Britney Spears' father Jamie has been her conservator since 2008 when she started experiencing severe mental health problems.
Many of us have complicated relationships with our parents but we don't have to see them every day, if we don't want to, as adults. However, there are people stuck in a toxic relationship with their parents and are unable to remove themselves from that situation. Britney Spears, 38, a mother-of-two is stuck in a situation where she has had to let her abusive father be in control of her life.
Jamie Spears, 68, who was described as an "alcoholic" by his ex-wife Lynne, became a conservator and guardian for the pop star when she had a nervous breakdown. In 2007, he was credited for saving the Baby One More Time singer, who had multiple mental health issues. Since 2008, he has been her conservator but now, Britney has had enough. She no longer wants him as a legal guardian and told the court that she is "afraid" of him.
As per Daily Mirror, her court-appointed lawyer Samuel Ingham told a judge, "My client has informed me she is afraid of her father. She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career." Even then, Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny refused to remove him from the role but the judge said she's willing to consider future petitions. The Oops... I Did It Again singer has been trying to have Jamie removed from that position for some time now.
In 2019, Britney was reportedly furious with him for allegedly abusing her child. She has two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline, and he had filed a criminal complaint against her father when he found out that he allegedly "put hands" on their son, Sean. A representative for Federline had told E! News that Kevin was acting in Sean and Jayden's "best interest."
She is a protective mom, who was ready to fight her own father, for the sake of her children. "Britney was very upset with her dad and left with the boys. She never wants Jamie to treat her boys the way he did or to get involved with disciplining them in that way," a source told E! News. "Britney had to explain to Kevin what happened and he felt they had no choice but to go to the police," the insider explains. "Kevin wants to protect his boys."
Eventually, Kevin was granted a restraining order against the pop star's father on behalf of his sons. Jamie was not allowed to contact Sean or Jayden and nor was he permitted to act as the mandated supervisor when the boys are with Britney. She is "extremely anxious and paranoid about losing custody and she feels Jamie put her in jeopardy," a source said.
With her father as her conservator, she could lose the two most important people to her. Her father's actions gave her less time with her children than before as the child custody arrangement was amended, as per the Sun.
She put her music career on hold in 2019 and now told the court that she wouldn't work until her father is no longer in charge of her career. However, there are two sides to the story and apparently, she went from being in debt to being worth almost $60 million with her father in charge, his lawyer told the court in Los Angeles. Removing Jamie as the conservator might hurt Britney, the lawyer said, as per Mirror.
Britney’s care manager Jodi Montgomery had taken over the role briefly when he was unwell, but Britney has said she "strongly prefers" her to Jamie, who is sole conservator. "The conservatorship must be changed substantially to reflect the major changes in her lifestyle and her stated wishes. Britney is strongly opposed to James’ return as conservator of her person," said Ingham.
Britney's sister, Jamie Lynn, had also tried to seek control of her sister's finances. She is already a trustee of her estate and had asked the court to make her the legal guardian of the finances. However, Britney's father is the custodian until 2021, until further notice, as per BBC.
Jamie has been the permanent conservator of her person, while lawyer Andrew Wallet became a permanent co-conservator of her estate. Wallet quit in 2019 and since then fans have been rallying under the banner of "Free Britney," claiming that she is being controlled and manipulated by her father. Jamie dismissed the claims.
"All these conspiracy theorists don’t know anything. The world don’t have a clue. It’s up to the court of California to decide what’s best for my daughter. It’s no one else’s business," he told PageSix, calling the movement a "joke."
References:
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/01/britney-spears-dad-jamie/#
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/britney-spears-afraid-father-wont-22995779
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/9861744/britney-spears-dad-jamie-investigated-abusing-son/
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53930167
https://pagesix.com/2020/08/01/britney-spears-dad-calls-freebritney-a-conspiracy-theory/
