Entertainment
Britney Spears’ father ‘controlled who she made friends with’ as star requested end to conservatorship five years ago
Britney Spears allegedly could not make friends without her father’s approval, according to court records.
The pop legend has been under a conservatorship since 2008, with her father Jamie Spears controlling her estate and finances.
However, in recent years, Britney has shown opposition to her dad’s role as conservator, requesting that he be replaced by her care manager Jodi Montgomery.
The New York Times has shared details from ‘confidential court records’ which state that Britney expressed ‘serious opposition’ to the conservatorship, and that it restricted everything from ‘whom she dated to the colour of her kitchen cabinets’.
The publication also reports that the records stated Britney could not make friends without Jamie’s approval.
A court investigator reportedly wrote in a 2016 report: ‘She articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her’, and quoted Britney as saying the system had ‘too much control’.
The investigator also claimed that Britney was ‘sick of being taken advantage of’.
(Credits: Ella Millward)
Britney was reportedly given a $2,000 (£1,430) weekly allowance, even while she raked in millions from her residency in Las Vegas.
The publication reports that Britney, 39, had questioned the suitability of her father as conservator as early as 2014, citing concerns about his drinking; Jamie, 68, is a recovering alcoholic.
Ultimately, the 2016 the report concluded the conservatorship should stay as it was in Britney’s best interests due to her complex finances, susceptibility to undue influence and ‘intermittent’ drug issues.
However, it also called for ‘a pathway to independence and the eventual termination of the conservatorship.’
In 2019, the Toxic singer told the judge had she’d been forced to stay at a mental health facility, which she thought was done as a punishment for speaking out and making an objection during a rehearsal, and she claimed she’d experienced one of the ‘scariest moments of her life’ when she was ‘forced’ into performing while ill with a fever.
Vivian Lee Thoreen, a lawyer for Jamie, said earlier this year: ‘Any time Britney wants to end her conservatorship, she can ask her lawyer to file a petition to terminate it; she has always had this right but in 13 years has never exercised it.
‘Britney knows that her Daddy loves her, and that he will be there for her whenever and if she needs him, just as he always has been — conservatorship or not.’
Britney is set to speak directly to the Los Angeles court today, offering a rare testimony in her case after her lawyer told the judge earlier this year that the mother-of-two wanted to speak out ‘on an expedited basis’.
The hearing is set to take place at 1.30pm in LA, with Britney expected to attend remotely.
While #FreeBritney activists have been calling for the star’s conservatorship to be lifted for a number of years, the movement has stepped up over the last few months following the release of the documentary Framing Britney Spears, which delved into the conservatorship as well as the star’s treatment by the media.
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