FREE BRITNEY: AN EXPLAINER
The singer’s conservatorship and the campaign to ‘free’ her explained
Even when you go to jail, there’s always the time that you know you’re going to get out. But in this situation, it’s never-ending.” These comments are from the 2008 documentary Britney Spears: For the Record, but somehow, they still feel painfully relevant today, considering that the star has little control over her life, with her lawyer recently stating that the singer is “afraid of her father”, and “will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career”.
It’s been almost 13 years since Britney was placed under the care of a “conservatorship” – but what exactly does that mean for her? To get a professional explanation, we asked private client trust and estate planning expert Mohammad Uz-zaman, who told us, “It’s a legal guardian – or guardians – appointed by a judge to look after a vulnerable individual, where they are deemed not to have physical or mental capacity to manage either their personal welfare or their property and financial affairs.”
And, with her lawyer’s recent comments, the singer’s unique situation has come under even more scrutiny, with some fans demanding she be “freed”. While it is impossible to know exactly what is going on in Britney’s life, we’ll try and make things a little bit clearer…
OVERPROTECTED
After a series of worrying incidents between 2007 and 2008 – including refusing to relinquish custody of her children and the infamous head-shaving incident – Britney was hospitalised in a psychiatric ward. Once she stepped foot in Cedars-sinai Medical Centre, she was no longer in control of her own life. When she left, a court had granted a temporary conservatorship, which would see
‘Britney is afraid of her father’
her dad Jamie (and lawyer Andrew Wallet) in charge of her personal life and finances.
While the exact details of the order are not in the public domain, it’s believed that Britney is unable to drive, vote, get married, have children, spend her own money, make business decisions or speak publicly about the conservatorship itself. As Mohammad tells heat, the point of the conservatorship is to manage and protect Britney and her wealth, with the aim of preventing exploitation.
For over a decade, Britney has remained bound by the arrangement without much controversy, working like a machine. During that time, she has released four albums, completed a four-year Las Vegas residency, made multiple TV appearances and launched a ton of merchandise. In fact, Brit’s work rate has meant that she’s gone from being in debt to being worth around $60m. In 2018, Andrew Wallet even requested a pay increase, to $426k a year, saying, “The next several years promise to be very lucrative.”
But recent legal changes and a marked increase in Britney’s unusual social media output (frenetic dancing, posting multiples of the same selfie, and cryptic quotes) have given rise to the “Free Britney” movement.
Fans have questioned the emotional toll the situation has taken on the 38 year old, and whether she is actually being exploited within the parameters of her conservatorship. And Mohammad says there’s a chance the enforced guardianship could last Britney’s entire life. In order to have it removed, he tells us,
“The courts would need to be satisfied the conservatee has mental capacity.” The situation is complicated, because while the conservatorship is legally termed “voluntary”, Mohammad adds, “Once a conservator has been appointed, the conservatee loses their own legal right to make personal decisions.”
MY PREROGATIVE
Eyebrows were raised at the beginning of 2019, after Britney cancelled her Domination Las Vegas residency. At the time, it was believed to be because Jamie had “almost died” from a ruptured colon. Then, two months later, Andrew Wallet stepped down from his role, and Britney entered a “wellness facility”.
A month later, a podcast titled Britney’s Gram – in which two comedians dissect the singer’s Instagram posts – put out an “emergency” episode. After being contacted by a “credible source”, they claimed that Britney had refused to take her medication – leading Jamie to force her to cancel the Vegas show – and had not gone to the facility willingly.
And thus #Freebritney was
born, with fans from all over the world regularly protesting at court dates, as well as across social media. And this is where things start to get a tad confusing.
STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY
Britney’s dad stepped down as conservator of Britney’s person in August 2019, citing poor health, and the singer’s care manager was appointed temporarily. That same month, Britney’s sons – Sean, 15, and Jayden, 14 – were granted a restraining order against Jamie after an alleged “physical altercation”. This is also when the custody order for the kids changed, going from a 50/50 split to 70/30 in favour of their father Kevin Federline.
Then, in August of this year, a judge ruled that the conservatorship be extended until at least February 2021. Court documents stated that Britney was “strongly opposed” to having her father return to his original role, and requested that an independent finance company replace him as conservator of her estate. Britney’s mother Lynn nominated Bessemer Trust Co. – who, in November, were appointed as a co-conservator alongside Jamie. And then came the comments from Britney’s lawyer in November. Explaining that the singer was “afraid” of her father, he asked that Jamie be suspended entirely. This request was denied by the judge, although she stated she would consider future appeals. Throughout this, Britney’s often bizarre and erratic Instagram feed has served as a backdrop to all of her legal battles. She has seemingly been responding to Free Britney fans – wearing a yellow top when commenters asked her to share the colour yellow if she needed help.
The bottom line is, Britney’s situation is complex. While her productivity and wealth have vastly increased over the last 12 years she’s been under the conservatorship – and she has never formally requested that it be terminated – she now clearly wants a say in what happens to her life. Britney’s fans are understandably passionate about their idol, but of course they can have no say over what happens to her. All they can do is sit on the sidelines and hope that the legal system and care put in place for her really are in her best interests.