The legal battle over who should control Britney Spears’ finances and personal life is scheduled to return to court later this week, amid renewed discussion over how she was treated during her meteoric rise as a teen pop star and during her subsequent mental health struggles.
The issue reappeared in the last few days after “Framing Britney Spears”, a documentary from The New York Times, which opened on Friday on FX and Hulu. The film focuses on the conflict over Spears’ guardianship, a legal agreement that has enabled other people – especially his father – to manage his career, personal life and finances since 2008.
Tracing the origins of the current legal battle, the documentary tells the story of a talented artist who for decades was surrounded by people who sought to profit from her and who was finally driven to despair by an insidious celebrity and paparazzi culture that does not leave her alone .
The film also explores the #FreeBritney movement, a fan campaign that aims to portray guardianship as a money-hungry means of exercising control over Spears.
Since the premiere of the new documentary, these calls have multiplied, with several celebrities joining and expanding a movement that was previously restricted to a niche of a group of activists and superfans.
In posts on Instagram and Twitter on Tuesday, Spears appeared to comment indirectly on the documentary, sharing a performance from her a few years ago and writing, “I will always love being on stage…. but i’m taking the time to learn and be a normal person … i just love enjoying the basics of daily life !!!! “
“Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person’s life,” she wrote, “it’s nothing compared to the real person who lives behind the lens.”
With a hearing scheduled for Thursday in Los Angeles, here is a summary of the conservation controversy.
What is guardianship?
Sometimes known as guardianship, guardianship is a complex legal arrangement normally reserved for the elderly, infirm or infirm. A representative is assigned to manage the person’s business and assets if that person is found to be incapable of looking after himself or vulnerable to outside influence or manipulation.
Spears has been under guardianship since 2008, after a series of public collapses (which, the documentary notes, were aggressively captured by paparazzi who followed Spears almost everywhere she went). For more than a decade, Spears’ father James P. Spears, known as Jamie, oversaw much of his daughter’s financial and personal life as one of the conservatives. The appointed conservatives have control over everything from Spears’ mental health care to where and when she can travel; the setup means that Spears’ tutors are required to send detailed reports of their purchases to the court – even minor expenses, such as $ 5 purchases on Sonic Drive-In or Target.
Guardianships are always portrayed as being for the protection of a person. Representatives for Jamie Spears said his administration in his career probably saved her from financial ruin. He said in court proceedings that his “only motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those who try to take advantage of her”.
Jamie Spears moved away from his role as his daughter’s personal conservator in 2019, citing health problems; a professional conservative temporarily took his place. The current court battle revolves around control over Spears’ property.
Where’s the question in court?
Last summer, the outlines of the case changed dramatically when Spears’ lawyer appointed by the court, Samuel D. Ingham III, said in a court case for the first time that his client “strongly opposed” her father as a conservative. In requesting that Spears’ temporary conservative staff, Jodi Montgomery, a professional in the field, be made permanent, Ingham left open the possibility that Spears might one day try to end the guardianship entirely.
“Without in any way renouncing her right to seek the termination of this guardianship in the future,” wrote Ingham, “Britney would like the appointment of Mrs. Montgomery to be her conservative person to become permanent.”
In November, a judge refused to immediately remove Jamie Spears from being the head of his daughter’s assets; at the same time, the judge added a corporate fiduciary, Bessemer Trust, as co-conservative, as requested by the singer.
In December, the judge extended Montgomery’s temporary role as a personal conservator until September this year.
The Thursday hearing in Los Angeles is likely to include a discussion of the roles Jamie Spears and Bessemer Trust will play in managing the property. A lawyer for Jamie Spears did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What does Britney Spears want?
What has become clear in recent months through her lawyer, according to court records, is that Britney Spears no longer wants her father to be her conservative.
At a hearing in November, the singer’s lawyer said “she is afraid of her father”, with whom she has not spoken in a long time, and that she will not perform again if her father maintains control over her career, The Associated Report press.
For years, Spears largely ignored fan calls to #FreeBritney, but more recently, she signaled some approval when her lawyer wrote in a lawsuit that her client “welcomes and appreciates the informed support of her many fans ”. (His father referred to #FreeBritney activists as “conspiracy theorists”.)
What is less clear is whether Britney Spears intends to try to end the guardianship in the near future. His initial distaste for the deal was clear in 2008, when, in an interview with MTV, Spears compared his circumstances to an endless prison sentence.
In his posts on social media on Tuesday, Spears wrote: “Each person has their own story and their opinion about other people’s stories.”
Her current boyfriend, Sam Asghari, left on Tuesday with a strong criticism of Jamie Spears, writing in an Instagram story that he has “zero respect for someone who tries to control our relationship and constantly throws obstacles in our way”.
Who else spoke?
The #FreeBritney movement has attracted the attention of celebrities before, such as when Miley Cyrus shouted the phrase during a concert in 2019. But the film broadened support – and generated recognition from journalists and others about how they may have played in Britney’s hypercritical obsession for daughters.
In the days following the release of the documentary, celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Andy Cohen tweeted the hashtag. Calling the documentary “punch in the stomach”, actress Valerie Bertinelli tweeted a list of men she believed had harmed Spears throughout her career. Singer Hayley Williams I wrote that “no artist today” would have to endure what Spears did.
In the days following the premiere of the documentary, another message, which was popularized by celebrities like the singer Courtney Love, the trend started: “We Are Sorry, Britney.” It was a sad admission that the intrusions into Spears’ private life, the fixation on his sexuality and the relentless focus on his mistakes rested on the shoulders of many.
Joe Coscarelli contributed reporting.