Britney Spears asks judge to end guardianship
Britney Spears asked a judge Wednesday to end the court-appointed guardianship that has controlled the pop star's money and affairs since 2008.
The dramatic request at a Los Angeles hearing came with her first words in court in the 13-year existence of the legal agreement to supervise her.
Spears said the court-imposed guardianship is "abusive" and she convicted her father and the other people who have controlled her.
"I want to end this guardianship without being evaluated," Spears said by telephone in a long emotional and at times profane speech, in which she condemned the legal agreement and her father, who has controlled it most of the time.
"This guardianship is doing me a lot more harm than good," Spears said. "I deserve to have a life."
Spears, 39, said she wants to marry her boyfriend Sam Asghari and have a baby, but her guardianship does not allow him to do so. She pointed out to the court that they are forcing her to use contraception against her will.
"All I want is to own my own money and for this to end and for my boyfriend to be able to drive me in his (rude) car," Spears said.
In the written speech that lasted more than 20 minutes, Spears revealed many details that had been carefully reserved by the court.
When a lawyer, representing one of the persons responsible for her guardianship, said that the hearing and the transcript of it should be kept private so that medical information would not be revealed, Spears confronted her and said that her words should be public.
"They've done a good job blowing up my life," Spears said. "So I feel like it should be an open court hearing and they should listen and hear what I have to say."
Spears added that she was forced to take lithium against her will after rehearsals were interrupted for a planned residency in Las Vegas in 2019 that was eventually canceled.
She said that all she did was disagree with a part of the choreography for the shows.
"I'm not here to be anyone's slave," she said. "I can say no to a dance move."
Spears was interrupted once by the judge and once by the court reporter, who asked her to slow down.
About 100 fans of the so-called #FreeBritney movement gathered outside the courthouse before the hearing with signs reading "Free Britney Now!" and "Get out of Britney's life!"
A fan within the court screamed and occasionally clapped during the remarks.
Spears said she has felt she has not been heard in any of her previous court appearances, all of which have remained confidential.
The judge thanked her for her statements, which she described as "brave" and did not comment further.
Vivian Thoreen, a lawyer for Spears' father, James Spears, gave a brief statement in her name after speaking with him during a break.
"She is sorry to see that her daughter is suffering and in so much pain," Thoreen said. "Mr. Spears loves her daughter and misses her very much."
James Spears is one of the guardians of her daughter's finances and also has control over her life decisions for much of the guardianship.
Other lawyers in the room also said that this was not the way to respond to the statements, but agreed to say that they were brave.
Jennifer Preston, 33, crossed the country from Richmond, Virginia to be out of court during the hearing as she said "I am a mother and a fan."
"We are here to hear what you have to say," Preston said. “She has been treated like a girl for the last 13 years. She has not had control of her life or her finances even though she is clearly capable of doing those things. "
Britney Spears' court-appointed attorney Samuel Ingham III made a request that the pop star speak to the court at a hearing in April. He said that Spears had not officially asked him to file an application to end her guardianship. Ingham said Spears noted that he did not attempt to "control, filter or edit" his client's words.
The guardianship was established when Spears was going through an emotional crisis in 2008. Spears has said that this helped save her from financial ruin and keep her a top-notch pop star.
Her father and her attorneys have emphasized that the artist and her fortune, which according to court records exceeds $ 50 million, remain vulnerable to fraud and manipulation. Under the law, Spears would have to show that she is competent to make her decisions.
