Britney Spears to address court at upcoming conservatorship hearing
Britney Spears will address the court at an upcoming conservatorship hearing.
Spears’ attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, spoke at a hearing Tuesday at Los Angeles Superior Court. He stated, “Britney wants to address the court directly,” adding that she would like it to happen within the next month. CNN attended virtually.
That hearing will take place on June 23.
The battle over Spears’ $60 million estate has been going on for months. It started last August when Ingham filed to officially remove her father, Jamie Spears, as conservator. The elder Spears had been the conservator of her estate since 2008, along with attorney Andrew Wallet, following a series of personal issues that played out publicly for the singer. For most of that period, Jamie Spears also oversaw his daughter’s health and medical decisions. He became the sole conservator of the singer’s estate in 2019, following Wallet’s resignation.
In November, the judge ruled that he stay on as a co-conservator of the estate, and the judge appointed Bessemer Trust to serve as co-conservator.
At a hearing in March, Ingham requested that Jamie Spears be removed as the conservator of her person, and that he be permanently replaced with Jodi Montgomery. Montgomery has served as the singer’s temporary conservator ever since Jamie Spears stepped aside due to health issues in September 2019.
In the wake of The New York Times documentary “Framing Britney Spears,” which debuted in February, there has been heightened interest in the singer’s conservatorship. Celebrities and fans have also created the viral hashtag #FreeBritney.
Spears has not directly addressed the conservatorship but has taken to social media to say that she’s doing fine. Earlier this month, she wrote on Instagram that she’s “flattered” with the attention surrounding her well-being.
“Happy to share especially with a world that is empathetic and concerned with my life,” she wrote.
She also said in March on her Instagram that although she didn’t watch the documentary, she was “embarrassed by the light they put me in.” Adding that she cried for two weeks afterward.
Jamie Spears told CNN in December he has not spoken to his daughter since Ingham’s filing last summer.
“I love my daughter and I miss her very much,” he said at the time. “When a family member needs special care and protection, families need to step up, as I have done for the last 12-plus years, to safeguard, protect and continue to love Britney unconditionally. I have and will continue to provide unwavering love and fierce protection against those with self-serving interests and those who seek to harm her or my family.”
His attorney Vivian Thoreen told CNN that Jamie Spears wishes the conservatorship could come to an end.
“(Jamie) would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship,” Thoreen said. “Whether or not there is an end to the conservatorship really depends on Britney. If she wants to end her conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it.”
