Britney Spears Emotionally Praises Fans as They Celebrate Conservatorship's End Outside Court House
Britney Spears spoke out just moments after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny terminated the pop star's 13-year conservatorship. Although she did not attend the court hearing Friday, she shared a video of her fans cheering outside the courthouse, many of them wearing #FreeBritney shirts or carrying a banner with the phrase behind them. She thanked everyone for their support, now that she has control over major decisions in her life for the first time in over a decade.
"Good God I love my fans so much it's crazy!!!" the "Womanizer" singer wrote. "I think I'm gonna cry the rest of the day!!!! Best day ever... praise the Lord... can I get an Amen." She included the hashtag "Freed Britney," and fans quickly gave her the "amen" she was asking for. Spears also posted a photo of herself in a yellow dress. "I can't freaking believe it!!!! Again... best day ever," she added.
Spears' fiancé, Sam Asghari, also celebrated the news. He posted a pink block with the word "Freedom" inside. "History was made today. Britney is free!" he wrote. Before the hearing, Asghari shared a video of Spears and himself wearing #FreeBritney T-shirts while Spears' song "Work Bitch" played.
The hearing on Friday was short, with Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart starting the proceedings by reading quotes from Spears' shocking June testimony, when Spears asked for the conservatorship to end. "The record is clear. The time has come today," he said, reports Variety. He also explained that he and Laurie Ann Wright, the attorney for temporary conservator Jodi Montgomery, filed a termination plan on Monday that is still sealed. He told Penny the plan creates a "safety net" for Spears in both financial and personal capacities. Accountant John Zabel, who replaced Spears' father Jamie Spears as conservator after his suspension in September, will have "limited and administrative power" as the conservatorship ends.
The conservatorship was established in 2008, when Jamie asked the court for authority over Spears' life and finances following her public mental health struggles. It was made permanent later that year. In recent years, the conservatorship has come under scrutiny from fans and others who wondered why the conservatorship was continuing to oversee the life and career of a pop superstar.
During her testimony in June, Spears accused the conservators of making major decisions for her, forcing her to work and keeping her from having children. She accused her father of approving all of it. Although Jamie denied any wrongdoing, he asked the court to consider ending the conservatorship in early September. A few weeks later, he was suspended and Zabel was named temporary conservator in Jamie's place.
There are still issues that need to be resolved. The next court hearings were scheduled for Dec. 8 and Jan. 19. Rosengart has also said in the past he wants an investigation into Jamie's actions during the conservatorship. When a New York Times documentary alleged that the conservators hired a security team that recorded Spears' conversations, Rosengart filed documents suggesting Jamie and the conservators may have broken the law by recording Spears' conversations with her previous attorney. "Placing a listening device in Britney's bedroom would be particularly horrifying and corroborates so much of her compelling, poignant testimony. Mr. Spears has crossed unfathomable lines," Rosengart said in a statement after the documentary aired.
Jamie declined to answer questions for the Times documentary. "All of his actions were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court," his attorney said at the time. "His actions were done with the knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney, and/or the court. Jamie's record as conservator - and the court's approval of his actions - speak for themselves."
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