Britney Spears has been under a conservatorship that has controlled her personal and professional life for more than a decade. On Wednesday, the pop singer makes a highly anticipated appearance at a hearing to address the situation.
Britney Spears’ conservatorship hearing
In a court appearance on Wednesday, Spears said she wants her conservatorship to end immediately, according to live updates provided by Fox News.
“I’m so angry I can’t sleep, and I am depressed,” she said, according to Entertainment Tonight. “I want to be heard. ... I want changes and I want changes going forward. I deserve changes.”
During the hearing, Spears called the conservatorship “abusive” and said she would like to sue her family, Vice reported.
“I just want my life back,” she said, according to Entertainment Tonight. “It’s been 13 years and it’s enough.”
Britney Spears’ conservatorship
Spears has been under a conservatorship since 2008, when her father, Jamie Spears, became a court-appointed guardian to oversee aspects of Spears’ life ranging from finances to personal well-being, the Deseret News previously reported. Spears’ conservator also manages the singer’s visits with her two sons, who live with Spears’ ex-husband, Kevin Federline, according to NPR.
Jamie Spears temporarily stepped down as conservator over Britney’s personal affairs in September 2019 due to health reasons, although he remained in control of her finances, USA Today reported. Britney Spears has said she is “strongly opposed” to her father returning to his previous role as sole conservator, instead preferring for her longtime care manager, Jodi Montgomery, to oversee her personal affairs, the Deseret News reported.
Last November, Britney Spears’ lawyer revealed that the singer was “afraid of her father” and would not perform as long as he remained in charge of her career, the Los Angeles Times reported. Currently, Jamie Spears and the institution Bessemer Trust oversee Britney Spears’ finances.
Does Britney Spears oppose her conservatorship?
Spears has said the conservatorship was necessary when it began and likely saved her career, the AP reported. Last year, the 39-year-old singer began to publicly voice her desire to have a say in who is part of the conservatorship, but according to NPR, she has never publicly expressed for the conservatorship to be completely removed.
But a New York Times report on Tuesday stated that Spears has opposed her conservatorship privately for years, with the singer wanting her father removed from his role as early as 2014 and reportedly saying in 2016 that the arrangement had “become an oppressive and controlling tool against her.”
Spears also told the court in 2019 that she was forced into making public performances against her will and that the conservatorship had controlled even small details of her life, including friendships and home decorating decisions, NPR reported.
The #FreeBritney movement
A #FreeBritney rally will take place at the hearing, which is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. MDT, the Los Angeles Times reported. The #FreeBritney movement began to take off in 2019 and is led by a group of supporters who want the singer’s conservatorship to end.
“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,” the #FreeBritney petition on Change.org reads. “And if she breaks a ‘rule’ he threatens to have her kids taken away!
“She deserves to live and not be told what to do, when to do it & how to do it,” the petition continues. “She can control her own life. Her team has kept her quiet for years and it’s now time for Britney to speak!”
Wednesday will mark the first time since May 10, 2019, that Spears has spoken in court, according to USA Today.