Music creative Britney Spears provided blockbuster testimony today (June 23, 2021) in a virtual hearing overseen by Judge Brenda Penny in Los Angeles Court. While Spears mainly has stayed quiet about the terms of her conservatorship even in the face of her fans rallying for it to end through a “Free Britney” movement, in her appearance she made it very clear she wants it to end.
Noting she wants the conservatorship to end without evaluations, she added, “I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work. The laws need to change. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don’t feel like I can live a full life.”
Spears’ person and estate have been under control of her father through a legal guardianship since 2008. Her 68-year-old father oversees her nearly $60 million fortune, alongside a professional wealth management firm she requested. A licensed professional conservator took over Spears’s personal care on an ongoing temporary basis in 2019. The arrangement began at the request of Jamie Spears who was prompted by Spears’ very public struggles with her mental health during 2006–2008.
Describing her father Jamie Spears’ motivations, the 39-year-old pop star stated, “He loved the control he had over me, one hundred thousand percent.”
Fans have long believed Spears was unhappy with the arrangement, a suspicion Spears confirmed when she stated, “I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m okay and happy. I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. But now I’m telling you the truth, I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry it’s insane. I cry everyday.”
Speaking abut her relationship with boyfriend, Sam Asghari, who was spotted on Instagram Stories on the day of the hearing wearing a “free Britney” t-shirt, Spears noted she wanted to have a baby with him, but the conservatorship wouldn’t allow it. Providing one of the most shocking statements of the appearance, Spears said, “I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out.”
Most of the details of the conservatorship have been kept confidential, but the NY Times published documents on June 22nd revealing Spears has expressed serious opposition to the conservatorship since 2016. In response, investigator responsible for providing periodic evaluations concluded it was in Spears best interest to have the conservatorship continue because of her complex finances, susceptibility to influence and intermittent drug issues. But according to NY Times reporting, the report also called for “a pathway to independence and the eventual termination of the conservatorship.”
Britney Spears is represented by court-appointed attorney Samuel D. Ingham III, who requested in April that she be allowed to address the judge directly.
She was originally represented in 2008 by top trial lawyer Adam Streisand, who was dismissed by the judge who concluded based on confidential medical documents she didn’t have capacity to make independent decisions about representation. The judge wouldn’t allow Streisand to see the documents and subsequently appointed Ingham as her attorney.
No decision was made about her conservatorship at the hearing. A follow up hearing will take place in July.
