Britney Spears described in court how her 13-year conservatorship has done her “more harm than good”.
On the 23rd of June, Britney Spears spoke for the first time against her conservatorship. The singer pleaded with the judge to end the court order that controls a majority of her personal and professional life.
Britney spoke out strongly against the control her father, Jamie, has on her life and how “he should be in jail”. The singer was given lithium against her will, after rejecting a dance move for a 2019 Las Vegas show. She described another incident where after failing psychological tests, her father forced her to go to a mental hospital.
“I cried on the phone for an hour, and he loved every minute of it. The control he had over someone as powerful as me, as he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000 per cent.”
She also described the conservatorship’s effects on her personal life. She spoke of her desire to start a family with her boyfriend, Sam, but stated how:
“I have an I[U]D inside of myself right now so I don’t get pregnant. I wanted to take the IUD out so I could start trying to have another baby, but this so-called team won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don’t want me to have children.”
What is a conservatorship?
A conservatorship is a US court order that provides a guardian for individuals unable to care for their own daily and financial needs. This is often put in place for the elderly, physically and mentally ill persons. Britney Spears was first placed under the conservatorship in 2008, following a series of public mental health incidents. The order, however, has been renewed annually despite its initial temporary placement.
More attention was given to the conervatoship following the documentary Framing Britney Spears. Its release in February 2021 allowed for greater public and celebrity support to be given to the celebrity, calling for the release of the conservatorship.
Y’all..it’s plaguing me that nobody knows if @britneyspears is truly okay. Really hoping that if she isn’t she can formally vocalize it in some way and that she knows all of us on the outside really give a shit about her well-being. ?
— K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) February 8, 2021
Framing Britney was a rough watch, much like the Winehouse documentary, only we know how that story ended. I hope Britney is freed of that conservatorship– "liberated" as she says in her own words. It is baffling that any judge would continue to uphold it. #FreeBritney
— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) February 9, 2021
Support for the Free Britney Movement continues to grow worldwide.
