News about pop star Britney Spears’s conservatorship arrangement prompted bipartisan outrage among congressional lawmakers, as both Democrats and Republicans hopped on the issue either out of genuine policy concern or in order to relate to their voter bases.
But Republicans and Democrats are not rushing to coordinate or cooperate with each other while working on the issue.
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania last week sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, prompted by Spears’s testimony to the court, asking them to share data and statistics on conservatorship and guardianship legal arrangements that give another person legal responsibility over someone who is incapacitated.
“Ms. Spears’ case has shined a light on longstanding concerns from advocates who have underscored the potential for financial and civil rights abuses of individuals placed under guardianship or conservatorship,” they wrote, but that “comprehensive data” on the arrangement is “substantially lacking,” hindering lawmakers’ ability to address problems.
One Republican who appeared well suited to join in that request is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who made Spears the lead topic of a podcast episode.
“I am squarely and unequivocally in the camp of ‘Free Britney.’ I think this is freakin’ ridiculous what is happening to Britney Spears, and it needs to end,” Cruz said.
Spears became the subject of a conservatorship primarily under the control of her father in 2008 following a custody battle and mass tabloid attention. Fans of Spears see exploitation in that she was made to perform in multimillion-dollar tours and Las Vegas residencies while allegedly incapable of making her own decisions. Those who defend Spears being under a conservatorship assert that a mental health diagnosis that the public has no right to know justifies the arrangement and that her family loves her.
“She shaved her head. OK, last I checked, shaving your head is not a capital offense. She had pretty hair, but who the hell’s business is it if she wants to shave her head or not?” Cruz said. “Everything I have seen about this case, it seems like an enormous abuse of the conservatorship process.”
Thomas Coleman, legal director of the California-based Spectrum Institute, said that media attention on the “Free Britney” movement has been the driving force behind politicians taking action on conservatorship and guardianship abuses since those stuck in the situation are unable to make donations or become a voting bloc alone.
“Conservatorship abuse is not a partisan issue. Like a contagious disease, it can strike the wealthy or the poor, liberals or conservatives, people of any race or religion,” Coleman told the Washington Examiner. “People know that if this can happen to someone as famous and powerful as Britney Spears, it could happen to them or their parents or grandparents.”
That concern contributed to a California state bill to allow conservatees the right to choose legal counsel, an issue that has plagued Spears, to pass two committees with bipartisan support.
Congress is far from taking any similar step.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has called himself the leader of the “Free Britney” movement in Congress, but his controversial persona may repel Democrats.
In March, Gaetz with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan asked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to hold a hearing on conservatorship abuse. Gaetz, who was familiar with guardianship abuse in his own state that is filled with retirees, had become interested in the issue after watching a New York Times documentary on HBO about Spears’s conservatorship and the “Free Britney” movement.
But explosive reports that federal investigators were looking into allegations that Gaetz had sexual relations with a minor or paid for sex (which the Florida congressman has repeatedly denied) helped put a pause to his efforts to bring the conservatorship issue to Congress and gave Democrats, many of whom had called for his resignation from the Judiciary Committee, reason to avoid joining him.
A June hearing in which Spears made a more than 20-minute statement to the court expressing that she feels exploited and bullied in her conservatorship reignited congressional interest in the issue.
Gaetz, who has called himself the leader of the “Free Britney” movement in Congress, led Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Andy Biggs of Arizona, and Burgess Owens of Utah in inviting Spears to testify before Congress about her conservatorship. No Democrats joined.
House Democrats have spoken up about conservatorships in light of Spears’s case separately, though.
Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton tweeted that while he had never heard of the word “conservatorship” until the day of Spears’s June court statement, he called it “some of the craziest s*** I’ve seen in a long time” and floated a congressional investigation. California Rep. Alan Lowenthal also called for an investigation into the issue, and New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney posted a photo of herself reading a newspaper article about Spears.
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Spears’s claim that she is being forced to keep an IUD birth control device inside of her particularly struck a chord with women lawmakers.
Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Katherine Clark put a reproductive rights spin on her “Free Britney” take, saying that “everyone deserves control over their own body.”
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina added: “It’s insane you can force a woman to basically sterilize herself under the guise of protection.”
