Britney Spears has called for an end to the "abusive" conservatorship that has governed her life for 13 yrears, delivering an emotional speech to a Los Angeles court and saying: "I just want my life back."
Spears addressed the court during a hearing on the unusual legal arrangement that has stripped the singer of her independence since 2008. The conservatorship has given her father, Jamie Spears, control over her estate, career and other aspects of her personal life.
“I want to end the conservatorship without being evaluated,” Spears said in a lengthy speech, during which she condemned her father and the others who have controlled the arrangement.
“This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good,” she said. “I deserve to have a life ... I’m great at what I do. All I want is to own my money .. [and] share my story to the world. I want to be able to be heard.”
Spears said she has been forced to work against her will, and that the conservatorship has blocked her from getting married and having a baby. She said she wanted to get her birth control removed so she could try to have another child, but that she was not allowed to go to the doctor. She said her boyfriend is also prohibited from driving her in his car, and that she is blocked from seeing some friends.
She excoriated her father, saying, “He loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000 per cent.” At one point, she said, she cried for an hour on the phone and said he “loved” it and enjoyed having control over someone as powerful as her.
“I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m okay and I’m happy,” Spears said, adding that she wanted to sue her family. She compared her situation to “sex trafficking”, noting that she was forced to work while having no control over her finances and no independence: “The people who did that to me should not be able to walk away so easily.”
Paparazzi
Spears, who appeared by phone and spoke rapidly, said her management had threatened to sue her if she didn’t perform in 2018: “It was very threatening and scary ... I’m not here to be anyone’s slave.”
She said her management falsely accused her of not taking her medication at the time. She also said the conservatorship has recently forced her to attend therapy in Westlake, where she gets bombarded by the paparazzi, and she requested that she be allowed to do therapy in her home: "I deserve privacy … It's not OK to force me to do anything I don't want to."
She said she was at one point forced to take lithium, which was very strong: “I felt drunk. I couldn’t even have a conversation with my mom or dad really about anything ... my whole family did nothing.” At the hearing, she requested that she be allowed to choose her own lawyer, and that she be permitted to speak out, noting that her parents give media interviews while she is barred from talking to press.
“I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work,” she said, adding: “The laws need to change ... I don’t feel like I can live a full life.”
In a short statement at the end of the hearing, Vivian Thoreen, the attorney for Jamie Spears, said: "He is sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain. Mr Spears loves his daughter and misses her very much."
The judge, Brenda Penny, said the singer's lawyer could file a formal petition to end the conservatorship.
An attorney for Jodi Montgomery, Spears's licensed conservator, said in an email that the lawyer had an "obligation to uphold Ms Spears' medical and other privacy rights", adding, "We look forward to addressing all of Ms Spears' concerns and setting forth her medical team's perspective on them in a care plan that we will file with the court."
Fans’ support
The singer’s appearance was highly anticipated; the 39-year-old star almost never participates in the court proceedings, but her lawyer this year told the judge she wanted to speak out and requested a hearing “on an expedited basis”.
The hearing came a day after the New York Times reported on confidential documents revealing that Spears has for years strongly objected to the conservatorship and the many powers her father has had over her.
Outside the courtroom on Wednesday, fans had gathered hours before the hearing was due to start, wearing #FreeBritney flags and shirts and holding cardboard cutouts of the star.
"I want people to understand that this is unacceptable. This is not a grey area, he-said-she-said situation. In my view, a crime has been committed against Britney Spears," said Tess Barker, the co-host of the popular Britney's Gram podcast, who has consistently attended the singer's hearings.
Carlos Morales (26), who showed up with a large Britney flag, added, “She’s been with me all my life. Her music is inspiration to me, and I’m here to support her and pay her back.”
Fellow celebrities also voiced their support for Spears following the hearing. "We love you Britney!!! Stay strong," Mariah Carey tweeted, while Brandy said she was sending "love and support to Britney Spears and her fans". The actor and activist Rose McGowan; the Planned Parenthood president, Alexis McGill Johnson; and the View co-host Meghan McCain also spoke out on Twitter against Spears's conservatorship.
Justin Timberlake, her former boyfriend who has faced widespread scrutiny for the way he treated the star, tweeted, "We should all be supporting Britney at this time … No woman should ever be restricted from making decisions about her own body."
Conservatorship is a type of court-appointed guardianship intended for people who can no longer make decisions for themselves, typically older and infirm people. But critics have argued that the process can be exploited and have pointed to Spears’s case as an example of such abuse. – Guardian
