Britney’s Dad Dropped From Conservatorship
• In a major victory for Britney Spears and those who truly care about her welfare, her father, Jamie Spears has been ousted from her conservatorship, following a long, drawn-out legal battle that has persisted since Britney was placed under the court-ordered arrangement in 2008.
As reported by Variety, Judge Brenda Penny ruled that Jamie Spears will no longer serve as the conservator of his daughter’s estate. John Zabel, an accountant, will temporarily replace Jamie Spears as conservator of her estate, meaning he will now control all of her financial decisions until next steps are determined. Spears’ conservator of her person, Jodi Montgomery, who manages her day-to-day well-being and medical decisions, still remains on the case.
This summer has seen more movement in Spears’ case than in the past 13 years, largely because of the star’s own public testimony and the ability to hire her own attorney. As the case began to play out in the public eye over the past few months, public interest skyrocketed to an all-time high, dominating headlines around the world with a rallying cry to #FreeBritney.
On June 23, Britney delivered blistering testimony over the phone, marking the first time she publicly addressed the court in her 13-year conservatorship. During her 24-minute statement Spears told the judge her conservatorship was “abusive” and asked for it to be terminated without further evaluation.
The tension in the case ratcheted up considerably in the wake of several recent documentaries, most notably FX & Hulu’s Controlling Britney Spears, produced by The New York Times, that exposed damning allegations that Jamie Spears and fellow conservators were closely monitoring Britney by tracking her phone and bugging her home, where they captured audio recordings of her private conservations in her bedroom.
No decision has been made yet on the fate of the conservatorship altogether, which Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, said should be terminated this fall and suggested setting a termination hearing within the next 45 days. Rosengart told the judge that the pop star agreed with his proposed course of action to first suspend her father and then to terminate the conservatorship, which would be in her best interest.
