By Emma Dang
Thirteen years ago Britney Spears had a public breakdown that got caught on camera that got documented online. This resulted in her losing custody of herself. Her father, Jamie Spears, has had a conservator over her for the past 13 years.
The #FreeBritney movement started in April 2019 and raised tons of awareness of Spear’s situation all throughout the world. Spears has made it clear throughout the years that the conservatorship was abusive and was taking away her basic rights as an adult. However, although the majority of the internet believed her and felt bad for her, her father had repeatedly convinced judges and officials that Spears was in no good condition to be in charge of herself. And as a result, he needed to stay as a conservator for her.
A conservatorship is when a person is a guardian of another person by law. Usually, the conservatee would be struggling with mental illnesses, old age, or other disabilities. In Spears’ case, her father became her conservator in 2008 after her public mental health outbreak. Her mental health started going down a spiral after her divorce from her former husband, Kevin Federline, and lost custody of her two sons in 2007.
It was obvious to the public that something was definitely not right when she made headlines by shaving her head and hitting a photographer’s car with an umbrella. In 2008, she got admitted to a temporary psychiatrist in a hospital after an incident where she refused to surrender her sons to the police. By being a conservator, Jamie Spears was able to be in charge of her estates and just simply any of her daily actions. When a court investigator interviewed Spears about the conservatorship back in 2016, she claimed that it was way too controlling and she isn’t even allowed to choose the colours of her kitchen cabinet.
Spears has then tried to press charges against her father for conservatorship abuse in July 2021. Conservatorship abuse is when the conservator crosses the line on restrictions and in Spears’ case, that was exactly what her father was doing. In November 2020, her attempt to remove her father as guardian got declined by the court and the conservatorship got extended to September 2021.
Britney Spears was just freed from her Father’s conservatorship on October 3rd, 2021. She is beyond grateful for the #FreeBritney Movement and her loyal fans that genuinely cared for her throughout this tough decade. She claims that she is feeling much better now but there is obviously much more emotional healing to do due to the trauma her father has given her over the past decade. Her father, Jamie Spears, is now suspended from conservatorship.
As of now, the 39-year-old singer is healing peacefully in her home in Los Angeles. But is the drama truly over?