Free Britney: we explain the case of the guardianship of Britney Spears who asks for its lifting in court
The 39-year-old singer testified Wednesday in a Los Angeles court asking for the lifting of this measure, which requires her to consult her father and a professional guardian for the bulk of her decisions.
She has been under guardianship since 2008. Popstar Britney Spears, 39, testified Wednesday, June 23 before the Los Angeles court (United States) to officially request the lifting of this measure. "I really think this tutelage is abusive," she said. "I told the world that I am happy and that I am fine" but "I am traumatized". Placed under the responsibility of her father in 2008, after a depression, the singer unequivocally expressed her wish to regain her autonomy. Franceinfo explains why the star of the 2000s must fight in court to regain his autonomy.
Let's go back 23 years. France wins the World Cup and votes the 35 hours, Gerhard Schröder becomes chancellor in Germany and the Monica Lewinsky affair shakes the United States. It's okay, where do you fit? On the radio, the hit of the moment is sung by a 16-year-old teenager from Mississippi.
The world discovers Britney Spears who becomes number 1 in sales with Baby One More Time and connects the hits: Oops! ... I Did It Again, Crazy, I'm a Slave 4 U, Toxic or even Everytime. In total, during her first five years of career, the singer sold more than 60 million albums.
Guardianship during depression
The life of the superstar whose schoolgirl style has conquered the world also feeds the celebrity press: breakup with Justin Timberlake, languid kiss with Madonna at the MTV Music Awards, 55-hour express wedding with a childhood friend… End of 2004, she married dancer Kevin Federline. Together, they have two children, before separating three years later. Britney Spears' musical career comes to a halt.
In February 2007, Britney Spears entered a hairdressing salon, grabbed a mower and shaved her head, under the lens of the paparazzi who stalk her relentlessly. At the exit, she hits the photographers with an umbrella. She was then in the midst of a divorce and Kevin Federline obtained custody of their children. The singer suffers from depression and ends up undergoing treatment.
Hospitalized in January 2008, after refusing to leave her children to her ex-husband, Britney Spears is placed under the tutelage of her father, Jamie Spears, under strict conditions. Her guardian is responsible for controlling both her daughter's finances and all of her personal life decisions. For thirteen years, the star therefore has no autonomy. The supervision has also been repeatedly extended by the courts, without the reasons having been made public, notes the BBC (in English).
#FreeBritney
In recent years, fans of the singer have supported her, in a movement called #FreeBritney (# LibérezBritney in French). Convinced that she is kept under guardianship against her will and that she sends coded calls for help on Instagram, they organize demonstrations to demand the lifting of this guardianship. Initially limited to its most fervent admirers, the movement gained popularity in February, thanks to the documentary Framing Britney Spears, broadcast in France on Amazon Prime.
Director Samantha Stark returns to the singer's career, her depression, then her placement under guardianship. Already in 2016, the New York Times (in English) had mentioned the radicality of this supervision: "Its most common purchases, such as a drink at Starbucks or a song on a streaming platform are recorded in court documents, as part of of the plan to save the fortune she has earned but does not control. "
"I'm not happy I can't sleep. I'm so angry."
The singer also assured that she had been forced to keep her IUD, reports the New York Times (in English). In a relationship for nearly five with the dancer Sam Ashgari, she spoke of her private life at the hearing: "I want to be able to get married and have a child," she proclaimed, ensuring "cry every day". She also told the judge that she just wanted to go to the hairdresser or do a manicure freely, as well as being able to visit her friends who live "eight minutes away," without needing anyone's permission.
His court-appointed lawyer, Samuel Ingham, had already said in court that the singer was "afraid of her father". She also criticized during the hearing the attitude of her family, including her father: "My family has done nothing at all. I deserve to have a life." In a brief statement read to the court, Jamie Spears said he was "sorry to see her in such pain" and said he loved his daughter "very much". The New York Times further assures that under this guardianship, the singer must pay not only her own legal fees, but also those, considerable, of the guardians who contest her claims in court. A new hearing must be held in July, specifies the New York daily.
