Britney Spears is a musical icon and Hollywood star who rose to fame at a very young age. However, due to the weight of fame on her young shoulders, Britney began spiralling down the wrong path of life which led to a conservatorship controlled by her father.
Continue reading to find out everything about Britney’s need for a conservatorship and the legal battle she had to face to regain her freedom.
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Britney’s Conservatorship
A conservatorship is like a legal control granted by a court for individuals who are unable to make their own decisions, like those with dementia or other mental illnesses.
As for Britney, her conservatorship was set up in 2008 when the singer began having public outburst and showing signs of substance abuse and mental illness.
Her erratic behaviour first became noticeable in 2007 after her divorce with her ex husband Kevin Federline was finalised, and she lost custody of their two children.
She made series of headlines for shocking displays including shaving her head and hitting a photographer's car with an umbrella.
In 2008, she was twice admitted to hospital under a temporary psychiatric assessment ruling, after an incident in which she allegedly refused to surrender her sons in a stand-off involving police.
Following these signs of mental illness, a temporary conservatorship was established around the time for the singer and was made permanent later that year.
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Britney’s Conservatorship Battle
Following the conservatorship, many aspects of Britney Spears' finances and personal life were controlled by her father and others for 13 years.
In the legal proceedings to get rid of the Conservatorship, Britney’s father Jamie Spears’ lawyers stated that the conservatorship was "necessary to protect Britney in every sense of the word". They said: "Her life was in shambles and she was in physical, emotional, mental and financial distress."
Spears' conservatorship was split into two parts - one for her estate and financial affairs, the other for her as a person. Her father was in charge of both parts but stepped down as his daughter's personal conservator in 2019 citing health reasons, and was replaced by a court-appointed care professional.
In a bid to regain her freedom, Britney pleaded with the court to free her from every Conservatorship that still had her father as the conservator.
She told a court in June 2021: "I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship I am not able to get married and have a baby." The conservators wouldn't let her have her birth control removed, she claimed.
She also said she was forced to go on tour, made to take medication she didn't want and go into rehab.
Court records obtained by The New York Times showed that its reach even extended to the colour of her kitchen cabinets. A documentary made by the newspaper also alleged that the singer's phone and bedroom had been bugged by security staff working for her father.
The singer "has been faced with a decade-long nightmare, Kafkaesque nightmare orchestrated by her father and others", her lawyer said in September 2021. In her court appearance in June of that year, the star asked the judge to end the "abusive" arrangement and said she was "traumatised".
"This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good," she said, speaking remotely. "I deserve to have a life."
Following the court proceedings, Mr Spears was formally suspended as conservator of her financial estate in September 2021, replaced by an accountant chosen by Britney and her lawyer. And she was also set free from the personal conservatorship.
Mr Spears Reaction to losing the Conservatorship Battle
Following the court ruling, Mr Spears mentioned that he only had the best interest of his daughter at heart. He said "I love my daughter unconditionally and tried to do what is in her best interests".
Addressing his daughter's court testimony about being traumatised, his lawyer said he was "sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain".
Yet he denied Mr Spears was responsible for the restrictions apparently placed on his daughter's private life and requested an inquiry into the testimony.
After winning the conservatorship battle, Spears has gone on to live the life she has always wanted including getting married to her fiancé Sam Asghari without needing the approval of her conservators.
Although there seems to be some trouble in her marriage to Sam, Britney is facing it head on. Proving she can be strong and independent.
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