September 30, 2021, 8:57 am
The #FreeBritney crowd has something to celebrate tonight, as does Ms. Spears herself.
Featured Video
Hide
Judge Brenda Penny has issued a bombshell decision in the Britney Spears conservatorship case: Jamie Spears has been removed, effective immediately.
Matthew Rosengart, who now represents Ms. Spears, asked the Judge today that Britney’s father, Jamie, be immediately removed as conservator. Mr. Rosengart also requested that another person be appointed to fill the position, in Jamie’s place. Mr. Rosengart held that Mr. Spears is guilty of “unfathomable” abusive behaviors. Those abuses include everything already mentioned in Britney’s prior public testimony, but also other offenses, like eavesdropping on her private conversations.
Advertisement
Hide
Jamie Spears’ legal team took the strategy of asking the Judge to immediately suspend the conservatorship altogether. (Meaning, they didn’t want him replaced in the role.) Britney’s lawyer asked that the matter of the conservatorship overall be handled at a separate hearing, to take place several weeks in the future. In the event of Jamie’s replacement, the new conservator will receive a number of private documents regarding the nature of the conservatorship. There is a distinct possibility that this paperwork may document other abuses on Jamie’s part towards his daughter.
After more than an hour of hearing arguments, Judge Penny decided that removing Jamie Spears from the conservator role and replacing him with someone else is “in [Britney’s] best interest.” Judge Penny appointed John Zabel, a certified public accountant selected by Britney Spears, as the temporary new conservator. Tonight marks the first time in thirteen years that Britney will be able to make her own decisions, both large and small, without her father’s permission.
Many took to Twitter to express support and happiness for Britney.
Thank God
I’ve Talked &‘d About This 4 YEARS
.
IM MORE THAN THRILLED 4 HER
BLESS OUR SUPER#FREEBRITNEY
— Cher (@cher) September 29, 2021
The Britney Spears conservatorship case is pretty much the only shitty situation in our culture that’s actively going in a positive direction at the moment.
— Charlotte Clymer
(@cmclymer) September 29, 2021
Advertisement
Hide
Thirteen years ago, in 2008, Britney was hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation after a much-publicized breakdown; this is when the conservatorship was instated. Far less publicized, however, were the terms of the legal arrangement. Many of those details have recently come to light in the public eye.
Advertisement
Hide
In June, Britney spoke to the court in a testimony that was made public, asking for an end to the conservatorship. Britney maintained that the terms of the conservatorship have allowed her father and others to exert total control over her life, from her finances to her career to even her most private personal decisions. She was left with no agency and no say in what happened to her.
Britney described to the court her grief, anger, and depression over what her life had become due to the conservatorship. She explained that she had been forced to get an IUD against her will, that she had been blocked from marrying her boyfriend, and that she had been medicated with prescription drugs as punishment for appearing “uncooperative” at rehearsals for shows she says she was forced by her father to perform. All the while, Britney was paying millions of dollars in salaries to the people who were doing all of this to her.
“I cry every day,” she told the judge. “I’ve been in denial, I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized.”
Jamie Spears has long held publicly that the conservatorship was necessary to protect Britney from herself, due to her bipolar disorder. Rosengart, however, contends that Jamie treated his own daughter like a cash cow.
Rosengart also alleges that Jamie Spears ultimately attempted to extort an additional two million dollars from Britney in exchange for stepping down from the conservator role.
*First Published: September 30, 2021, 8:57 am
0 Comments