During an emotional court appearance on Wednesday, Britney Spears urged a judge to lift a contentious guardianship that has given her father control of her affairs since 2008.
“I just want my life back. It’s been 13 years and it’s enough,” Spears delivered a 20-minute video link speech as hardcore fans roared their support outside the courthouse.
Jamie Spears has been in charge of the 39-year-old singer’s finances and personal life. It was since her extremely public breakdown more than a decade ago. It has been prompting some loyal followers to begin a “FreeBritney” online movement in recent years. Spears claimed the legal arrangement had left her “traumatized” and “depressed” in an eloquent statement in which she hardly paused to gather her breath and cursed twice.
“I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry. It’s insane,” she stated, continuing that she cries every day.
“I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I want changes, I deserve changes,” Spears pleaded to Judge Brenda Penny.
The singer has hardly ever addressed the guardianship directly. But her lawyer, Samuel Ingham, indicated in April that Spears wanted to speak directly to the court, which led to Wednesday’s hearing. Spears has had a rocky relationship with her father, Jamie Spears, for a long time. She filed a motion last year to have him removed from the conservatorship. Also, to give a financial institution exclusive control of her inheritance. Her court-appointed lawyer told her that she was “afraid” of her father.
‘Too, too much!’
Admirers of Britney Spears have long combed her social media accounts for evidence of her well-being, as well as any indications that she might be eager to break free of her guardianship.
According to documents obtained by the New York Times on Tuesday, Spears told a court investigator in 2016 that the conservatorship had “become an oppressive and controlling tool against her.”
Spears claims to have complained that the guardianship system had “too much control… Too, too much!”. Also, she was unable to make her own decisions about friendships, dating, spending, and even the color of her kitchen cabinetry. Spears informed the investigator that she wanted the conservatorship to end as soon as possible. She was “tired of being taken advantage of,” according to the report. Spears is presently accountable for both sides’ legal costs, including the high fees paid by the attorneys representing her opponents in the case.
“Framing Britney Spears”
Following the February publication of the documentary “Framing Britney Spears”, which detailed her initial breakdown and her father’s subsequent appointment as her guardian, the controversy surrounding Spears’ court case erupted. Spears said she was “embarrassed” by her portrayal in the film. Therefore, fans think she is being held captive and has been sending coded appeals for help.
Spears was seen barefoot at a gas station by photographers and famously shaved her head. It was following her 2006 divorce from Kevin Federline and the subsequent loss of custody of her children.
Spears quickly resumed her career as a performer while under her father’s supervision. She released three albums, appeared on several TV shows, and even took up a residency in Las Vegas.
However, she unexpectedly stated in January 2019 that she would be discontinuing her performances until further notice. Her father and accomplices, she claims, routinely threaten her. “If I don’t do this, what they tell me to do, enslave me to do, they’re gonna punish me,” she added. Spears claims that doctors forced her to take medicines that make her feel “drunk”. Also, it isn’t permissible for her to change her clothes in private or drive her own car.
Jamie Spears’ lawyers claim that he has handled his daughter’s finances well. However, in February, a judge decided that both Spears’ father and Bessemer Trust would be in charge of the pop star’s funds. Thereby, rejecting Jamie Spears’ request to retain exclusive control over investment delegation. Jamie’s counsel claimed he was “sorry to hear her in such great pain”. Also, he loved his daughter “very much” in a statement read in court.