers on her balcony.
In the latest development of her legal battle to end her father Jamie Spears’ 12-year conservatorship over her, Britney gained a small but important victory: though her father will remain in his role for the time being, the judge left the door open to potentially suspend or remove him in the future. Britney also asked to have a financial fiduciary, Bessemer Trust, appointed as a co-conservator, according to LA Times reporting, which the judge granted.
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Britney, who wasn't present at the hearing, also made the significant move regarding her career and future performances. The singer has been on indefinite work hiatus since 2019, but said that she won’t perform in any way until her father is no longer in charge of her career.
“My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father,” Britney’s attorney Samuel D. Ingham III told the judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday. “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”
Jamie's attorney called Ingham's assertion that she is fearful of her father "hearsay," and argued that Jamie shouldn't be suspended from his role claiming that Britney's net worth has gone from in debt to well over $60 million while under his care.
Ingham called Britney a “high-functioning conservatee” who at least deserves to know what her father does in her name, which he allegedly doesn't communicate to her. In fact, according to Ingham, the two don't speak much at all. Britney's father has been her conservator since 2008, at a time when she was going through mental and personal struggles and it felt like the appropriate move. But conservatorship or guardianship is typically used to protect the old, sick, and mentally disabled, and was expected to be temporary. Now, 12 years later, the 38-year-old mother of two says she wants to "take back control" of her life.