Britney Spears: A Girl with Fears

|THE DEN|

Britney Spears, full name Britney Jean Spears, born on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi, is an American singer who helped launch the teen-pop phenomenon in the late 1990s and later faced significant public attention for her chaotic personal life.

"I want my life back,"Britney Spears told a LA court, referring to the "abusive" supervision of her business and personal life. Since 2008, when she suffered a public mental health crisis, her career has been in the hands of legal guardians in an arrangement known as a conservatorship.

Conservator Vs Conservative

What is the conservatorship?

A court-appointed conservatorship is granted to those who are unable to make their own decisions, such as those suffering from dementia or other mental disorders. The conservatorship over Spears is divided into two sections: one for her estate and financial concerns, and the other for her as a person. Since 2008, Spears has been unable to control her finances due to this legal arrangement.

Why conservatorship on Britney?

Britney began behaving strangely in 2007, when her divorce from Kevin Federline was finalised and she lost custody of their two children. After shaving her head and striking a photographer's car with an umbrella, a succession of public events sparked concerns about her mental health.

A temporary mental assessment forced her to the hospital twice in 2008, including after she reportedly refused to surrender her kids in a standoff with police.

What is #FreeBritney?

According to a New York Times report, the term #FreeBritney goes back to 2009, when it was used by a fan site that was unsatisfied with the conservatorship arrangement.

Britney's Gram, a fan podcast, released a voicemail from a person claiming to be a paralegal on Jamie Spears' legal team, alleging she was being held in the facility against her will and that her father had canceled her Las Vegas residency because she refused to take her medication shortly after her 2019 admission into a psychiatric facility.

The voicemail went viral, spawning the trend #FreeBritney, which has received support from several celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Bette Midler, and Miley Cyrus.

Britney’s Consevarotship Life Timeline

2008

Februrary

Britney and Federline were involved in a custody battle. The police were summoned after one incident in early January 2008, when Britney, then 26, allegedly locked herself in a bathroom with their kids.

Jamie Spears requests a Los Angeles court to place his daughter under a temporary conservatorship after she spends time in the hospital and rehab.

October

Eight months later, the conservatorship was deemed permanent by LA Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz. “The conservatorship is necessary and appropriate for the complexity of financial and business entities and [Britney] being susceptible to undue influence,” she stated at the time.

November

With the MTV documentary "Britney: For the Record," Britney gave her fans a brief and unique look into her new normal life.

2013

Spears continues to work despite her inability to manage her affairs. She begins a four-year performance residency in Las Vegas after rebuilding her image with a successful seventh studio album and many television appearances.

2016

Britney Spears spoke up again in 2016 to an investigator, who told the court that she was "sick of being taken advantage of" and that she believed she was "the one working and earning her money, but everyone around her is on her payroll."

2019

March

Jamie was left in control after Wallet quit as co-conservator of the estate. The lawyer said in a court notice, “The conservatorship is engaged in numerous ongoing business activities requiring immediate attention and it therefore is in the best interest of the conservatee that the acceptance of Wallet’s resignation and the issuance of amended letters of conservatorship of the estate occur immediately and without delay.”

April

Britney went to a mental health institution when stories surfaced that she was having trouble dealing with her father's sickness.

2020

Britney's lawyer, Ingham, submitted a petition saying that the singer "strongly opposed" her father returning as sole conservator of the person if he recovered from his health concerns.

2021

Februrary

The documentary "Framing Britney Spears," released by the New York Times and FX, has sparked widespread support for the pop princess among fans and celebrities alike.

"Framing Britney Spears"

March

In a court filing, Britney requested that Montgomery take over as conservator of her personal affairs permanently from Jamie.

June

In June 2021, Britney confronted Judge Penny for the first time in years and at a public hearing. At the shocking hearing, she claimed that her conservators were "abusive" and "bullying" her. She also said she was compelled to take birth control despite her desire to marry and have a child with her lover, Sam Asghari.

Britney told Judge Penny, “It’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end.”

July

Britney Spears was granted the right to pick her own lawyer by Judge Penny, which was seen as a huge legal win for the pop star. At the hearing, former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart was chosen as her new lawyer.

August

As the degree of acrimony among attorneys in Britney Spears' conservatorship case grows, judge penny denied her new lawyer's request to bring up a critical hearing on whether to remove her father as her conservator.

Judge Penny issued a one-page ruling refusing Mathew Rosengart's request to shift the hearing date from September 29 to August 23 to prevent further "damage" to Britney.