CEBU CITY, Philippines — If you’re a huge Britney Spears fan, you would know that there’s a lot more going on with the pop icon apart from her life as a singer and a performer.
Over the last few years, the pop star actually hasn’t held full control of her life and fortune and has dealt with a lot of legal battles. There has also been an online movement called the #FreeBritney movement seen trending on online platforms.
It’s been four years since the pop star visited the Philippines for her concert and many of her Filipino fans might be unaware of her current predicament. So what has really changed with the life of Britney Spears since then?
The current issue with Spears all started back in 2008 when she had several public mental breakdowns involving a series of incidents, including shaving her head and hitting a photographer’s car with an umbrella.
Britney Spears swung an umbrella on a vehicle of a photographer in 2007 | y101fm
Her seemingly erratic behavior led to her multiple hospitalizations under psychiatric hold and the public’s raised concern about her mental welfare.
At that time, her father, Jamie Spears, petitioned courts for an emergency temporary conservatorship which was then granted by the Los Angeles Superior Court. With the conservatorship, a legal guardianship usually reserved for individuals incapable of making their own decisions, Britney’s estate, financial and personal assets were placed under the control of her father and a lawyer.
Jamie and Britney Spears, pictured in 2006 | Getty Images
Despite the stigma that revolves around the singer’s mental health battles, she never faltered with her career. She even made a comeback with her 2008 album, Circus, and continued to release, albums, tours, and worked on other projects over the years.
However, the structure of the conservatorship has long bothered some of the singer’s fans, who claim it is being used to control and possibly manipulate her against her will. This resulted in the launch of FreeBritney.net in 2019.
“During the thirteen years of Spears’ conservatorship she has repeatedly toured the world, released multiple albums, and worked on a variety of television shows,” the site pointed out. “Her conservators decide whether or not she works, as she cannot enter into contracts for herself because she is legally not her own person. Britney Spears needs permission from her conservators to leave her house or spend any of her own money.”
Confidential court records showed that Spears had voiced serious opposition to the conservatorship since 2014. They also showed that the conservatorship restricted certain aspects of her life, including who she dated and the colors of her own kitchen cabinets.
The pop star has always been silent with the subject and continued with her persona on social media. It was just in April of this year that a lawyer for the singer requested a hearing to the court about her conservatorship.
On June 23, Wednesday afternoon, the singer publicly addressed the conservatorship she has lived in for 13 years. From her 23-minute court statement over the phone, she pleaded for the conservatorship to end and shares that she felt traumatized and depressed.
“I just want my life back,” she tells the court.
“I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy. It’s a lie,” Spears said, saying she believed that if she said this enough times it might come true. “I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry it’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day.”
Spears also detailed how she was medicated against her will and was abused by a previous therapist. She also said that she is being exploited and controlled by her father, Jamie.
“I feel ganged up on, I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone,” Spears said. “And I’m tired of feeling alone.”
Shortly after her statement, the court recessed, and after its return, the transmission was stopped, ending the hearing without resolution.
Fans from the “Free Britney” movement campaign outside the court hearings | Reuters
#FreeBritney supporters have rallied around Spears in the wake of her June 23 testimony, while fans from around the world are taking their support to social media.
Fellow celebrities have spoken out in support of Britney as well, including Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey, and Justine Timberlake, to name a few.
There will be an additional hearing for the legal proceedings around Spears’ conservatorship scheduled for July 14. /rcg