The Take: Britney – overprotected?
Britney Spears has come so far since her 2007 public breakdown. So why is her life still being controlled?
Next Year will mark an entire decade that Britney Spears has been under the conservatorship of her father, Jamie Spears, and a lawyer, Andrew M Wallet, who retain total control over her affairs and estate. This drastic US legal proceeding was implemented by a judge at Los Angeles Superior Court on 1 February 2008 at the height of the pop singer’s traumatic public meltdown, when she was deemed incapable of managing her own life.
But cut to today, and insiders tell Grazia that the 36-year-old mother-of-two, unsurprisingly, wants out. Looking back at just how far the singer has come and what she’s achieved in those 10 transformative years, it’s not hard to see why.
Firstly, let’s put the conservatorship into perspective. It’s usually reserved for the elderly battling Alzheimer’s, young people
with severe developmental disabilities or the severely ill. It means that Britney’s most mundane purchases – down to drinks from Starbucks – are closely monitered. According to some reports, her phone and internet use are also restricted.
That doesn’t sound like someone who was capable of making an eye-watering $34 million last year alone, through performing and endorsement deals, and is estimated to be worth a total $200 million. On the surface, Britney – who is currently in a relationship with Sam Asghari, 23 – appears to have completely turned her life around. In the time that she has spent rebuilding her career, she’s released four studio albums – including the critically acclaimed Glory last year – and this month will complete a hugely successful four-year residency in Las Vegas. The show, Piece Of Me, has so far grossed around $121 million in ticket sales (with Britney earning a reported $475,000 a show). But the star’s fortune, along with everything else in her life, is still controlled by her father Jamie, who is reported to be paid $192,000-a-year for his role as conservator (as well as being reimbursed for the rent on an office he uses, and 1.5% of gross revenues from the performances and merchandising tied to her Vegas show).
‘Britney wants the conservatorship to end,’ a well-placed insider reveals. ‘She’s been hinting at it and making incredible progress over the years. She’s had enough of feeling so constricted by the terms of it. Next year, she wants to break free.’
One leading US showbiz journalist, who has interviewed Britney during her highs and lows (and preferred to remain anonymous), agrees that it’s high-time for her freedom. ‘It’s staggering it’s still in place. What more does she need to prove?’ the writer tells Grazia. ‘It seems to me that Britney has always been controlled by men. Whether that’s her father Jamie, record executives, or dangerous characters like Sam Lutfi [the ex-manager she hired during her breakdown]. From spending time with her before and after her meltdown, I worry that she’s been made to feel that she’s not capable of taking back control, when really, she might be.’
The journalist adds that when Britney’s father Jamie stepped in to save his daughter, who had befriended various members of the press, the old Britney was gone. ‘In one swoop, it was as if they suddenly wiped her off the face of the planet. Nobody could get to her.’
That’s not to say that the conservatorship (which was initially supposed to be a temporary measure) didn’t save Britney from the brink. In her darkest moments played out in public, the singer shaved her head, wielded an umbrella against the paparazzi, lost custody of her two children (Sean, 12, and Jayden James, 11) to ex-husband Kevin Federline (they now share custody), suffered a mental breakdown and was forced into a psychiatric ward. At the time, a family intervention seemed like the only solution to save her.
But a mere seven months out of the spotlight, Britney – a lucrative cash cow for many – resurfaced with her mega-watt smile and a new album to promote (2008’s Circus) as if nothing had happened.
One person that knew Britney at this time is celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who went from documenting her breakdown to eventually befriending the star, becoming part of her 2009 Circus world tour (Perez filmed an opening act sequence that attempted to wink at the ferocious media frenzy that followed her.) ‘She was clearly going through a lot,’ Perez tells Grazia of that period. ‘And thankfully, her family was able to get her help, and get her to stay alive.’
Perez, however, refuses to believe that there is any issue with her still being under the control of a legal guardianship as an adult. ‘I don’t think Britney is taking back control of her life in terms of getting rid of her conservatorship. I think she likes it. It works for her.’ I can’t help but wonder if he doesn’t want to upset Team Britney. Does he think she’s happy? ‘I look at her and see a woman living her best life: having a hot boyfriend, still having a career, being a mom, painting, putting up silly videos on Instagram, doing whatever she wants.’ That is, of course, all with the permission of a parent and a lawyer.
To promote her big comeback, Britney took part in a special MTV documentary For The Record in 2008, which to this day remains one of the few times she has spoken about the conservatorship. ‘I think it’s too in control. If I wasn’t under the restraints I’m under, I’d feel so liberated,’ she said. ‘ There’s no excitement, there’s no passion. Even when you go to jail, you know there’s the time when you’re going to get out. But in this situation, it’s never-ending.’ She also said: ‘ When I tell them the way I feel, it’s like they hear, but they’re really not listening.’
Then, there were reports from audience members of The Jonathan Ross Show in 2016 that claimed she mentioned the conservatorship by saying she was getting control on things in her life ‘little by little’, but that the host changed the subject as it was a line of questioning he was allegedly not allowed to pursue.
In Britney’s own words, it seems entirely absurd that she is still having to fight for a way out. There is no standard length for a conservatorship, which is most commonly a permanent arrangement although, as previously mentioned, Britney is not your usual conservatee. To eliminate the agreement the singer herself, along with a lawyer, would have to make a case in court to end it. Our insider adds: ‘Britney is ready for this outcome. She’s grateful to be in a good place now, but it’s been years too long. She wants her escape.’
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