Britney Spears Has Finally Addressed the Court About Her Conservatorship: 'I'm Traumatized'
On Wednesday afternoon, Britney Spears addressed a Los Angeles probate court, asking that her 13-year, court-mandated conservatorship be ended without the requirement of passing a medical evaluation. It is the first time in almost a decade that Spears has spoken publicly about the conservatorship, which has been managed by her father since it was first enacted in 2008. According to The New York Times, the pop singer gave a 23-minute speech via phone, alleging that she has been "drugged" and "forced to work against her will," under the "abusive" parameters of the current conservatorship arrangement.
Speaking to the court, she said, "I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. I just want my life back." As part of the conservatorship, Spears' father Jamie was the controlling conservator for years, until last November when the financial aspects of Spears' conservatorship—a $60 million estate—were untangled from her day to day activities. Moving forward, Jamie has been in control of Spears' daily goings on, while Bessemer Trust controls her finances. Later in the hearing, she added, "I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work. The laws need to change... I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive... I don’t feel like I can live a full life.”
The speech was riddled with a laundry list of groundbreaking details, including that Spears was unaware that she could petition to end the conservatorship. She added, "It’s embarrassing and demoralizing what I’ve been through, and that’s the main reason I didn’t say it openly. I didn’t think anybody would believe me." She added that she has experienced depression, cries every day, and is unable to get married and have another child because she cannot make an appointment to get her IUD removed, per reporting from NPR.
The speech is the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of Spears' conservatorship. In April, Spears' court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, petitioned that Spears be allowed to address the court. Following her prepared remarks, the court took a brief recess and returned, at which point Spears' father's attorney issued a statement on behalf of Jamie, saying, "He is sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain."
Ultimately, Ingham added that considering that Spears was able to address the court publicly, a request she made at the beginning of her comments, the rest of the proceedings should be sealed, as they have been in past months. He added that he'd also like to consult with Spears to ask if she'd like to petition, formally, to end the conservatorship and if she would like to seek different council moving forward.
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