On Friday, Nov. 12, BritneySpears and her fans celebrated and rejoiced as the conservatorship that has ruled over almost all aspects of her personal, professional and financial life was officially terminated by a California court. Spears took to social media after the hearing had concluded to proclaim, " I think I’m gonna cry the rest of the day!!!! Best day ever." The decision was handed down almost two months after dad Jamie Spears, who’d served for 13 years as a co-conservator of her estate—and faced allegations of verbally, emotionally and financially abusing his daughter—was removed from that position. At the time, she’d reacted to that news by writing “On cloud 9 right now!” alongside a clip that showed her “first time flying a plane and first time in a prop plane!” Spears’ post may have also subtly thrown shade at sister Jamie Lynn Spears, as Britney wrote alongside the video, “Pssss bringing the ship home, JL … Stay classy beautiful people!!!!” Many #FreeBritney followers believe the comment was meant to tell Jamie Lynn (“JL”) that she may be heading for a comeuppance if Britney gains the freedom to reclaim family assets she paid for or talk openly about their relationship. (If you want to decode Britney’s message a little more, see “What did Britney Spears say about her sister Jamie Lynn Spears?” below!) Keep reading to find out everything we know about Britney Spears’ conservatorship, including what may happen next for her and her estranged family.
Is Jamie Spears still Britney’s conservator?
Nope! As of the Sept. 29 hearing, Jamie was effectively been blocked from performing in that role by Judge Penny. And then on Nov. 12, the entire conservatorship was terminated, meaning nobody’s her conservator anymore. Despite filing papers that suggested he’d be willing to voluntarily step down as a conservator, Jamie never made it easy: On Sept. 28, TMZ reported that Jamie was objecting to the accountant nominated by Britney’s attorney, Mathew S. Rosengart, to serve as Britney’s temporary conservator after Jamie finally leaves. Why? According to Jamie, the accountant wasn’t necessarily “highly qualified” for the role just because he has “executive experience in finance and in the entertainment industry.” (Funny enough, it was disclosed in the new Netflix documentary Britney vs Spears that years ago, the singer’s family chose Louise “Lou” Taylor as Britney’s business manager seemingly for the main reason that they trusted her due to her Christian background; her husband is a pastor.) Questions still remain about the timeline and intentions surrounding Jamie’s exit. The New York Times has noted that, even as Jamie’s lawyers announced his intention to step down as conservator, they were also “arguing that he should not be immediately removed,” adding that he “would be in position to step aside after resolving outstanding matters including financial accounting for the conservatorship in recent years.” #FreeBritney followers suspected that Jamie may have wanted to negotiate some kind of arrangement that would provide him with financial incentive and legal protections (for example, against ever being sued by Britney) before he officially walked away. It seems Rosengart also held those suspicions, as he said in a statement after Jamie petitioned to end Britney’s conservatorship, “It appears that Mr. Spears believes he can try to avoid accountability and justice, including sitting for a sworn deposition and answering other discovery under oath.” Before Jamie was finally taken off her case on Sept. 29, Britney had stated publicly for months that she wanted her father removed from her conservatorship ASAP. She declared at a July 14 hearing, “I want my dad gone today… This conservatorship has allowed my dad to ruin my life.” Just one sign of how little control Britney had over her own life under the conservatorship? On August 6, the 39-year-old told her Instagram followers that she’d just been able to order her first-ever iPad. “Okay guys, great news—I got my first iPad today,” she said in a video. “I came into the kitchen and saw something I ordered, and it is a freaking new iPad.” She joyfully added in the caption, “My life does seem different with an iPad… I’ve never had one before!” View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears)
What did Jamie Spears say about Britney?
In a Sept. 7 petition to end Britney’s conservatorship, Jamie wrote, “Ms. Spears has told this Court that she wants control of her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship. She wants to be able to make decisions regarding her own medical care, deciding when, where and how often to get therapy. She wants to control the money she has made from her career and spend it without supervision or oversight. She wants to be able to get married and have a baby, if she so chooses. In short, she wants to live her life as she chooses without the constraints of a conservator or court proceeding.” He then concluded that Britney “is entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required.” However, it seems he was singing a different time just a month prior. In court documents filed on August 6, Jamie stated that he had “dutifully and faithfully served” as one of his daughter’s conservators and that there were “no grounds whatsoever” to remove him from her case. He also alleged that Jodi Montgomery, who serves as Britney’s personal and medical conservator (Jamie is a financial conservator), told him on July 9 that she was “very distraught [about Britney’s] recent behavior and overall mental health.” He also claimed that “after Ms. Montgomery shared her detailed concerns about my daughter’s recent behavior, safety, and overall health, she raised potential options including a 5150 psychiatric hold, which raised my concerns.” However, Montgomery quickly fired back against Jamie’s statements as false. “At no time did Ms. Montgomery express to Mr. Spears that Ms. Spears would currently qualify for such a hold,” Laurieann Wright, Montgomery’s attorney, told Variety. “The concern that Ms. Montgomery did raise to Mr. Spears during their telephone call is that forcing Ms. Spears to take the stand to testify or to have her evaluated would move the needle in the wrong direction for her mental health.”
What did Jamie Spears do to Britney?
Spears’ father had been one of her co-conservators from the beginning, and in court, the singer has repeatedly claimed that he behaved toward her in an abusive manner. In fact, she reportedly broke down in tears during the July 2021 hearing while recalling her 69-year-old dad’s treatment of her—which, she alleged, included making her work 70-hour weeks and even deciding her dietary choices for her, according to NBC News. (At her June 2021 hearing, Spears said she wasn’t allowed to get married or remove her IUD because of the conservatorship, and that she’d been forced to take lithium without her consent.) According to CNN, Spears also said on July 14 that she felt those involved in her conservatorship “were trying to kill me.” She added, “If this is not abuse, I don’t know what is,” and stated, “Their goal was to make me feel crazy and I’m not. And that’s not OK.” Britney likewise didn’t mince words when sharing her thoughts about what should happen to her dad. “I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” she told the court. “I want to press charges against my father today. I want an investigation into my dad.” Following that hearing, Spears’ longtime friend and agent CadeHudson spoke out about her case in a private Instagram post in late July. According to TMZ, he blasted the conservatorship as “sexism as its best” and “a violation of someone’s basic human rights” before hinting that the elder Spears was to blame. “I’ve kept my mouth shut out of the fear of losing my job as her agent and losing the career I worked my ass off for 15 years to build, out of threats from the man we all know who, but I won’t even dignify mentioning his name,” he wrote. “I’m officially done being quiet.” On the plus side, Hudson added, “Her new attorney is the best of the best and knows that the work has just begun but it’s progress & hope and that’s all we can ask for now until action can be taken.” Now that Jamie is seemingly on his way out the door, his final transgression against Britney may be his attempts to exit with a hefty payout. On Aug. 31, Rosengart claimed in legal documents that Jamie was allegedly trying to extract $2 million from Britney’s estate before he’d agree to walk away quietly. “Britney Spears will not be extorted,” Rosengart wrote. “Mr. Spears’s blatant attempt to barter suspension and removal in exchange for approximately $2 million in payments, on top of the millions already reaped from Ms. Spears’s estate by Mr. Spears and his associates, is a non-starter.”
Is Britney Spears free from conservatorship?
Yes! At the Nov. 12 court hearing, Judge Brenda Penny reportedly stated, “The conservatorship of the person and estate of Britney Jean Spears is no longer required.”
Who is Britney Spears’ attorney?
On July 6, NPR reported that Ingham, the attorney who’d been appointed to represent Spears in her conservatorship from the very beginning, had asked to be allowed to resign alongside a law firm called Loeb & Loeb, which Ingham had reportedly brought aboard to assist him. That move came after Britney told the court in June 2021 that she and Ingham had “kind of built a relationship, but I haven’t really had the opportunity by my own self to actually handpick my own lawyer… and I would like to be able to do that.” Then on July 11, The New York Times reported that “a prominent Hollywood lawyer has had discussions in recent days with Britney Spears about representing her in her conservatorship battle, and he plans to attend a hearing in Los Angeles on [July 14] to begin the process of taking over as her counsel.” That lawyer is Rosengart, a onetime federal prosecutor who’s repped such celebs as Sean Penn and Steven Spielberg—and according to The New York Times, as of the July 14 hearing, Rosengart got the job. “Penny approved both Mr. Ingham and Loeb & Loeb’s resignations, as well as a request by Mathew S. Rosengart, a prominent Hollywood lawyer and former federal prosecutor, to represent Ms. Spears,” that outlet reported. “He is expected to take a more aggressive approach and push for the conservatorship to end, according to a person briefed on the matter.” In August 2021, it was reported that Rosengart was beefing up his Team Britney legal team, adding an attorney named KyleFreeny who’s got a hugely impressive pedigree: He’s a Harvard Law graduate, a former DOJ lawyer and, a few years back, was selected by Robert Mueller to help investigate then-President Donald Trump.
Why was Jamie Spears Britney’s conservator?
According to The New York Times, Jamie drifted in and out of his kids’ lives in the 2000s—until Britney’s conservatorship became a possibility, at which point he swooped in. Around 2007, “Mr. Spears reappeared for what he and his ex-wife, Lynne, viewed as an urgent rescue mission,” the Times reported. “He prayed and fasted before he petitioned a judge for a temporary conservatorship of Ms. Spears, Lynne wrote in her memoir, [even though] the singer stressed that she did not want her father in charge, a lawyer she consulted at the time has said.” Ever since the conservatorship began, Britney has seemingly long tried to lessen her father’s control over her; in a 2014 closed hearing, Jamie Spears’ drinking habits were cited as a cause for concern. Those issues were also raised in the recent documentary, Framing Britney Spears. At Britney’s June 2021 hearing, Jamie stated through court documents that he’s no longer involved in his daughter’s “Conservatorship of the Person”—meaning, he seemingly no longer has any authority over her personal choices. “He made clear that he has not served as her personal conservator since September 2019 and wants the court to investigate,” People reported. However, by continuing to serve as one of her financial conservators, Jamie could seemingly deny any expenses his daughter might have wished to incur. The New York Times once reported that “even as [Britney] earned millions from a successful Las Vegas residency, she said she was limited to a $2,000 weekly allowance,” and that years ago, she wanted to restain her kitchen cabinets, but was “forbidden by her father, who told her too much money was being spent.”
How much did Jamie Spears make as conservator?
According to the Times, as of 2021, Jamie Spears received “about $16,000 per month, plus $2,000 a month for office space rent” to act as Britney’s conservator. It’s also been reported that Jamie received a percentage of the profits from Britney’s tours and other endeavors. As just one example from the Times’ reporting: “In 2014, he was granted 1.5 percent of gross revenues from the performances and merchandising tied to her Las Vegas residency, ‘Piece of Me,’ which went on to earn a reported $138 million across nearly 250 shows.” Despite those potential revenue streams, the Times also said in June 2021 that Jamie Spears was living in an RV in the family’s hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana.
Is Britney Spears retired?
In one of the latest legal twists to the #FreeBritney saga, her longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, announced in early July 2021 that he’s stepping down from that role because he believes Spears wants to retire. “It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus,” Rudolph wrote in a July 5 letter pertaining to her conservatorship case. “Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially retire.” He added, “As her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed.” Spears herself has yet to comment on Rudolph’s claim, but she has noted while speaking out about her conservatorship, “It is my wish and dream for all of this to end. I want my life back." Now that she does have her life back, it remains to be seen if she’ll return to the studio or the road.
What is a conservatorship?
According to LawHelp.org, a conservatorship is a legal arrangement in which a person’s finances are taken care of by a court-appointed “guardian” or “conservator” (the terms mean the same thing) because the person is deemed unable to make financial decisions in his or her own best interest due to illness, injury or disability. In Spears’ situation, she’s actually under two separate conservatorships, according to BBC News: “One is for her estate and financial affairs, the other is for her as a person.” The outlet also notes that “Jamie used to be in control of both, but stepped down from being her personal conservator in 2019 due to health reasons. He remained a co-conservator of her estate alongside financial company the Bessemer Trust.”
What did Britney Spears say about her sister Jamie Lynn Spears?
When Britney took to Instagram on Sept. 29 to celebrate her newfound independence from her father, Jamie, she also took a veiled swipe at her sister, Jamie Lynn. Britney’s post included the cryptic line, “Pssss bringing the ship home, JL,” along with a ship emoji. As her fans quickly pointed out, Britney was seemingly referencing a post Jamie Lynn had shared just a couple days before about her daughter’s recent softball tournament championship win. “Fun weekend with this amazing group of girls- took home the [ship emoji],” Jamie Lynn had written alongside pics of her daughter’s team. Among other theories, Britney fans think her post meant to let Jamie Lynn know that Britney was ready for a win of her own in her conservator"ship" case. That back-and-forth between the Spears siblings is only the latest example of Britney seeming sending subtle messages to her sister via social media. On July 16, Spears said on Instagram, “Never forget who ignored you when you needed them and who helped you before you even had to ask.. There’s nothing worse than when the people closest to you who never showed up for you post things in regard to your situation whatever it may be and speak righteously for support… How dare you make it public that NOW you CARE… did you put your hand out when I was drowning???? Again… NO.” She added, “If you’re reading this and you know who you are… and you actually have the nerve to say anything about my situation just to save face for yourself publicly!!!” Fans seem to know exactly who Spears was talking about: Jamie Lynn, who’d said on her Instagram Story after Britney’s latest hearing, “Dear Lord, Can we end this bulls*** once and for all. Amen.” While Jamie Lynn actually liked sister Britney’s post, that didn’t stop Brit-Brit devotees from slamming her on social media.
Why is Britney under conservatorship?
In January 2008, Spears was placed in a 5150 psychiatric hold and committed to the psychiatric ward at an L.A. medical center after police came to her home and believed her to be under the influence of unidentified substances. This was the incident that led to her being placed under a conservatorship with her father appointed conservator. (She also temporarily lost custody of Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline, her two sons with ex-husband KevinFederline.) However, there was also a string of troubling incidents that took place in 2007, including a brief stay at a rehab center and infamously shaving her head at an L.A.-area hair salon. Spears’ fans and followers of the “#FreeBritney” movement are hoping that the newest developments in her case might finally put the pop star on a path toward freedom. That’s apparently what her new lawyer wants for her as well. At the July 14 hearing, Rosengart said his new client’s conservatorship “isn’t working.” Also on Team “#FreeBritney?” Her mom, LynneSpears. After Rosengart’s July 2021 filing to remove Jamie as co-conservator, Lynne stated in a signed court declaration that the dad-daughter relationship between Jamie and Britney has “dwindled to nothing but fear and hatred” due to Jamie’s “constant threats and his decision-making over all aspects of her life.” She also claimed that Jamie “exercise[d] absolutely microscopic control over [Britney]” and “relied on member[s] of [Britney’s] household staff, medical aids on-site at [Britney’s] home, and her own security detail to inform on and report back to him each and every detail of every action that takes place in [Britney’s] home.” Back in November 2020, Lynne likewise supported removing her ex-husband as her daughter’s conservator at a public court hearing, claiming it was “time to start fresh.” The word mom Lynne used to describe the relationship between Britney and dad Jamie? “Toxic.” Next, take a look at Kelly Clarkson’s life through the years.
