By Isabelle John
Introduction
The #FreeBritney movement is a response from fans to the knowledge of Spears’ conservatorship dating from 2008, to date.
A conservatorship, as per California courts is:
“where a judge appoints an individual or organization to care for another adult who is deemed unfit to care for themselves or to manage their own finances.”[1]
This conservatorship is under the control of her father, Jamie Spears, and has been ever since the well-known meltdown that occurred 12 years ago, which resulted Spears being hospitalized and put in rehab.[2] Looking into the technicality of the concept, Britney is the ‘conservatee’ and her father, Jamie, is the conservator.
Spears’ fans are positively convinced that the singer wants to be free from the legally binding situation she is in and as a result the movement was born. Social media is the primary platform fans use to bring awareness to the disparity that surrounds the conservatorship.
Thus, this article deals with the explanation of #FreeBrittany movement.
What kind of Relationship did Brittany Spears have with Conservator, Jamie Spears?
Spears has continuously outlined to her lawyer that she wants someone else in charge of her money and wants her father to step down. This is something that should be considered as the reasoning behind her claim is because she fears him and has stated that she refuses to work until he is no longer in control of her career.
In the beginning years of Spears’ career, her father had filed for bankruptcy. He was also not a prominent part in her life at all, no one knew him, and no one ever saw him. One thing he did say was that his daughter was going to be so rich that she would buy him a boat.
Though he was quite proud of her, this statement can be interpreted to seem like he was only interested in the financial benefits his daughter would bring. On the other hand, her mother was the one trying to make ends meet and ensure her daughter was able to rise to success. Fans also believed that this little arrangement has been used to exploit Spears rather than help her.
What is the current status of their relationship?
The requirement for a conservatorship is generally for individuals who cannot support themselves and are physically or mentally incapacitated or are of an old age. Spears is not old enough to warrant an illness that arises from age and does not seem to have a physical or mental incapacity.
According to her friend and former assistant, Felicia Culotta, she does not understand why Britney is under a conservatorship and her age and with the capability she has. Throughout her career, Spears was always in charge of her own decisions, always in control. Whatever she wanted to happen would happen either through her means or through her team. She is a very creative individual and always knew what she wanted to do.[3]
This clearly shows a good grasp on control that she has on herself. The industry that she is a part of is a high-paced intensive environment and the fact that she can thrive and succeed within this industry and create a name for herself proves she has enough control over herself to be deemed fit to care for herself. It is quite questionable as to why she is still under a conservatorship and under the control and care of her father at an age of 39 years.
As mentioned previously, a Superior Court commissioner had placed Spears on a temporary conservatorship following the psychiatric hospital incident, on February 1st, 2008. This temporary arrangement was made permanent by the end of the year 2008 and has been the case to date. However, Montgomery was Spears’ temporary conservator who had taken over in 2019 and Spears has requested for Montgomery to take over as her conservator permanently in place of her father.[4]
She has also mentioned that because of the conservatorship, most of her basic autonomy has been stripped from her life, for example being forced to take medications as well as perform against her will. Her father, Jamie, has been given authority over the most intimate details of her life which she would have preferred to have kept private either from her father or in general.
Aspects of her life such as getting married or removing the IUD she had implanted so that she could bear another child were forbidden under the conservatorship.[5] Clearly, she is uncomfortable with her father being her conservator and not with the concept of a conservatorship. To quote Spears herself, she is where she is because she is in control.
An Instagram caption on Spears’ Instagram states, “don’t believe everything you read and hear.” The details of Spears’ conservatorship have been private, for the past 13 years, however she has quite recently filed documents to request aspects of her conservatorship to be open to the public.
Theories on her life are constantly being thrown around and as she is a celebrity, people are quite invested in her life. In response to this she wants parts of her life to be shown to the public so that people have access to the truth as well as be in control of the narrative. Part of this is only possible if she herself is in control of her life and this is impossible in the current situation she is in, under the control of her father.
What are the legal provisions to help her get out of her father’s grasp?
Looking into the legal aspect now, it is a consensus between legal experts and advocates that it is quite difficult for people that have been placed in conservatorships to get out of them, although the global backlash that has arisen could potentially have a beneficial impact for the cause. This is because the formal process that is taken through the probate courts is slow and ineffective.
The procedure that Spears would have to follow would be to file a formal petition that calls for termination, which is an action that would demand the presentation of evidence, and require several subsequent hearings, depositions, and discovery.
The attorneys that represent Spears’ father and others who control her care could raise objections in opposition. As a result of her conservatorship, she has also been blocked from choosing her own attorney. Her court-appointed attorney can be a conflict of interest as he has acquired hundreds of thousands of dollars a year representing her.
Spears has constantly strongly objected to the conservatorship arrangement but her attorney, Ingham, has never filed a petition that calls for termination. Spears was unaware that this was an option she could take, which demonstrates the support for the claim that her attorney does not have her best interests at heart.
Spears has also mentioned that she just wants to choose her own lawyer and terminated the conservatorship without evaluation. To quote her:
“I just want my life back … all I want is to own my own money … I want to be able to be heard.”
She could also file a claim on violations against her human rights, raising up the issues she has come across that have been outlined throughout this article. This would be evidence in support of the ill-fitting conservatorship that she is currently under and could follow through with the claim that calls for termination.
Recently Britney Spears loses Court Case against her Father to end Convenorship.
Is this really a Conservatorship or is this just Plain Exploitation?
Is not the main reason for having an individual placed under the care of a conservator to enable them to aid their conservatee? However, when looking at the facts placed in front of us, it seems like Jamie’s role in her life is quite counterproductive. Her life does not seem to be improving as she does not really have much freedom and as mentioned previously, she could raise human rights claims against her father to terminate the conservatorship.
Britney Spears delivering an explosive testimony about years on “Abuse”, has requested the Court to terminate the 13-year conservatorship altogether as it was inhibiting her from taking control over her life.
One circumstance in 2008 should not be the deciding factor for Spears’ entire life. She has had time to mature, and people change. It was quite likely that at the time, she was in need of some care, however it has been years and instead her mental and physical instability is a result of the conservatorship she is under.
Conclusion
All in all, Spears should fight for immediate termination. She was unaware that she was able to until recently. Now that she has been made aware and now that there is a global backlash and copious amounts of support, there is a higher chance that the claim will be successful. Spears should have control of her life back once again, or if not her request to have someone else in charge of her conservatorship should be heard.
There has been no evidence produced to show that she is incapable of taking care of herself. When the conservatorship started it was a decision made due to the urgency, however years have passed, and she should be able to take back the reigns of her life.
Reference
- courts.ca
- harpersbazaar.com
- Felicia Culotta, Framing Britney Spears, 2021
- https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56521758‘
- https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57593201
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Conservatorship definition, (last visited on June 25, 2021). ↑
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Britney Spears Calls Her Conservatorship “Abusive” in a 24-Minute Court Address, 2021, (last visited on June 25, 2021). ↑
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Felicia Culotta, Framing Britney Spears, 2021 ↑
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Britney Spears asks judge to remove her father as her conservator, 2021, (last visited on June 25, 2021) ↑
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Britney Spears: Everything she said in court, 2021, (last visited on June 26, 2021) ↑
