As the #FreeBritney movement has continued to grow, Britney Spears’ father has spoken out.
The movement claims that Spears, whose father began acting as her conservator in 2008, is being controlled and is unable to make her own decisions, according to People magazine.
Jamie Spears stepped down as his daughter’s conservator in September 2019, with Britney’s “care-manager” Jodi Montgomery stepping in as a temporary conservator, according to People.
In a recent interview with Page Six, Jamie Spears called the movement “a joke.”
“All these conspiracy theorists don’t know anything,” Spears told Page Six. “The world don’t have a clue. It’s up to the court of California to decide what’s best for my daughter. It’s no one else’s business.”
The conservatorship was put in place in 2008, after Britney Spears was committed to a psychiatric ward twice, according to the Los Angeles Times. It gives her conservator control over her financial and business decisions, including tracking all of the spending and purchases that she makes.
However, some fans have claimed the pop star is under even more strict control.
“Her father doesn’t allow her to drive, all of her calls & messages are monitored, she’s not allowed to vote, hang with anyone or spend her money without permission. And if she breaks a ‘rule’ he threatens to have her kids taken away,” reads a Change.org petition, which calls for an end to the conservatorship and has over 100,000 signatures.
Jamie Spears told Page Six that he is bothered by the “aggressiveness” of the movement’s supporters.
“People are being stalked and targeted with death threats,” he said. “It’s horrible. We don’t want those kinds of fans.”
The #FreeBritney movement began to take off in 2019, according to Vox. After canceling her Vegas residency early in the year, Britney shared on social media that she had checked herself into a mental health facility — but some sources claimed she had been committed against her will.
Since then, fans have scoured her social media posts for coded messages, even going so far as telling her in comments to wear the color yellow in a post if she needs help, according to Vox.
The movement has also led to protests, including one on July 22 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles during a recent hearing on the conservatorship, according to Variety.
Britney Spears has not spoken out about the conservatorship, according to People.
However, she recently shared an image of a Bible verse on Instagram, with the caption, “I get how some people might not like my posts or even understand them, but this is Me being happy ….. this is Me being authentic and as real as it gets !!!!!”