Entertainment
The Battle For Britney: Everything we learned from BBC’s Britney Spears documentary
The Battle For Britney is the BBC’s latest offering in a string of documentaries and investigations into Britney Spears’ conservatorship.
Since 2008, decisions about the popstar’s financial decisions, career and personal life have been under the control of her father, Jamie Spears.
The #FreeBritney movement, which has been around for years but energised by the release of the documentary Framing Britney Spears, has campaigned to end the conservatorship, with Britney herself asking the court to remove her father from his role.
In February, it was decided that Jamie would remain as Britney’s co-conservator, along with Jodi Montgomery.
Britney is set to address the court directly for the first time on June 23.
The Battle For Britney saw presenter Mobeen Azhar delve into Britney’s childhood and everything that led to the conservatorship, as well as chatting to key figures. It raised various claims about the conservatorship and the events which led to it.
The documentary states that Jamie Spears declined to comment on the allegations raised.
Jamie ‘claimed Britney had dementia in conservatorship documents’
One fan from the #FreeBritney movement, Hayley Herms, alleged that Britney was on dementia medication, and said: ‘I’ve seen dementia and there is no way any dementia patient is going on world tours, doing Vegas residencies, is learning 27 back to back combo numbers, full choreo.’
Following her claim, Mobeen said that he ‘just thought that can’t be true and this has to be a conspiracy theory’.
However, he then discovered paperwork on a Britney fan site, allegedly from the conservatorship case, although he said he had ‘no way of knowing this was legit’.
The paperwork, which featured Jamie Spears’ name and was allegedly filed on February 1 2008, showed that a box had been ticked to justify the conservatorship, saying it related to ‘dementia placement or treatment’.
Mobeen said: ‘There’s only two options with that. Britney might have dementia. Now I’m not a doctor but if that’s the case, then the world isn’t aware of that. But the other option is actually more sinister.
‘That’s the idea that she doesn’t have dementia but the conservatorship team have suggested that she has because they want to push the conservatorship through. And if that’s the case, then that’s terrifying.’
Britney hasn’t spoken candidly about her conservatorship since 2008
The documentary shows Britney speaking about her conservatorship in an interview with MTV for its documentary For The Record in 2008.
‘If I wasn’t under constraints that I’m under right now, with all the lawyers and doctors, and people analysing me every day, and all that kind of stuff, if that wasn’t there, I’d feel so liberated, and feel like myself’ she’s heard saying.
Mobeen goes on to say: ‘I’m guessing that the conservatorship team weren’t exactly happy about Britney speaking out […] She’s been silent on the subject ever since.’
Britney ‘wasn’t allowed to choose her own lawyer’
The documentary references Britney not being allowed to choose her own lawyer.
Ingham was appointed to her by the court in 2008.
Lisa McCarley, who is an attorney and expert in probate law, says in the programme: ‘I’m very upset by the whole thing. There is no outside agency or entity that you can talk to to say, “This is a systemic flaw and I’d like to see the whole thing unwound.”‘
She added: ‘When they deprived her of her own attorney of her choice, that is the day that justice died for Britney Spears.’
Perez Hilton regrets role in Britney’s breakdown
Confronted with some of the photos he took of Britney in the early 2000s, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton said in the documentary: ‘It was awful, absolutely. I regret that deeply and, in my mind, I still at that time was not aware of her mental health struggles.’
Asked if he thinks he contributed to Britney having a breakdown, Perez responded: ‘Yeah, it’s a possibility, and I feel awful.
‘I definitely don’t do things like that anymore, I made a change many years ago, and I think many people will only ever be able to see me and view me and think of me as that person from back in the day.’
The Battle For Britney is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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