Britney Spears‘ father Jamie Spears has been suspended from the singer’s conservatorship, 13 years after the singer was first placed under the involuntary arrangement that has controlled her life and finances since.
In the latest hearing in Spears’ case, Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Brenda J. Penny ordered that Jamie be temporarily removed as conservator effective immediately, saying the current situation created a “toxic environment” that was “not tenable.” In his stead, a certified public accountant will temporarily take over as a conservator of Spears’ estate.
Spears’ attorney Mathew Rosengart, who has represented the singer since she was permitted to choose her own lawyer in the case back in July, has called for a termination of the conservatorship entirely no later than 45 days from now. “The conservatorship can and should be wound up and terminated promptly – ideally this fall,” he said.
Rosengart has been firm in his intention to end the conservatorship since his hiring, and stated his number one priority was the removal of Jamie Spears. Earlier this month, Rosengart told a judge he expected Spears’ conservatorship to be terminated “completely and inevitably” over the coming months.
Earlier this month, Jamie Spears filed a petition to the end the conservatorship via his lawyer. “If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance,” the filing read.
Spears’ attorney blasted the filing from Jamie – who has long denied all claims of wrongdoing in his role as Britney’s conservator and fought efforts to be removed – as an attempt by him “to avoid accountability and justice.”
Spears first publicly called for the end of her conservatorship back in June, telling a courtroom the arrangement was “abusive”, detailing alleged attempts to control her life by her father and others, and saying she wished for it to be terminated without evaluation. The conservatorship has seen renewed scrutiny this year following multiple documentaries about the singer’s case and the rise of the #FreeBritney movement.
Controlling Britney Spears, a recent New York Times documentary that followed up earlier doco Framing Britney Spears, alleged that Jamie had been secretly surveilling his daughter throughout her conservatorship. Claims made included that Spears was recorded in her own bedroom, that her phone was being tapped and more.
Spears’ legal team responded to the claims, saying that if true, Jamie Spears had “crossed unfathomable lines” and demonstrated “horrifying and unconscionable invasions of his adult daughter’s privacy.”
