Is Britney Spears 'afraid' of her dad? Singer says she won’t perform until he is removed from conservatorship
Britney Spears has decided not to give any performance until her father Jamie Spears is removed as a conservator of her estate. The 38-year-old has also said that she is afraid of him, her attorney revealed as reported by The Sun. Jamie is reportedly controlling all her finances for years after her public meltdown in 2008. But this August, Britney filed a case in a court to remove Jamie from his guardianship role.
On Tuesday, November 10, the singer’s attorney Samuel D Ingham III told the Los Angeles court, “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father. She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.” Though Judge Brenda Penny rejected Britney’s request, she said she would consider future petitions regarding the same. While Vivian Lee Thoreen, who is defending the pop star’s father, said that his client is perfect as Britney’s conservator. He noted that under his supervision, the mother-of-two’s net worth has gone from in debt to well over $60 million. "I don't believe there is a shred of evidence to support my client's suspension," Thoreen added.
For the November 10 hearing, Britney’s mother and Jamie’s ex-wife Lynne Spears was also present as an interested party. Lynne's lawyer, Gladstone N Jones, called the ‘Baby One More Time’ singer and her father’s relationship “toxic” and demanded Britney’s freedom from Jamie’s unreasonable demands. "It has broken Lynne's heart that things have come to this point," Jones said. The attorney also said that Lynne has no ugly feelings towards Britney’s father, but she believes the time has come “to start fresh". “Contentiousness is not uncommon in families, but this is not a usual family,” Jones added. Judge Penny though accepted Britney's request that a corporate fiduciary, the Bessemer Trust, along with her father will look over her estate.
This comes months after on August 17, a document was filed to the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles by Britney’s lawyers, which mentioned that she was “strongly opposed” to having Jamie “return as a conservator” and was petitioning that her temporary conservator, Jodi Montgomery, become her permanent guardian. Besides, attorneys of the ‘Womanizer’ singer said the conservatorship “must be changed substantially” to reflect the “major changes in her current lifestyle and her stated wishes”. The move was taken after Jamie gave up his role temporarily as conservator due to some health issues, but was due to resume this year.
Fans of the singer have been pretty vocal throughout the year when it came to expressing their support for her. The hashtag "Free Britney" usually trends on Twitter whenever it comes to any matter related to the singer and her battle against conservatorship. Fans are worried about her mental health and well-being and like her, want her to be free from her dad's control.
Once the news of Britney's court request being denied began to do the rounds on Twitter, fans started wondering why this happened: "I feel for her but there must be something wrong with her mental health for this to be happening. This has to be the reason for this to continue for this many years." Another mused, "There must be something the public doesn’t know about because this is extremely odd for a judge to continue to allow this conservatorship on an adult woman," while another reasoned, "Sounds very weird. She's got to be in her late 30s at least. Seems a grown woman should have control over her own finances." One wrote: "I am horrified, I can’t quite comprehend that a middle aged woman in 2020 has her life legally controlled by her father. Issues of mental etc, aside, this is appalling."
I feel for her but there must be something wrong with her mental health for this to be happening. This has to be the reason for this to continue for this many years.
— PCP (@pcp_conrad) November 11, 2020
There must be something the public doesn’t know about because this is extremely odd for a judge to continue to allow this conservatorship on an adult woman
— Melba (@MelbaTown) November 11, 2020
Sounds very weird. She's got to be in her late 30s at least. Seems a grown woman should have control over her own finances.
— AugustWriter (@AugustWriter) November 11, 2020
I am horrified, I can’t quite comprehend that a middle aged woman in 2020 has her life legally controlled by her father. Issues of mental etc, aside, this is appalling.
— Di Version (@diversion23_di) November 11, 2020