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It all started in 2007 - Following her divorce from Kevin Federline and the loss of custody of her children, Britney Spears began behaving erratically, including the infamous head-shaving incident. She was admitted twice to hospital under a temporary psychiatric assessment ruling in 2008.

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Her father took legal action -

Concerns about her mental welfare fueled Spears’ father Jamie to petition a Los Angeles court to place his daughter under a temporary conservatorship, in which her career, finances, and personal affairs were handed over to legal guardians.

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The conservatorship -

In the US, a conservatorship is a legal concept in which a guardian is appointed by a judge to manage the financial affairs and/or daily life of another due to severe physical or mental limitations, like dementia or old age. Spears' conservatorship is split into two parts—one is for her estate and financial affairs, the other is for her person. Her father was initially placed in charge of both, the BBC reports.

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She had no control - Conservators make decisions on living situations, health care, transportation, clothing, recreation, and well-being. Conservators of the estate collect income, pay bills, and take control of all assets. Jamie was a co-conservator who wielded this power over his daughter. 

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The specifics were not made public - At the time, media surrounding the pop star was convincing enough to make it seem like Spears was not in control, and not too many people asked questions about the conservatorship. But what was supposed to be a temporary measure was quietly and continuously extended, even while Spears returned to work.

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She has worked for money she didn't control -

In the many years under the conservatorship, Spears released three albums: 2011's comeback album 'Femme Fatale,' 2013's 'Britney Jean,' and 2016's 'Glory.'

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She made several TV appearances -

One of those included a stint as a judge on the second season of the US 'X Factor' in 2012.

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She had a successful Las Vegas residency - After having rehabilitated her image, she began a four-year concert residency in Las Vegas in 2013. It was well received by critics and also achieved huge commercial success. By 2017, she'd performed nearly 250 shows and reportedly grossed close to US$138 million.

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The #FreeBritney movement goes way back -

The hashtag #FreeBritney reportedly dates back to a 2009 fan site that disagreed with the conservatorship. Over the years, her fans believed she was forced to remain in the conservatorship, she wasn't allowed to have a lawyer, and that she was sending subtle signals asking for help.

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Potential cries for help on social media - For years, the singer herself never commented on #FreeBritney or the conservatorship, so fans started dissecting her increasingly bizarre social media posts. On one Instagram post in July 2020, they requested in the comments to wear yellow if she needed help. Then she actually did it, and she captioned the video explaining that her florist surprised her with a flower arrangement and: “I was so excited I threw on my favorite yellow shirt and just had to SHARE.” Fans tagged the FBI in the comments. 

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'Framing Britney Spears' -

The conservatorship gained renewed attention in February 2021 following the release of the New York Times documentary 'Framing Britney Spears,' which looked at the media's treatment of the star as well as her guardianship. It drew large-scale attention to the #FreeBritney movement, with many celebrities (from Miley Cyrus to Cher) voicing their support.

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Documents revealed she spoke out as early as 2016 -

Confidential court records, shared by The New York Times on June 22, 2021, showed that the pop star had actually voiced serious opposition to the conservatorship earlier than had previously been reported—as early as in 2016.

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The docs detailed her restrictions - They showed that the conservatorship restricted many aspects of her life, from who she dated to the color of her kitchen cabinets. According to the report, she was only given a weekly allowance of US$2,000 at the time, which is nothing compared to how much money she made performing in Las Vegas.

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It detailed the financial abuse of power -

While she was working hard to earn her money, the people around her—who were on her payroll—were getting to dictate how she spent it. In the report, Spears told the court investigator she was accompanied by security at all times and they, along with her assistant, decided when she could use her credit card.

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Contrary to reports that she never tried to get out of it... -

Spears had in fact protested her guardianship. "She feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her," the report read.

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No change -

Despite Britney's claim in the report that her father was "obsessed" with controlling her, the court investigator still decided the conservatorship should remain because of her "complex finances, susceptibility to undue influence and 'intermittent' drug issues." The investigator did, however, include that the court should allow for "a pathway to independence and the eventual termination of the conservatorship."

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It cost her a fortune in court -

In 2018, it was reported that Spears spent US$1.1 million on legal and conservator fees, according to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight.

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She apparently petitioned again in 2019 -

In a separate closed hearing in 2019, Spears reportedly brought up the conservatorship again. The NYT reports that it was in this hearing that she told the court "she had felt forced by the conservatorship into a stay at a mental health facility and to perform against her will."

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Jamie's lawyer painted her as a free woman -

In March 2021, Jamie's lawyer Vivian L. Thoreen told People that the singer could end the conservatorship whenever she wants: "Britney knows that her daddy loves her, and that he will be there for her whenever and if she needs him, just as he always has been—conservatorship or not."

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Jamie's health issues forced him to step down - When Jamie fell ill in 2019, professionally licensed conservator Jodi Montgomery stepped in temporarily. Britney's legal team later requested that Montgomery replace him permanently as conservator of Britney's person. However, Jamie was allowed to remain in his position as co-conservator of her estate.

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#FreeBritney reignited in 2019 -

After Spears abruptly canceled a Las Vegas residency and checked into a mental health center in 2019, citing emotional distress from her father's illness, the campaign gained renewed energy. Little did they know how valid their fears were.

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No change -

Despite her efforts, in November 2020, a judge declined to remove Jamie from her conservatorship, instead naming financial firm the Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator of her estate. A month later, the judge extended Jamie's conservatorship until September 2021.

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The June 23, 2021 hearing -

Spears addressed the Los Angeles court directly in a 24-minute testimony, and in the full transcript shared by Variety she asks the judge to end the "abusive" conservatorship “without being evaluated” because, she said, "I deserve to have a life." She detailed the alleged abuse, and it's worse than her fans imagined.

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Horrifying revelations - Spears said she wanted to take out her IUD (a birth control device that is inserted into the uterus) so she could try to have another baby with then-boyfriend Sam Asghari, “But this so-called team won't let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don't want me to have children—any more children," she said.

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Abuse by her therapist - Spears said one of her therapists (whom she never even approved of) forced her to take lithium, which inhibited her from proper functioning. “I felt drunk,” she said. But still, she had round-the-clock nurses making sure she was medicated.

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Forced to go to therapy in a paparazzi-laden area -

The media's narrative of an unstable pop star continued, “But it was a very clever thing,” Spears said, explaining that they made her go to therapy in “one of the most exposed places in Westlake, knowing I have the hot topic of the conservatorship, that over five paparazzis are going to show up and get me crying coming out of that place."

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Forced into rehab -

Spears said her father forced her into a rehab program (echoing statements she reportedly made in 2019) that cost her US$60,000 a month, during which she still worked seven days a week but had 24/7 nurses and security who even watched her change and took eight vials of blood every week for testing. “I had no privacy door for my room,” she said.

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Her true thoughts on her father -

"The control he had over someone as powerful as me—he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000%. He loved it,” Spears reiterated. “But my precious body, who has worked for my dad for the past f—king 13 years, trying to be so good and pretty. So perfect...” She openly criticized the state of California for enabling Jamie's abuse of power.

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She was worked to the bone -

“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,” Spears claimed. “I never had a say in my schedule.”

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Why she lied about being okay -

Spears explained that she lied and told her fans that she was fine on social media because her efforts to remove the conservatorship had failed in the past—she was “in denial,” and she said, “I've been in shock. I am traumatized … But now I'm telling you the truth, OK? I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry it's insane. And I'm depressed. I cry every day.”

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On her past court experiences -

She spoke of her previous hearings and how the lack of change that came from them "made me feel like I was dead—like I didn't matter, like nothing had been done to me, like you thought I was lying or something. I'm telling you again, because I'm not lying. I want to feel heard."

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She doesn't want to be evaluated -

"I don't think I owe anyone to be evaluated. I've done more than enough,” Spears said, citing her successful career. “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."

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She wants to take legal action -

Spears addressed the judge: “Ma'am, my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said no—ma'am, they should be in jail.” She added that she would like to sue her family for living off her conservatorship for 13 years.

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No more silence -

She said of her family and managers: “I also would like to be able to share my story with the world, and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them ... It concerns me, I'm told I'm not allowed to expose the people who did this to me.”

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She wants the laws to change -

“What state allows people to own another person's money and account and threaten them and saying, 'You can't spend your money unless you do what we want you to do,'" she asked. "And I'm paying them.”

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Jamie's response -

After Britney spoke, an attorney shared a statement on behalf of Jamie. "Mr. Spears is sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain," the statement read. "Mr. Spears loves his daughter and misses her very much." In March, Jamie's attorney told CNN that Jamie knew he wasn't perfect. "Like any parent, he doesn't always see eye-to-eye on what Britney may want. But Jamie believes every single decision he has made has been in her best interest."

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Her brother previously spoke out -

On the July 23, 2020, episode of the 'As Not Seen on TV' podcast, Bryan Spears, the eldest sibling, stated that Britney "always wanted to get out of [the conservatorship]" and though he empathized with her struggle under such control, he maintained it was “a great thing for our family."

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Her sister spoke out after the testimony -

On June 28, Britney's younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears shared on social media why she has been silent throughout the years. She claimed she felt her sister could speak for herself, and said she doesn't care what her sister does as long as it makes her happy. “Maybe I didn't support the way the public may have liked me to with a hashtag on a public platform, but I can assure you I have supported my sister long before there was a hashtag and I'll support her long after," she said, as reported by E! News.

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The 911 call - A report from The New Yorker on July 3 revealed even more disturbing details about her testimony, including that the pop star allegedly called 911 the night before her bombshell court hearing on June 23. According to the article,  Spears "called 911 to report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse." Then, following the purported call, Spears's team reportedly began "texting one another frantically," allegedly because "They were worried about what Spears might say the next day, and they discussed how to prepare in the event that she went rogue."

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Enter Mathew Rosengart -

Spears had an encouraging victory in court on July 6, when the judge granted her the right to hire her own lawyer for the first time in 13 years. Spears hired a high-profile Hollywood attorney who took a much more aggressive approach in their fight to end the conservatorship. 

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Trouble for Jamie Spears -

In a court hearing on July 14, Spears told the judge she wanted to file charges against her father for conservatorship abuse. Her new lawyer confirmed that they would be taking aggressive action going forward. 

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A new petition -

Spears's new lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, had signed a new petition to remove her father, Jamie Spears, as her conservator, and after 13 years, it seemed her father finally heard her pleas. He filed a petition to the court to end the conservatorship, stating that his daughter should have the right to manage her own life if she feels she is capable. He was officially removed in September of 2021. 

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Her mother wasn't blameless -

In a since-deleted post shared by Pop Crave, Britney wrote on Instagram, "my dad may have started the conservatorship… but what people don't know is that my mom is the one who gave him the idea […] she secretly ruined my life … and yes I will call her and Lou Taylor out on it." She added, "so take your whole 'I have NO IDEA what's going on' attitude and go f—k yourself." She continued, "my dad is not smart enough to ever think of a conservatorship."

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Britney is free! -

On November 12, the judge finally terminated the singer's conservatorship after 13 years! The 39-year-old shared a video on Instagram of her fans celebrating outside the LA courthouse and wrote, "Good God I love my fans so much it's crazy !!! I think I'm gonna cry the rest of the day !!!! Best day ever." She added, "praise the Lord … can I get an Amen ???? #FreedBritney."

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Family fallout -

Britney has since been seen living life to the fullest again , finally marrying her fiance Sam Asghari in June. However, Spears and her lawyer stated that they would take legal action against her father.  If Spears sues for conservatorship abuse, it could be another landmark trial. 

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Revelations of surveillance -

A former employee of Black Box Security, Alex Vlasov, informed the New York Times that he had been hired by Jamie Spears to secretly install a listening device in Britney's bedroom. The accusations have since been corroborated by a former FBI special agent who was hired by Britney's legal team to investigate. When questioned in the past, Jamie's lawyers stated that "All of his actions were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court. His actions were done with the knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney, and/or the court." Vlasov says that Black Box Security was already monitoring Britney's cellphone when he joined the company in 2012. He claims that the company initially made the suggestion that the recording device be installed in her room, but Jamie Spears loved the idea and enthusiastically told them to proceed. 

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Deposition -

Britney, her lawyer (Matthew Rosengart), and many others feel that those responsible for her conservatorship need to answer for their actions. Jamie Spears has finally been ordered to appear for deposition after months of avoidance. Rosengart has been fighting for the opportunity to question Jamie about many aspects of the conservatorship, particularly the alleged secret surveillance devices he hid in Britney's room, and how much of her money he spent during that time.  

Sources: (E! News) (Variety) (BBC) (Page Six) (E! News) (The New York Times) (E! News) (ET)

See also: Artists discuss the dark side of the music industry

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