#Britney Spears to Speak in Court at Next Conservatorship Hearing

After the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears brought renewed attention to Britney Spears’ conservatorship, her legal battle with her father and court-ordered conservator James “Jamie” Spears returned to court today. Through an attorney, Britney Spears requested a hearing where she could address the court directly. Judge Brenda Penny granted the request. Spears, who rarely attends these hearings, will speak in court about the status of her conservatorship on June 23 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific, Reuters reports.

In November, a judge declined to remove Britney Spears’ father from his position as conservator. At the same time, however, the court appointed the independent firm Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator. Jamie Spears has exercised control of his daughter’s finances and career since 2008. The court-order conservatorship began following Britney Spears’ public mental health struggles in 2007. “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father,” attorney Samuel D. Ingham III told the presiding judge. “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”

Jamie Spears is described in interviews throughout Framing Britney Spears as a controversial figure in Britney’s life. In 2019, Britney’s ex-husband Kevin Federline filed a restraining order against Jamie. It stemmed from an alleged physical altercation between Jamie Spears and Britney’s son Sean Preston. 

Prior to the new documentary, a fan-led public outcry dubbed the #FreeBritney movement has gained traction for more than a year. As Jamie Spears experienced health problems in early 2019, Britney canceled a Las Vegas residency and checked herself into a mental-health facility. Spears has said she “cried for two weeks” after the documentary was released.