Entertainment
Britney Spears’ pal Brian Friedman claims conservatorship ‘put a wall’ between them: ‘I miss her sparkle’
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Choreographer and friend of Britney Spears, Brian Friedman, has said the singer’s conservatorship has damaged their once-strong friendship during an appearance on Lorraine.
The dancer has known Britney for 20 years, as he choreographed, directed, and performed in many of Britney’s music videos, such as Toxic, Me Against the Music, Boys, I’m a Slave 4 U, and her The Dream Within a Dream Tour.
His appearance on the morning show is ahead of his involvement in a new documentary from the BBC titled The Battle for Britney: Fans, Cash and a Conservatorship, which is being led by journalist Mobeen Azhar.
The documentary will see Mobeen investigate Britney’s 13-year conservatorship which has seen her father, Jamie Spears, oversee both her financial and personal affairs. Recently he stepped down from the latter role due to health reasons.
Brian considered Britney ‘family’ and while he acknowledged her mental health battle was particularly bad a number of years ago, he told Lorraine Kelly that things have changed since then.
‘The conservatorship was put in place for the right reasons in the beginning, but she’s changed now, she’s changed a lot,’ he explained.
‘If she can perform on stage and do a show and make all of this money, she should be rewarded the basic luxuries of life, like driving a car, having a phone to call your friends, being able to be in a room alone with someone like me. I haven’t been in a room alone with her since the early 2000s.
‘There’s always someone around and you don’t get that intimate friend time like we used to. She deserves to make decisions for her personal life.’
Host Lorraine agreed, saying that ‘everyone just wants her to be happy’ and that ‘she should be able to speak for herself’.
Brian explained that the Britney he sees now isn’t the woman he once knew, which he puts down to the impact the conservatorship is having on her life.
‘I just want to see the sparkle that she had, I haven’t seen that exact glimmer in a long time,’ he said.
Lorraine added: ‘We know you very well but when you went back to America to work with Britney it was like the light had gone from her eyes.’
In 2011 Brian choreographed the music videos and performances for her hit singles Hold It Against Me and Till The World Ends.
Then in 2012, Brian worked with the live acts on the second season of the American X Factor alongside Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, and judges Demi Lovato and Britney Spears.
‘It was a very unusual circumstance for me. We had such a strong working relationship on the first three albums I worked on with her and then to go back and have this new situation,’ he said.
‘She would come to rehearsal and we didn’t get to have that bonding moment with her. I didn’t have direct contact and no phone numbers were given at that point.
‘There was definitely a wall put up and I don’t believe it is a wall that she put up, it was a barrier that was created by the conservatorship.’
Lorraine said the whole situation ‘seems really sad’ and that ‘if everything was fine there would be no court battles’.
The Scottish presenter read out a statement from Britney’s dad Jamie Spears and her team.
It read: ‘The court put the conservatorship in place because Britney’s life and health were at risk. Any time she wants to end it she can ask a lawyer to file a petition. She has always had this right. Britney’s finances were in a bad place and under Jamie’s stewardship it changed for the better.’
Conversation around Britney’s conservatorship was fuelled further when a film titled Framing Britney Spears was released in the US before launching on Sky Documentaries in the UK.
The alarming documentary, which was produced by The New York Times, delved into the criticisms surrounding the court-mandated conservatorship that the 39-year-old singer has been under since 2008 after suffering a public breakdown.
Lorraine continues on weekday mornings, at 9am, on ITV.
The Battle for Britney: Fans, Cash and a Conservatorship is set to launch on BBC iPlayer on Saturday May 1 and will air on BBC Two on Wednesday May 5 at 9pm.
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