A Judge has temporarily suspended her father as her conservator, ending his 13 year-long control of the pop singer's US $60 million estate. Video / AP
Britney Spears' father Jamie Spears is no longer in control of her financial decisions and personal life.
Judge Brenda Penny has temporarily suspended her father as her conservator, ending his 13 year-long control of the pop singer's US $60 million estate.
Groups of fans gathered today in Los Angeles to hear the outcome of the court's decision.
Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny agreed with a petition from Spears and her attorney, Mathew Rosengart, that James Spears needs to give up his role as conservator. The move is a major victory for the singer, who pleaded in dramatic hearings in June and July that her father needed to be out.
"The current situation is untenable," Penny said after hearing arguments from both sides. "It reflects a toxic environment which requires the suspension of James Spears."
James Spears sought the conservatorship in 2008 and had been its primary controller and biggest champion. He reversed course in recent weeks, asking the judge to end the conservatorship.
Britney was not present in court for the ruling, but her parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears, watched on via a Zoom link.
Jamie Spears and Britney Spears. Photo / AP
Huge crowds of her fans gathered outside the Los Angeles court while the hearing took place, carrying homemade signs featuring photos of the singer and #FreeBritney, the viral hashtag supporting the star.
They erupted in celebration as the news of the ruling spread.
Britney Spears and Rosengart agreed that the conservatorship should end and said in court documents that James Spears' removal was a necessary first step.
Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart has been aggressively pushing for the ouster of her father, Jamie Spears, since moments after Penny allowed her to hire Rosengart in July. Penny denied Rosengart's request for an emergency hearing on the issue, telling the attorney it could wait until Wednesday.
And in a major reversal, James Spears, who first sought the conservatorship in 2008 and has been its primary overseer, has filed a petition to end it altogether. He urged the judge to make a decision on the issue Wednesday and make questions of his status moot.
Britney Spears and Rosengart said in a subsequent filing that they agree with her father that the conservatorship should end, marking the first time she has called for an end to the arrangement in court documents.
A fan holds a sign featuring an American flag with an image of Britney Spears and the hashtag #FreeBritney outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. Photo / AP
They emphasised, however, that it is more important to her that her father be removed, calling it a necessary first step toward her freedom and "ending the Kafkaesque nightmare imposed upon her."
Rosengart said in another filing this week that James Spears "crossed unfathomable lines" by engaging in illegal surveillance of her, including communications with her lawyer, as reported in "Controlling Britney Spears," a documentary from The New York Times and the FX network, one of two dueling documentaries released on the eve of the hearing.
Britney's explosive testimony
Wednesday's ruling comes after an explosive few months in the case, beginning with Britney telling judge Brenda Penny in June that she wanted the legal arrangement terminated, news.com.au reports.
The pop star, 39, begged the court to allow her to regain control of her personal affairs and finances during a bombshell hearing in which her court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, resigned after she claimed he never told her that the conservatorship could end.
During Britney's explosive 24-minute testimony, she called her father an "abusive" conservator and levelled a number of shocking accusations against him, including that he forced her to go on tour in 2018 and sent her to a mental health facility against her will in 2019.
She also claimed her conservators would not allow her to have her IUD (contraceptive device) removed, and once put her on lithium "out of nowhere," a drug she described as so strong that she "couldn't even have a conversation" with her parents.
"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," argued the singer, who performed a four-year, 248-show Las Vegas residency and judged a season of The X Factor while under the conservatorship.
