How the horrifying death of Britney Spears' grandparents may have led to toxic conservatorship
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jamie Spears' dictatorial control over his pop star daughter, Britney Spears, for 13 years of her adult life was brought on by the horrific upbringing he experienced, according to a report. Jamie Spears had a sad upbringing; his mother, Emma Jean Forbes Spears, died by suicide, and his father, June Austin Spears, was so violent against his subsequent wife that he was forced to check her into a mental institution.
The most recent cover article of New York magazine, 'House of Spears', details Jamie's history of being subjected to violent acts and terrible deaths as a youngster and how he ultimately failed to break the cycle during the upbringing of his own children. Britney, who turned 40 in December, claims that her father plotted to take over her finances in a "premeditated" manner after a lady "introduced the idea to my dad" before her highly-publicized illness in 2008. Additionally, she alleges that during the course of this time, Jamie constantly mistreated and tormented her and violated her "fundamental civil liberties" by monitoring her private life with "illicit bugging devices." Now that New York Magazine has thoroughly looked into the singer's extended family, there is finally some justification for her father's alleged actions.
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When Jamie, now 70, was 4 years old in 1957 and his 3-day-old brother, Austin Spears died, he had his first bout of anguish. Nine years later, while standing on Austin's grave, their mother, Emma, shot herself to death at the age of 31.
In the eight months following the suicide of his first wife, June remarried, this time to Jo Ann Blackwell, who later testified in court that he had beaten her, "constantly" slandered her, and committed "numerous acts of cruelty" toward her.
John Mark Spears and Leigh Ann Spears, who are the children of June and Jo, previously revealed to the New York Post that their father hospitalized their mother against her consent before divorcing her. John stated, "He ruined Emma Jean, and he ruined my mama [Jo Ann]. He shipped them both off to Mandeville [a psychiatric hospital in Louisiana] from time to time."
John added, "So I'm not too surprised about what Jamie's done to Britney. It's all about control with the Spears men." Even as an adult, Jamie's life kept getting worse. He almost lost his marriage to Lynne Spears, Britney's mother, after he cheated on her with a woman he met in a pub in 1979. He battled alcoholism for decades.
Jamie and Lynne also experienced financial difficulties and declared bankruptcy just three months before Britney released her debut single, '...Baby One More Time', in 1998. Jamie struggled to hold down a job for years, but in 2008, he was appointed as her conservator and was able to get a stable income.
Jamie acquired nearly total control of his Grammy-winning daughter's personal, medical, and financial decisions under the court-approved arrangement. He served as conservator until his suspension in 2021. That year, Britney claimed in court that her father had put her on lithium when he admitted her to a mental hospital in 2019. Jamie has refuted all accusations of misconduct.