Oh baby, baby. Singer Britney Spears is free to make her own decisions again after a court terminated her conservatorship last week.
For the past 13 years, Spears has been bound to conservators, one of whom was her father, Jamie Spears, who oversaw her finances and medical decisions. The conservatorship began on the theory that Britney Spears was mentally unstable and in need of help. And in 2007, when she shaved her head and attacked the paparazzi who were dogging her, that was true. But indeed, there was a better solution than the hijacking of her finances and personal autonomy that the courts allowed.
When her case went to court this past June, Spears alleged the conservatorship was “abusive” and that she was forced to take contraception and perform concerts against her will. The New York Times even alleged her father illegally placed recording devices in her bedroom without her consent.
“I don’t think I can live a full life,” she testified. “I feel ganged up on, I feel bullied, and I feel alone. I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people. It makes no sense.”
On Nov. 12, the conservatorship was terminated by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny, who agreed with Spears’s attorney that it was time to end it.
Spears has her fans to thank. The court-ordered conservatorship came under scrutiny in 2019 after a pair of Britney-superfans alleged in a podcast that they had obtained information from an anonymous paralegal, who claimed to work in the office handling the conservatorship, that proved Spears’s father canceled one of her performances and checked her into a mental health treatment facility against her will.
Thus, the #FreeBritney movement was born. Hollywood launched its investigation and published documentaries detailing how Jamie Spears was using the conservatorship to enrich himself. Other A-list celebrities rallied behind Britney Spears and used their stardom to keep the pressure on. And it worked.
“What an amazing weekend… I felt like I was on cloud nine the whole time!!!” Spears wrote on Instagram after the court made its decision. “I actually got my first glass of champagne at the most beautiful restaurant I’ve ever seen last night!!!! I’m celebrating my freedom and my B-day for the next two months !!!!!!!!!!! I mean, after 13 years … I think I’ve waited long ENOUGH!!!!”
Some continue to believe her conservatorship was necessary — at least for a time. But others argue Spears’s case is proof that conservatorship, in general, is a legally suspect practice that invites exploitation. It is, dare I say, toxic.
