Britney Spears has spoken. The 39-year-old singer addressed a Los Angeles Superior Court judge via video on Wednesday (June 23) to hash out her controversial conservatorship in a public forum for the first time. For years, Britney has been fighting to remove her father Jamie Spears, 68, from controlling her conservatorship. Britney, who took part in the hearing remotely, compared her father to a “sex trafficker” and said that “he loved” having control over her.
“This is called sex trafficking” #BritneySpeaks #FreeBritney
— Britney Law Army (@BritneyLawArmy) June 23, 2021
Britney also said during the hearing that would like to “sue” her family and that “they should go to jail.” Additionally, Britney claimed that was unable to see her friends she made during AA meetings for three years and was given lithium after being on a different drug for the past 5 years. “It felt like I was drunk,” she said. Britney also said that she wants the “abusive” conservatorship to end “without being evaluated.” She added, “There are thousands of abusive conservatorships … they need to be reminded that they actually work for me.”
The Louisiana native last performed live as part of her Piece of Me Tour back in 2018 — a show she claims she was forced to do. “I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do. My management said if I don’t do this tour, I will have to find an attorney,” Britney explained. “My own management could sue me if I didn’t follow through with the tour. He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it. It was very threatening and scary. And with the conservatorship, I couldn’t even get my own attorney. So out of fear, I went ahead and I did the tour,” she added, referencing her highly successful Las Vegas residency that ran from 2013 – 2017. The full transcript of her testimony can be read via Variety.
Britney revealed during the lengthy testimony that she wishes to have another child — something that her conservatorship has prevented. “I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out,” she shockingly said. The pop star has been in a relationship with Sam Asghari, 27, since 2016, who also recently said he desires to become a father. Britney is mom to sons Jayden James, 14, and Sean Preston, 15, with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, 43. “I deserve to have a life…I just want my life back,” she said at another point.
“I want to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. I want to petition to end the conservatorship.” #BritneySpeaks #FreeBritney
— Britney Law Army (@BritneyLawArmy) June 23, 2021
Other allegations included being locked in her home and being told she couldn’t see her kids. If I didn’t do any of my meetings and work from eight to six at night, which is 10 hours a day, seven days a week, no days off, I wouldn’t be able to see my kids or my boyfriend. I never had a say in my schedule,” Britney claimed. “They always told me I had to do this. And Ma’am, I will tell you, sitting in a chair 10 hours a day, seven days a week, it ain’t fun… and especially when you can’t walk out the front door.”
After her comments to the judge, Britney’s dad Jamie and mom Lynne Spears released statements through their attorneys. “Mr. Spears is sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain,” Jamie’s attorney Vivian Thoreen read in a statement, according to Us Weekly. “Mr. Spears loves his daughter and misses her very much.”
Lynne’s lawyer, Gladstone Jones, also reportedly claimed she was a “very concerned mother” after the hearing.
Britney has been under a court-ordered conservatorship for the past 13 years, which came following a series of psychiatric hospitalizations in early 2008. Jamie is currently co-conservator along with the wealth management firm Bessemer Trust over Britney’s estate, meaning he controls her finances and career. But Britney is seeking to have her dad replaced as her conservator by Jodi Montgomery, her temporary care manager. The ongoing conservatorship battle was the subject of the February 2021 documentary Framing Britney Spears.
The scene outside the LA Superior Courthouse. #FreeBritney fans here to support. pic.twitter.com/Q200PJL5sQ
— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@EWagmeister) June 23, 2021
Britney has not addressed a judge regarding her conservatorship since May 2019, when her words didn’t leave the courtroom. In Nov. 2020, Britney’s attorney Samuel Ingham told the court on the superstar’s behalf that she is “afraid” of Jamie and that “she will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.” Jamie, for his part, has fought to remain his daughter’s co-conservator. He also slammed the Framing Britney Spears documentary and said that the “true” story is one about “a fiercely loyal, loving, and dedicated father who rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation.”
Like her dad, Britney had some things to say about the doc. In a March 30 Instagram post, Britney admitted she “cried for 2 weeks” over how she was portrayed in the film and felt “judged, insulted, and embarrassed.” In May, she said the media has been focusing more on the “negative” times in her life rather than the “amazing” moments and called out the recent documentaries on her as being “hypocritical.”