Since 2008, after her public mental health-related hospitalisation, rehab and recovery, global pop star Britney Spears has been under a conservatorship managed primarily by her father, Jamie Spears. The singer’s career has been in the hands of legal guardians, as is the arrangement of the conservatorship, and even though she has continued to release albums, tour, and launch commercial business deals, Britney has since come out in a court statement and said, “I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m okay and I’m happy”. She continues, “I’m traumatised. I’m not happy, I can’t sleep. I cry every day … I’m so angry.
Conservatorship, loosely described, is an occurrence of the court giving legal supervision to people who are unable to make their own decisions, for example, people who suffer from mental illnesses such as dementia. Britney’s custody is divided into two parts, one part is her estate and financial affairs, and the other part is her as a person. Under this legal agreement, Britney has not controlled her finances since 2008. Her father was initially responsible for both parts of supervision, but due to health reasons, he resigned as the personal supervisor in 2019. He was replaced temporarily, but Britney Spears asked for it to be made permanent. Although further details of Britney’s custody rights are unclear, the most important thing is that the court has determined that she is incapable of making her own decisions – she has no right to make her own decisions. She can continue working and making money – playing 248 shows during her 2013-17 Las Vegas residency and reportedly earning $500 000 [estimated R7 million] per performance – but she is not privy to any of those earnings herself. The court-ordered conservatorship gives others control over her estate and other aspects of her life, from who she dates to what colour she can paint her walls. During this past Wednesday’s latest hearing for the conservatorship, Britney addressed the Los Angeles court directly,
I want to be heard. I want changes and I want changes going forward. I deserve changes … I just want my life back, it’s been 13 years and it’s enough. I’m scared of people. I don’t trust people with what I’ve been through. It’s not okay to force me to do anything I want to do. … I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don’t feel like I can live a full life. It’s doing me way more harm than good. I’ve worked my whole life, I deserve to have a two to three year break and do what I want to do. But I do feel like there’s a crunch here, and I feel open and I’m okay to talk to you about it, but I wish I could stay on the phone with you forever — because when I get off the phone with you, all of a sudden I hear all these nos. And I feel ganged up on and I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone. I’m tired of feeling alone.
Although it has been going on for many years, the #FreeBritney movement gained special attention on social media last year and earlier this year, after the release of the documentary Framing Britney Spears produced by the New York Times in February. In an earlier article, Bubblegum Club editor Lindi Mngxitama spoke about the harm that the former Disney child star was subjected to, as well as the independence and sense of self she lost when she continued working her entire life and was seen as solely a commodity by those around her. Britney suffered a great deal of mental strain from being a young global star from the age of 12. Long term conservatorship also has emotional costs, especially for an otherwise working and capable person, emotional costs that rarely appear in court assessments or that can be measured legally. As this story develops and as she continues to fight for her right to make her own choices, I think the only way forward is to #FreeBritney.
