BREAKING: Britney Spears' Conservatorship Ends After 13 Years
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Britney Spears' conservatorship has finally come to an end after 13 years.
The ruling was announced at Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday where Judge Brenda Penny formally dissolved the legal arrangement that has controlled the pop icon’s life, money, career and medication since 2008 following her psychiatric hospitalisation earlier that year.
Britney admitted earlier this week that she 'hadn't prayed for something more in her life'.
Her lawyer Matthew Rosengart successfully fought to terminate the arrangement despite her dad Jamie Spears, who presided over his daughter’s conservatorship, ferociously defending the arrangement until recently.
After being suspended from the agreement in September, Jamie filed court documents for the immediate end to the conservatorship earlier this month.
Judge Penny had sided decisively with Britney at the last hearing in September, calling the situation 'untenable'.
Rosengart has already vowed to pursue an investigation of Jamie’s handling of the conservatorship even after it ends. He has also publicly urged law enforcement to investigate shocking claims in New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears about a listening device allegedly placed in his daughter’s bedroom.
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In June, Britney addressed the court with an emotionally-charged testimony in which she demanded that the conservatorship end without any prying evaluation of her mental state, although legal experts said this was unlikely to happen.
Britney, 39, called the conservatorship ‘abusive’ and pleaded with the court to help her gain her freedom. "I just want my life back,” she said.
"It's not OK to force me to do anything I don't want to. The conservatorship should end. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive.
"I am not happy, I can't sleep. I'm so angry, it's insane. And I'm depressed."
Behind the scenes Britney had fought to end the conservatorship for several years. According to a report written by a probate investigator seen by The New York Times, the singer had been voicing concerns about the agreement long before #FreeBritney became a public movement.
Three years later, she told the court she felt forced by the conservatorship into performing and staying at a mental health facility.
In August 2020, the singer said she no longer wanted her father to be in control of her conservatorship, later asking that he be removed as the co-conservator of her estate. She even stated that she would no longer be performing while he was in control of her career.
Britney’s fans, who have championed the #FreeBritney movement and brought to widespread attention this year and whom the Toxic singer has credited with bringing her to this point, were outside the courthouse for the result.
Jodi Montgomery, the conservator who oversees the singer’s life and medical decisions, has developed a care plan with her therapists and doctors to guide her through the end of the conservatorship and its aftermath.
Topics: Celebrity, Britney Spears, News
