Shivangi Prakash –
Published on: September 1, 2021, at 14:59 IST
Britney Spears and her new attorney claim in a court filing Tuesday that her father is attempting to extract roughly $2 million in payments before stepping down from the conservatorship that governs her life and finances, a move they call extortion.
According to a letter filed by lawyer Mathew Rosengart, the conservatorship’s future accounting, which James Spears claims he wants completed before he steps down, will result in big payouts for him.
A request for response from James Spears’ representative was not immediately returned.
The submission is a follow-up to Rosengart’s July petition on Britney Spears’ behalf for James Spears’ removal and suspension, which will be handled in a September hearing.
James Spears disclosed in his response that he had been planning to step down from his daughter’s conservatorship, which he has had at least some control over since it was founded in 2008.
However, James Spears gave no date for his resignation, stating it would only happen when a number of outstanding issues, including the next accounting, were settled.
James Spears stated that he would oppose any attempt to evict him, claiming that there was no basis for doing so and that he had always acted in his daughter’s best interests.
“The only question before the Court — which has, unfortunately, been lost for years — is whether Mr Spears’ prompt suspension and removal are in best the interests of Britney Spears,” the filing says, later adding that “The unequivocal answer is yes.”
After stepping down as the supervisor of his daughter’s personal life in 2019, James Spears has only been in charge of her finances since 2019.
Despite this, he was the object of much of his daughter’s wrath in two Court appearances in June and July, in which she branded the conservatorship “abusive.”
Spears said she was forced to use an intrauterine device for birth control, was forced to take drugs against her will, and was barred from marrying, having another kid, or even travelling in her boyfriend’s car without supervision.
“This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good,” Spears said at the time. “I deserve to have a life.”
In a separate case, authorities in Ventura County are investigating a misdemeanour violence complaint made by a staff employee at Britney Spears’ house, who claims Britney Spears attacked her.
The encounter, according to Rosengart, was “a staged ‘he said, she said about a cellphone, with no striking and definitely no injuries.”
Also Read: Britney Spears and Her Liberty