Entertainment
Britney Spears’ ex-manager sorry for ‘failing’ her amid legal battle for her freedom: ‘If she hates me after she’s free, I won’t blame her’
Sam Lufti is supporting his former client Britney Spears (Picture: Getty)
Britney Spears’ former manager Sam Lufti has apologised for ‘failing’ the singer during her ongoing legal battle to win back her freedom.
He also celebrated as Britney’s choice of lawyer was appointed by a judge in her conservatorship case, a major step forward for the pop star.
Lutfi, who acted as Britney’s manager after meeting her at a party in 2007, was previously accused by her parents Jamie and Lynne Spears of taking ‘control’ of their daughter, who was struggling with her mental health at the time.
In June, Britney’s explosive testimony finally revealed the star’s true feelings about her conservatorship in public, as she labelled the arrangement ‘abusive’ in an emotional outpouring that lasted over 20 minutes.
Lufti posted his reaction to Britney’s addressing of the court this week, sharing that he felt he ‘let down’ the Toxic hitmaker, failed to ‘protect’ her after she was placed under the conservatorship in 2008 and ‘wouldn’t blame her’ for hating him.
He posted: ‘Just sitting here listening to that court recording, if she hates me after she’s free I won’t blame her…
‘I failed her. I was supposed to protect her from all this, I let her down and we both paid dearly for it – – head in hands..I’m so sorry [sic].’
Lufti with Britney in 2007, going out to dinner (Picture: Most Wanted/REX/Shutterstock)
Following the singer’s long-time court-appointed lawyer Sam Ingham’s resignation, the 39-year has now had her choice of counsel, former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, approved by the court to represent her in her request to have her father Jamie removed as her financial conservator.
Rosengart has also represented Hollywood heavyweights including Steven Spielberg and Ben Affleck.
Lufti returned to Twitter less than 24 hours later to mark the development, writing: ‘This is a premature celebratory post but for now there’s a new sheriff in town and heads are about to roll.
‘The war may be coming close to ending but the healing is a tremendous journey that has yet to even begin.
‘God bless the entire army. I love all of you,’ he concluded, in a likely reference to the #FreeBritney movement.
Britney herself made use of the hashtag in her joyous Instagram post celebrating the appointment of her new lawyer, sharing a clip of herself doing cartwheels and her ‘gratitude’ for both her new representation and her ‘awesome fans’.
Jamie and his ex-wife Lynne previously accused Lufti of having ‘drugged’ Britney and cut her phone lines after he took ‘control of her life, home and finances’ when he moved in with her.
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The Womanizer singer was granted a restraining order against her former manager in February 2008, the month her conservatorship began, and then again in June 2019 after the singer claimed he had threatened her family.
However, Lufti reached a private settlement with the Spears family in 2016 after suing them for defamation, breach of contract and libel in 2012, with his lawyer claiming Lufti had been made a scapegoat for the singer’s struggles in 2008.
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