Britney Spears finally wins freedom as conservatorship terminated by judge
Britney Spears performs during Now! 99.7 Triple Ho Show 7.0 at SAP Center on December 3, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Britney Spears’ conservatorship has been terminated by an LA judge after 13 years.
The pop icon is a free woman for the first time since her 20s, after the conservatorship that has governed her life since 2008 was dissolved in court.
Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Brenda Penny terminated the arrangement “effective today”, according to the BBC.
Britney’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart said he is “so proud” of her, thanking her for her “courage and poise and power”.
“Not only is this momentous for Britney, but she helped shine a light on not only this conservatorship which was corrupted by her father James P Spears, but she helped shine a light on conservatorships and guardianships from coast to coast,” he told press.
"I'm so proud of her. I thank her for her courage and poise and power," Britney Spears' lawyer Matthew Rosengart says. "She helped shine a light on conservatorships and guardianships from coast to coast." https://t.co/VH7GACoxbW pic.twitter.com/mFPGg81iZg
— Variety (@Variety) November 12, 2021
The ruling permanently severs any control Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has over her life. He had overseen her conservatorship for years, stepping back from the role of conservator of the person amid ill-health in 2019, and being suspended as co-conservator of Britney’s estate earlier this year.
Britney had characterised the arrangement as abusive, and has indicated that she would like to sue her father.
Supporters of the Free Britney movement told PinkNews that the fight doesn’t end with the dissolution of Britney’s conservatorship.
“I really, really want to see people being held accountable for the stuff that they did, because it’s not OK,” said one long-time fan.
Britney Spears during Britney Spears ‘Oops I Did It Again’ Album Launch in Paris at Eifell Tower in Paris, France. (Photo by Fred Duval/FilmMagic)
Britney Spears was first placed under the conservatorship after a period in which her personal struggles played out in front of the paparazzi.
Her father, Jamie Spears, has often claimed the conservatorship was put in place to protect Britney and her assets.
Whatever the initial sentiment, the arrangement came to be restrictive and at times abusive, Britney claimed in June of this year.
It was the first time the world had heard the star address the conservatorship: she claimed she had been drugged at times, forced to work, forbidden from marrying her boyfriend Sam Asghari and prevented from removing an IUD contraceptive device in order to have more children.
She likened her situation to sex trafficking and told judge Penny: “I just want my life back.”
Her testimony came after years of campaigning by Free Britney supporters, and after an explosive documentary by the New York Times – Framing Britney Spears – which examined both the treatment Britney experienced at the hands of a misogynistic press, and her discomfort with her father’s power over her.
Jamie Spears has, throughout the case, maintained that he has his daughter’s interests at heart.
But Britney has said that she would like to see him prosecuted for conservatorship abuse. She’s also criticised her mother and sister for contributing to her plight.
With the conservatorship dissolved, the focus will move from Britney to those who controlled her life and finances for so many years. Mathew Rosengart – the lawyer she was finally allowed to hire after years of being denied a say in her legal representation – has indicated that he will seek justice for her, should she choose to pursue it.
As superfan and Free Britney supporter Amanda Eck put it: “I want her to do whatever she wants – if that’s getting married and having more babies, spending time with her boys, whatever it is.
“But… the fight’s not going to end if she’s just freed, because I want to see people answering some questions.”
