Britney Spears expected to appear at court hearing addressing her finances, personal life and mental health
Britney Spears. (Lester Cohen/BBMA2016/Getty)
Britney Spears’ conservatorship will be addressed in a Los Angeles court hearing Wednesday (July 22), with the singer expected to make a video conference appearance amid ever-growing calls to “Free Britney”.
The singer has had much of her personal affairs – including her finances, mental health and music career – controlled by legal guardians (mostly her dad, Jamie Spears) under a conservatorship since 2008.
Calls to “Free Britney” have been mounting for years as fans have been campaigning to end the arrangement – with many claiming that she is being controlled to the point where she is not allowed to have children with boyfriend Sam Asghari.
The terms of Britney’s conservatorship will be addressed once more at the court hearing, where it will be decided if it should be extended, according to The Blast.
The court hearing will examine the singer’s finances, mental health, personal life and psychological outlook in detail.
Free Britney campaign wants 2008 conservatorship ended.
A conservatorship can be granted by a court in situations where a person is deemed unable to make their own decisions.
Britney’s was granted in 2008. Her dad, Jamie Spears, was appointed co-conservator with Andrew Wallet, who quit in 2019, writing in court filings that the “conservatorship is engaged in numerous ongoing business activities requiring immediate attention”.
Jamie Spears stepped down last September following a health scare – although he reportedly sees this as a temporary measure – and care manager Jodi Montgomery has acted as conservator since.
Now, the Los Angeles court will decide whether the arrangement should be renewed, and will take into account her mental wellbeing in making its decision.
Ethan Miller/Getty
‘Free Britney’ has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, with fans across the world calling for the star to be released from her conservatorship and granted control once more over her finances and career.
The years-long fan campaign has become increasingly mainstream as more and more people become aware of the pop star’s legal situation.
Fans involved with the campaign are expected to protest outside the Los Angeles courthouse against her conservatorship, and have been sharing messages of support on social media.
Today is the DAY! #FreeBritney
We understand that mental health is part of the intimacy of every human being, but when the free development of the personality has been erroneously limited and violated, this could be called silent violence. Opportunists!..
End The Conservatorship pic.twitter.com/grneaIopNA
— #FREEBRITNEY Bitch Right Now!… (@ObjetivoBArmy) July 22, 2020
There is certainly A LOT going on in the world right now, but tonight my thoughts are with this woman ahead of her conservatorship hearing tomorrow. The time is now, END THE CONSERVATORSHIP and #FreeBritney pic.twitter.com/CN3TSwa1T6— Al D (@ShamelessAlvii) July 22, 2020
Good night B fam! Prayers are up and ready for a very #freebritney day in a few hours! Let’s get everyone talking about this like no other day so far and get this trending to number one. Most importantly let’s END THE CONSERVATORSHIP!— Queen B Fan ? (@LionQueen_O) July 22, 2020
BRITNEY SPEARS. DOES. NOT. NEED. A. CONSERVATORSHIP. END THE CONSERVATORSHIP. ? #FreeBritney pic.twitter.com/V6AHNaXAYj— ? (@Martiijnn) July 21, 2020
Britney Spears’ conservatorship and mental health not a public matter, says sister.
While Britney has tended to avoid commenting directly on the conservatorship and the ‘Free Britney’ campaign, her sister Jamie Lynn Spears yesterday lashed out at Instagram users who asked her to comment on Britney’s mental health.
Jamie Lynn shared a screenshot of a statement made by Halsey calling for people to have “sympathy” for those with mental health issues Tuesday (July 21).
“If you deal with mental illness or care for someone dealing with mental illness, then you know how important it is to respect the situation with privacy for the person, and the family trying to protect their loved ones, no matter how it may appear to the pubic, and as the public we must learn to do the same,” she captioned the post.
Fans quickly assumed Jamie Lynn was referring to Britney, with many urging her to speak out on her sister’s conservatorship and the ‘Free Britney’ campaign.
One Instagram user commented: “How about your sister’s OBVIOUS mental illness? Why don’t you speak on that?”
In screenshots shared by Comments on Celebs, Jamie Lynn replied: “You have no right to assume anything about my sister, and I have NO right to speak about HER health and personal matters.
“She is a strong, badass, unstoppable woman and that’s the only thing that is OBVIOUS.”
In a second reply, shared by Just Jared, Jamie Lynn wrote: “I would never speak out just to clarify things to the public, when the person it pertains to does not want that to happen.
“I’d rather take all the hate, then speak about someone else’s personal matter, that they want to keep private.”
