Pop icon and tabloid staple Britney Spears has lost a bid to remove her from court-ordered conservatorship, placing the future of her career and finances in question.
Los Angeles superior court judge Brenda Penny declined to approve Spears’ petition to have the conservatorship removed in a hearing on November 10, Yahoo News reports. James Spears, the father of the 38-year-old singer, will remain in control of her assets.
The news comes as a major setback to the singer, who has gone into unofficial retirement over the ongoing legal battles over her finances.
Related: Britney Spears gets bad news in court
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“My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father,” Spears’ attorney Samuel D. Ingham III told Judge Penny. “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”
James Spears’ attorney, Vivian Thoreen, countered that under James’ conservatorship, Britney Spears has gotten out of massive debt and amassed a fortune worth $60 million.
This week’s court battle is just the most recent episode in a saga of personal woes dating back 12 years. Britney Spears lost the right to control her finances and career following a very public meltdown in 2008. Spears entered an involuntary mental health committal following the loss of custody of her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline. After her psychiatric hold ended, a court placed Spears in the custody of her father and her then-lawyer Andrew Wallet. The singer experienced something of a career Renniasance under her father’s watch, producing several hit albums and landing a Las Vegas residency. In 2019, Spears abruptly cancelled her Vegas residency, citing her father’s health problems. She reentered a psychiatric facility again and announced she would not perform again until the termination of her conservatorship. The announcement gave rise to the #FreeBritney movement, a grassroots fan push to end the court-ordered conservatorship of the singer.
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Doug
I don’t get it… this woman is 38 years old and still isn’t allowed to run her own life. How can this still be legal?
ScottOnEarth
People are quick to judge her father but he saved her life years ago and, clearly, the courts see a need for her to remain under conservatorship. I thought she would be worth far more than $60 million, give her past successes…..
Donston
Only her first few albums were huge sellers. She doesn’t own her catalog, and she has scant song-writing credits. While she probably had a shitty contract, and her divorce was probably fairly expensive as well. Also, better believe her dad (and maybe some others) have chipped away at her funds. So, 60 million makes sense. But she’s still rich as fvck.
andrew.agee
No Donston, clearly you have zero idea how trusts or conservatorship works.
Like an executor of a will, trustees and conservators are on a fixed fee. They must submit their expenses to the court officer to get them approved and reimbursed.
So no, it’s HIGHLY unlikely (not to mention illegal) that her Dad, or anyone else “chipped” away anything.
Prax07
I don’t blame her for not wanting to perform ever again. Why earn for someone else controlling your money.
andrew.agee
Dear lord, dude, google “conservatorship” before you post again. The money goes into a trust that , depending on how it’s constructed, she either gets a fixed amount, or draws against with her dad’s permission.
If she hadn’t gone coo coo for coco puffs, and cleaned up her act, she wouldn’t be in this situation. Sadly, she was in love with her own fame, and surrounded herself with people who assisted her in her own self destruction. When the courts take away your kids, you’re in way too deep.
She doesn’t have to be BFF with her conservator for him to be effective.
Larry
And what part of all the back story is real and what part is fabricated.
Josh447
Yes details would be helpful.
TheAbsoluteTRUTH
The real question is how much is her father “ paid” to manage his daughter’s assets? If it’s minimal then I’d say he has her best interests if it’s substantial I’d say the opposite. The saga of this lip syncing pop star continues
jonasalden
If I were her, I’d retire too. She’ll never regain her former glory anyway. Time and the Industry march on, with you or without you. This is a Billie Eilish world, so to speak (that generation). Even Rihanna is “aging out” to a certain extent.
Donston
Rihanna is someone who can probably still have substantial hits. But she recognizes putting out makeup and clothes is an easier and sometimes more substantial way for her to make money. Or at least it’s easier than trying to continuously compete with the evolving pop scene, constantly touring and paying people a decent percentage to help formulate hits.
cuteguy
Why isn’t she institutionalized already? She’s a middle aged puppet for others. The poor lady needs help
Woteva
It’s a sad and far too familiar story. No doubt already has a drafted script for Netflix somewhere in a pile on Ryan Murphy’s desk.
Cam
It wasn’t a complete loss. I think they left some stuff out. The court did approve a co-conservator that has a fiduciary duty to Spears. So if there was anything weird going on with the money there is now somebody else who can call it out.
Also the judge delayed the final decision for a few months so Spears can revisit this.
If I remember ancient history, didn’t they put this in place in part because Brittany was falling under the sway of some dude who was claiming he controlled her career etc.? You know the family wants to keep their hands on that money.
JED08
She suffers from Bipolar disorder, that’s the whole reason for the conservatorship.