Britney Spears' 10 shocking statements in emotional hearing about 'abusive' conservatorship
The pop-star revealed she wants to have another baby but the conservatorship is forcing her to have an IUD.
Britney Spears made a virtual appearance in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday, marking her first direct attendance in her plea to have her father, Jamie Spears, removed as her legal guardian. The pop star made a number of startling revelations during her 20-minute speech at the hearing, and desperately urged the court to completely end the conservatorship which was imposed over her in 2008 after a series of public meltdowns the previous year. The conservatorship completed its 12-year term in 2020, but still hasn't been revoked.
1. The 39-year-old said she has been "depressed" and "angry" at the conservatorship which has treated her like a slave, reports USA Today.
"I've lied and told the whole world I'm OK and I'm happy. I thought that maybe if I said it enough, I would maybe become happy because I've been in denial. I've been in shock. I am traumatized...I'm so angry it's insane. And I'm depressed," she said.
2. The musician urged the court: "I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don't feel like I can live a full life. I want this conservatorship to end without having to be evaluated."
3. Spears had last appeared in front of a court in May 2019, but the courtroom was sealed and none of her confessions made it to the public. She referred to the previous appearance in her latest hearing, telling the court, "A lot has happened since two years ago. I haven't been back to court because I don't think I was heard on any level when I came to court last time."
4. An attorney for Jodi Montgomery, who has been a conservator of Spears' person since 2019, requested the court to seal any information regarding the musician and her children's medical privacy, but the pop star herself requested for everything to be public.
"They've done a good job at exploiting my life. So I feel like it should be an open court hearing and they should listen and hear what I have to say," she said.
5. The singer, who shares two sons- Sean, 15, and Jayden, 14, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, revealed that she wants to have another child but her conservators have complete control over her body as well as her love life.
"I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship, I'm not able to get married or have a baby. I have IUD (intrauterine device) inside right now so I don't get pregnant. I wanted to take the IUD out so I can start trying to have another baby but this so-called team won't let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don't want me to have any more children."
6. The "Toxic" hitmaker opened up about her Las Vegas residency, which marked her last performance. She had previously told the court that she had to perform with a 104-degree fever and was forced to go to a mental health facility against her will as punishment for an objection she raised during rehearsal.
"(My therapist) immediately, the next day, put me on lithium out of nowhere. He took me off my normal meds I'd been on for five years," Spears said. Lithium is primarily used to treat bipolar disorder, and the singer "never wanted to be on (this medication) to begin with."
"You can go mentally impaired if you take too much...but he put me on (lithium) and I felt drunk. I really couldn't even (stand up) for myself. I couldn't' even have a conversation with my mom or dad," she said, adding that "six different nurses" came to her home for a month to administer the medication and she wasn't allowed to go anywhere.
7. Making a direct allegation against her father, Jamie and the rest of her family for the first time, the singer said that none of them came to help her when she was being medicated against her will. "Not only did my family not do a goddamn thing, my dad was all for it," she said, refuting Jamie's claims who has insisted to the media several times that his daughter loves him and never wanted to remove the conservatorship.
8. Spears said she was subjected to psychological tests for "four hours a day" over a two-week period, which she was told she "failed." She further revealed that her conservators sent her against her will to a "small rehab program" that they "made up" for her in a "small home in Beverly Hills" for $60,000 a month.
"I cried on the phone for an hour and (her father) loved every minute of it. The control he had over someone as powerful as me. He loved the control to hurt his own daughter," she alleged. She also compared the rehab programme to "sex trafficking" and alleged that her conservators stripped her of all her possessions including her credit card, cash, phone, passport and car.
9. There was no privacy for her in the rehab programme, where she lived with nurses and was forced to work seven days a week under 24/7 security.
"They watched me change every day naked, morning, noon and night. I had no privacy door for my room. If I didn't (go to) any of my meetings or work ... I wouldn't get to see my kids or my boyfriend. I never had a say in my schedule," she said.
10. Spears said all her conservators including her "ignorant dad" should be in jail, adding that they made her feel "enslaved."
"My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management, who played a huge role in punishing me when I said 'no,' should be in jail," she said.
"I just want my life back. It's been 13 years and it's enough. It's been a long time since I've owned my money and it's my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested," she said, noting that she shouldn't have to do more than she's already done to prove her competency.
"My family has lived off my conservatorship for 13 years. I shouldn't be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people. It makes no sense. The laws need to change," Spears said towards the end of her speech, noting that the conservatorship is "doing way more harm than good."
"I deserve to have a life. I feel ganged up on, I feel bullied and I feel left out and alone," she said.
Judge Brenda Penny thanked Spears for her remarks and dubbed them "courageous," but made no further comment. Meanwhile, Spears's father gave a brief statement through his attorney Vivian Thoreen, who said Jamie is "sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain" and "loves and misses her very much."
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