The Case of Britney Spears

Britney Spears is an American pop star, actress and TV personality. She was once widely regarded as the Princess of Pop. However, things fell apart for the star after her marriage to Kevin Federline ended and led to a bitter custody battle over their two sons. Allegations were made that Britney Spears was unfit to be a mother, and the star eventually lost the custody case.

Custody of her two children was not the only thing the star lost. Shortly after losing the custody case, the star lost her right to make both financial and personal decisions.

How did Spears Lose Her Freedom?

In 2007, after her divorce was finalised and she lost custody of her children, Spears displayed a hazardous behavioural pattern. Soon, her mental health was questioned due to a handful of distasteful public incidents. One of such incidents that made headlines was her slamming the car of a photographer with an umbrella and shaving her hair on camera. 

Spears was hospitalised twice in 2008 due to a verdict that insisted on a temporary psychiatric assessment. One of these verdicts was prompted after Spears was alleged to have a stand-off that involved the police for her refusal to hand over her children.

As a result, of being involved in various disreputable public incidents the state of Spears mental health became disputed, and her father Jamie Spears petitioned a court in Los Angeles to place the star under a temporary conservatorship, which was eventually extended indefinitely. This is the thirteenth year of her conservatorship.

The court ruling in favour of a temporary conservatorship over Spears was the beginning of the end of her freedom.  

What is a Conservatorship?

A conservatorship can only be granted by a court, and this verdict is only for people who are considered incapable of making their own decisions. For instance, people with dementia and other mental illnesses. 

Conservatorship is a legal concept in which a court of the law authorizes an individual to manage both the financial and personal affairs of those deemed unable to make decisions themselves.  

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Since a conservatorship was granted over Spears in 2008, she has not been in control of both her finances and personal life. Her father Jamie was authorized to oversee both her estates, finance, and personal life.

However, due to health reasons, in 2019, Jamie Spears temporarily relinquished his position as the conservatorship over his daughter’s personal life. A caring expert Jodi Montgomery took over his position, and reports have it that Britney Spears wants this temporary replacement to be made permanent. However, she now states that Jodi Montgomery is taking things too far.

#FreeBritney Campaign

A host of Britney’s fans campaigned against the conservatorship and it seems all these years Britney herself was not pleased with it.

For the first time since the conservatorship, on Wednesday 23rd June, Britney spoke in open court and described her conservatorship as “abusive and humiliating.” 

She disclosed to the Los Angeles court that her father has been drugging her with lithium against her wishes, and the drug makes her feel drunk and incapable of covering. Also, the conservatorship does not allow her to marry and have children and these are things she wants to do. She argued that she has a right to have children and live like every other person. She asserted that the conservatorship was causing her more harm.

No ruling has been made yet and it appears this might be a long legal case. To date, the public is ignorant of the reasons the conservatorship period was extended.

Mind you, though on conservatorship Britney continued her music career, went on tour (which she just disclosed that she was forced into going on it) and even appeared on TV. She was even an X-Factor judge at a time. So is she unable to make her own decisions?

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