If you follow Britney Spears on Instagram, you’re probably used to seeing her post a mix of filtered selfies, free-spirited dance videos, inspirational quotes and photos with her boyfriend, personal trainer Sam Asghari. But you’ve also probably noticed there’s a lot more going on with the pop icon, especially over the last few years, as legal battles and online protests have shed light on her perceived independence.
Ever since 2008, Spears’ person and finances have largely been managed by her father and a lawyer, which has spawned a vocal online movement calling to #FreeBritney. If you’ve seen the hashtag, worried about her current situation or wondered what the future might hold for the Toxic singer, here’s what you need to know about Spears’ conservatorship and the #FreeBritney movement.
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What’s going on with Britney and when did it begin?
During the nearly 30 years she’s spent living in the public eye, Spears has faced a number of highly publicized ups and downs. But in the wake of canceling her Las Vegas residency in January 2019 and checking into a mental health facility a few months later, she has frequently made headlines for one specific reason: her conservatorship.
Since Spears’ career took off when she was still a child—at 11, she was famously cast on The Mickey Mouse Club alongside fellow future pop stars Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera—her parents were heavily involved in her work life from an early age. But it wasn’t until the conservatorship was put in place that her father gained legal control over her affairs as an adult.
Spears’ conservatorship, a legal guardianship designed for those who can’t take care of themselves or manage their own finances, was put in place in 2008 after the singer suffered a prolonged public breakdown involving a series of incidents, including shaving her head and attacking a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella. That led to multiple stints in rehab, two separate hospitalizations under psychiatric holds and losing custody of her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline. (Federline and Spears now split custody 70/30, with Federline designated as the kids’ primary caregiver.)
The court-approved conservatorship gave Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, and attorney Andrew Wallet authority over her finances and many aspects of her personal life, with filings citing Britney suffered from an undisclosed mental illness and substance abuse. Some aspects of the conservatorship have changed over the years, but Spears’ father remains at the center, having served as conservator of both her person and estate.
Recent attempts by Spears to remove her father as conservator, coupled with rampant fan theories about the singer’s personal struggles, ignited the #FreeBritney movement, a fan-driven push to restore Spears’ autonomy. The online protest later garnered support from celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Paris Hilton and Rose McGowan. Proponents of #FreeBritney say that Spears is being exploited under the conservatorship—a claim that Spears herself confirmed when she spoke in open court for the first time on June 23.
What’s the current status of Britney Spears’ conservatorship?
To understand what’s currently happening with Spears’ conservatorship, we have to go back to early 2019. That March, two months after Spears canceled her Las Vegas Domination residency and announced an “indefinite work hiatus,” Wallet abruptly resigned from his position as co-conservator alongside Spears’ father.
Wallet did not provide a specific reason for his resignation but wrote in court filings that the “conservatorship is engaged in numerous ongoing business activities requiring immediate attention” and it was therefore in Spears’ best interest that his resignation be accepted without delay. “Substantial detriment, irreparable harm and immediate danger will result to the conservatee and her estate if the relief requested herein is not granted,” the filings added.
This left Jamie Spears, who was suffering from health issues after rupturing his colon in November 2018, as sole conservator.
In September 2019, citing his health troubles, Jamie temporarily relinquished control of Britney’s person to her care manager, Jodi Montgomery, while maintaining control of Britney’s finances. The switch-up came in the wake of Federline filing a police report over an alleged physical altercation between Jamie and Britney’s then-13-year-old son Sean Preston Federline. Britney’s sons were then granted a restraining order against their grandfather.
Britney’s mother, Lynne Spears, who is divorced from Jamie, also made attempts to get involved in the conservatorship in 2019. In May, she filed a legal motion to be kept informed of all matters regarding her daughter’s medical condition, according to court filings obtained by CNN.
Montgomery’s stint as co-conservator is set to end in September 2021, but the situation grew more complicated over the course of 2020.
Early in 2020, a Los Angeles county judge extended the conservatorship twice—once in February until April 30 and then again through Aug. 22—prior to Britney’s attempts to remove Jamie as conservator. The second extension was handed down around the same time that Britney shared a video on Instagram revealing that she had accidentally burned down her home gym —a post that sparked alarm among some fans.
Although Britney said on Instagram that candles were the cause of the fire, some fans speculated, with no evidence, that she had purposefully set fire to the gym as a distress signal.
In August, Britney asked the courts to remove Jamie as conservator of both her personal affairs and finances, requesting that Montgomery be permanently installed as conservator of her person and that a “qualified corporate fiduciary” replace Jamie as head of her estate. Instead, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny, whose findings remain under seal, ruled to extend the current version of the conservatorship, with Montgomery acting as temporary co-conservator, through Feb. 1, 2021.
In an Aug. 17 court filing, Britney’s former attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, stated that Britney is “strongly opposed” to Jamie returning as conservator of her person and continuing as sole conservator of her estate. The next day, Jamie filed a petition to have Wallet reinstated as co-conservator of Britney’s finances—a move that Britney’s lawyers opposed, calling Wallet “uniquely unsuitable” for the role. Court filings stated that Britney would not be able to afford Wallet as a conservator due to her decision not to perform.
“Apart from the fact that Mr. Wallet has been extremely expensive in the past, based on what occurred over the 11 years he served as her co-conservator, there is no reason to believe that Mr. Wallet will be able to work with Britney to explain and implement any difficult budgetary choices that must be made,” the filings read.
Britney’s attorney also filed court documents on Sept. 2 arguing against sealing future conservatorship court hearings and addressing the support of Britney’s fans.
“At this point in her life when she is trying to regain some measure of personal autonomy, Britney welcomes and appreciates the informed support of her many fans,” Ingham wrote. “Although the sealing motion is supposedly for her ‘protection,’ Britney herself is vehemently opposed to this effort by her father to keep her legal struggle hidden away in the closet as a family secret.”
Jamie withdrew the petition to reappoint Wallet in October and the lawyer subsequently told the Daily Mail that the conservatorship is in Britney’s “best interests” and that many supporters of #FreeBritney have jumped to conclusions.
“Their perception is so wrong but you can’t go and tell them why because a lot of it is confidential,” Wallet said. “This movement on social media has definitely complicated matters. There are people lurking in the shadows pushing an agenda. I can’t say who but it is hurting Britney, she’s the only one who gets hurt by all this.”
On Oct. 28, Britney reportedly learned through a letter from Jamie’s lawyer that her longtime business manager, Lou Taylor, had resigned and been replaced without her knowledge. And at a Nov. 10 hearing, Judge Penny once again denied Britney’s request to remove Jamie as conservator. “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father,” Ingham told Penny. “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”
Judge Penny agreed to appoint Bessemer Trust, a corporate fiduciary, as co-conservator of Britney’s estate alongside Jamie and said that she would consider future petitions for his suspension or removal.
At a Dec. 16, 2020, hearing on the case, Judge Penny ruled to extend the conservatorship until Sept. 3, 2021.
Ahead of the December hearing, Jamie told CNN that he hadn’t spoken to Britney since she filed to remove him as conservator in August. “I love my daughter and I miss her very much,” he said. “When a family member needs special care and protection, families need to step up, as I have done for the last 12-plus years, to safeguard, protect and continue to love Britney unconditionally. I have and will continue to provide unwavering love and fierce protection against those with self-serving interests and those who seek to harm her or my family.”
At a Feb. 11, 2021, hearing, Judge Penny overruled Jamie’s objections to a proposed order concerning the establishment of Bessemer as co-conservator of Britney’s estate. The purpose of the order, as stated by Ingham at the hearing, was to give Jamie and Bessemer “an equal division of responsibility, in the hopes that they would sit down and figure out together the best way to handle this complex estate for the benefit of my client.”
Ingham went on to say that “it’s no secret” that Britney doesn’t want her father as co-conservator, but that they “recognize that removal [of Jamie] is a separate issue.”
The New York Times reported that lawyers from both sides “agreed to discuss budgets and fees at a later date, with Ingham referring in passing to ‘the larger direction in which this conservatorship is headed.'”
This was followed by Britney’s mother getting more involved in the case. In an April 19 court filing obtained by People, Lynne objected to Jamie’s petition for approval and payment of over $890,000 to him and his law firm Holland & Knight, alleging that several of the fees requested were “procedurally and substantively improper” and that at least $224,000 worth related to a “‘national media tour’ orchestrated by [Holland & Knight] to promote [Jamie’s attorney Vivian Lee Thoreen] and/or to combat media coverage that cast [Jamie] in a negative light.”
“[It’s] directly contrary to [Britney’s] wish for privacy,” the filing read. “The Conservatee’s life has been under a media microscope, and the last thing she wishes, desires, or derives any benefit from is her Conservator’s attorney spending [her] money to promote herself in the same media that scrutinizes everything that happens to [Britney].”
In response, Jamie’s attorneys called on the court to overrule the objection, arguing in an April 27 filing obtained by Vanity Fair that Lynne is “not acting in the best interests of her daughter.”“Despite having zero involvement in her daughter’s conservatorship until very recently, Lynne Spears is asserting claims as if she were a party directly involved in the litigation (which she is not),” his lawyers wrote, going on to claim that by publishing her 2008 memoir, Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, Lynne is the one “who exploited her daughter’s pain and trauma for personal profit.”
The April 27 hearing also resulted in a moment that many #FreeBritney supporters had been eagerly awaiting when Ingham announced that Britney had requested to be allowed to speak at a hearing in the near future. Judge Penny agreed and set the proposed “expedited” hearing for June 23. Britney last spoke in court at a sealed hearing that took place on May 10, 2019. None of what she said was made public.
On June 23, Britney addressed an open court for the first time. Speaking from a remote location, she stated in no uncertain terms that the conservatorship is “abusive” and that she wants the arrangement to end immediately.
Among other injustices, Spears said that, under the conservatorship, she’s been prevented from choosing her own legal representation, marrying Asghari and removing an IUD that’s kept her from having another baby. She also compared herself to a sex trafficking victim and staunchly criticized her father, stating “my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a key role in punishing me… should be in jail.”
“I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy,” she said. “I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized….I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry. It’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day.”
The hearing brought on an unprecedented outpouring of support for Britney. But legally speaking, the conservatorship has not yet changed.
On June 30, the Los Angeles Superior Court filed documents showing that Judge Penny had denied a months-old request from Ingham to remove Jamie from the conservatorship—a decision unrelated to Britney’s testimony. The next day, July 1, Bessemer Trust requested to resign as co-conservator of Britney’s estate out of respect for her desire to end the conservatorship. “Petitioner has heard the Conservatee and respects her wishes,” the filing read.
This was followed by Ingham requesting to be dismissed from the conservatorship and both Britney’s mother and Montgomery filing dueling petitions asking the court to allow Britney to retain independent counsel. Britney’s longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, also announced his intention to vacate his position in a July 5 letter addressed to Jamie Spears and Montgomery. Noting that he hadn’t directly communicated with Britney since she announced an “indefinite work hiatus” in January 2019, Rudolph said that he recently learned that Britney has no plans to return to her singing career.
“As you know, I have never been a part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details,” the letter read. “I was originally hired at Britney’s request to help manage and assist her with her career. And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed.”
At a July 14 hearing—which was not public—Judge Penny approved Ingham’s resignation as well as Britney’s request for prominent Hollywood lawyer Mathew S. Rosengart—a former federal prosecutor who has represented a number of A-list celebrities, including Sean Penn, Steven Spielberg and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, in recent years—to manage her case going forward. Britney also requested that the court charge Jamie with conservatorship abuse.
In the weeks since the most recent hearing, there have been a number of rapid-fire developments. On July 26, Rosengart officially filed to remove and suspend Jamie from the conservatorship, prompting Judge Penny to move up the next hearing to Sept. 29.
“Less than two weeks go, we pledged that after 13 years of the status quo, my firm and I would move aggressively and expeditiously to file a petition to suspect and remove James P. Spears. It is now a matter of public record, and I announced to Judge Penny this afternoon that we have done so, in less than two weeks,” Rosengart said.
The same day, Rosengart also filed a motion for Jason Rubin, a certified public accountant in California, to replace Jamie as conservator of Britney’s estate, suggesting that Jaime has “dissipated” Britney’s multi-million dollar fortune.
“Indeed, serious questions abound concerning Mr. Spears’s potential misconduct, including conflicts of interest, conservatorship abuse and the evident dissipation of Ms. Spears’s fortune, which Mr. Spears has effectively controlled since 2008,” Rosengart wrote.
In a July 28 document filed by Montgomery’s lawyer Laurieann Wright, Montgomery officially announced her support for removing Jamie as conservator and replacing him with Rubin. She also claimed that Britney’s medical team is in favor of removing Jaime from the arrangement.
As Britney’s efforts to end her conservatorship have ramped up, the #FreeBritney movement has also gained steam. Here’s how Britney’s fans have responded to the ongoing controversy.
Why is the #FreeBritney movement gaining steam?
Though the #FreeBritney movement has reportedly been around since 2009, it didn’t garner widespread attention until April 2019.
At that time, a fan podcast called Britney’s Gram aired audio of a voicemail from an alleged former paralegal for an attorney who worked with Spears’ conservatorship claiming, among other things, that the singer’s March 2019 stay at a mental health facility was involuntary.
The unverified claims in the podcast fueled speculation among fans that Spears was being mistreated, prompting an April 2019 public demonstration in Los Angeles where protestors demanded her release from the treatment facility.
Spears seemingly debunked the rumors on Instagram.
“I am trying to take a moment for myself, but everything that’s happening is just making it harder for me. Don’t believe everything you read and hear,” she captioned a video message. “Your love and dedication is amazing, but what I need right now is a little bit of privacy to deal with all the hard things that life is throwing my way. If you could do that, I would be forever grateful. Love you.”
Her message did little to quell the #FreeBritney movement and speculation surrounding Britney’s well-being only grew.
Some began theorizing that Spears was using her Instagram to send coded cries for help, citing Britney’s emoji use and other details of her posts. Fans zeroed in on everything from what Spears was wearing to how many times she blinked when examining her posts for clues about her supposed distress. After the singer wore a yellow top in a July 2020 Instagram, over 384,000 fans liked a tweet speculating that she had done so because, on a previous post, a follower had commented asking her to wear the color to signal that she needed help.
When Spears’ mom liked several Instagram posts with the #FreeBritney hashtag, as well as a comment asking that Britney’s mom support the conservatorship’s end, it only fueled the movement’s fire.
Ahead of the Feb. 5 release of Framing Britney Spears, a New York Times documentary that newly galvanized the #FreeBritney movement, Spears’ social media manager Cassie Petrey addressed rumors on her own Instagram of a “secret agenda” surrounding Spears’ posts.
“First and foremost, I absolutely adore the Britney Spears’ fan base,” Petrey wrote. “They are incredible, loyal and passionate about her. I admire them. I know everything they do and say is because they truly love her. Which is why it’s been easy for me to overlook some of the nasty comments that have been thrown my way over the years.”
She went on to say that, “Britney creates her own posts and writes her own captions for Instagram. She finds the Google images, Pinterest images, quotes, memes and everything else herself. Nobody is suggesting any of that stuff to her.”
In September 2019, a three-month Los Angeles Times investigation reportedly found no evidence that the conservatorship was detrimental to Spears’ well-being, although they seemed to have trouble getting information from those close to Spears: “The Los Angeles Times spent three months examining Spears’ conservatorship and reaching out to those who might have seen firsthand how it has affected her; no one in her inner circle responded to requests for comment. The paper could find no independent evidence that Spears was being harmed by the arrangement.”
But past comments by Spears, and her push to remove her father as conservator continued to create concern from fans. In the 2008 MTV documentary Britney: For the Record, Spears said that the “restraints” on her life were worse than a jail sentence.
“Even when you go to jail, y’know, there’s the time when you’re gonna get out. But in this situation, it’s never ending,” she said. “It’s just like [the movie] Groundhog Day.”
Fellow celebrities spoke out in support of Britney as well. In September 2020, Paris Hilton told Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM radio show that she felt Spears should have control over her life, noting that she had seen Spears over the summer but hadn’t directly spoken about the conservatorship with her. “I love her so much and I just feel if you’re an adult you should be able to live your life and not be controlled,” Hilton said. “After just working her whole life and working so hard…she’s just this icon. I just feel like she has no control of her life whatsoever and I just don’t think that’s fair.”
In a July 2020 Instagram post about the late actor Brittany Murphy, Rose McGowan also weighed in on #FreeBritney. “There’s another Britney on my mind today, too, one that is alive, one that can be saved from the leaches that are controlling and trafficking her. Free all the Britneys and all those who get hurt by the trauma of Hollywood values and toxic ‘rules.'”
In addition to its celebrity supporters, the #FreeBritney movement also received a co-sign from the American Civil Liberties Union, which publicly announced its support for Spears’ autonomy in August 2020.
“People with disabilities have a right to lead self-directed lives and retain their civil rights,” the organization tweeted. “If Britney Spears wants to regain her civil liberties and get out of her conservatorship, we are here to help her.”
Following the release of Framing Britney Spears, Andy Cohen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kacey Musgraves joined the legion of stars expressing their support for Spears.
“Never has one person been so used and abandoned by every facet around her,” Musgraves wrote on her Instagram story. “My heart goes out to her. She has always been such an inspiration to me my whole kid/teen life. Wish she could get a re-do.”
Asghari, Spears’ longtime boyfriend, then broke his silence on Spears’ situation in a statement to People.
“I have always wanted nothing but the best for my better half, and will continue to support her following her dreams and creating the future she wants and deserves,” he said. “I am thankful for all of the love and support she is receiving from her fans all over the world, and I am looking forward to a normal, amazing future together.”
He also spoke out directly against Jamie on his Instagram story.
“Now it’s important for people to understand that I have zero respect for someone trying to control our relationship and constantly throwing obstacles our way,” he wrote. “In my opinion, Jamie is a total d—k. I won’t be going into details because I’ve always respected our privacy but at the same time, I didn’t come to this country to not be able to express my opinion and freedom.”
#FreeBritney supporters rallied around Spears in the wake of her June 23 testimony, with many taking to social media to praise her courage in speaking out.
Now, Spears herself has begun sharing social media posts in which she directly speaks out against both the conservatorship and Jamie, and expresses gratitude for the #FreeBritney movement. “This conservatorship killed my dreams … so all I have is hope and hope is the only thing in this world that is very hard to kill,” she wrote on Instagram on July 17.
What comes next?
As far as the legal proceedings surrounding Spears’ conservatorship go, an additional hearing on the case to discuss Jamie’s potential removal from the conservatorship is currently scheduled for Sept. 29.
#FreeBritney organizers plan to continue to hold rallies to support Britney going forward.