This combination photo shows Jamie Spears, left, father of Britney Spears, as he leaves the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on October 24th, 2012 in Los Angeles and Britney Spears at the Clive Davis and The Recording Academy Pre-Grammy Gala on February 11th, 2017, in Beverly Hills. Hide AP labeling
Toggle caption
AP
This combination photo shows Jamie Spears, left, father of Britney Spears, as he leaves the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on October 24th, 2012 in Los Angeles and Britney Spears at the Clive Davis and The Recording Academy Pre-Grammy Gala on February 11th, 2017, in Beverly Hills.
AP
LOS ANGELES – Britney Spears’ father filed on Tuesday to quit the judicial conservatory that has controlled the singer’s life and money for 13 years.
James Spears filed his motion to terminate the conservatoires in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
“As Mr. Spears has repeatedly said, he only wants what is best for his daughter,” the document reads. “If Mrs. Spears wants to quit the conservatory and thinks she can manage her own life, Mr. Spears believes she should get this chance.”
Judge Brenda Penny, who oversees the case, must approve the move.
There was no instant response to an email soliciting Britney Spears’ attorney for comment.
James Spears has been the target of much of the anger for the Conservatory of both his daughter and the public.
A motion from Britney Spears’ attorney to have him removed should be heard at the next hearing on the case on September 29th.
James Spears said in a filing on Aug. 12 that he was planning to step down as curator of their finances, but did not offer a schedule. He gave up his control over their life choices in 2019 and only kept his role of overseeing their money.
He has repeatedly said that there is no justification for his removal and that he was only acting in the best interests of his daughter.
The Conservatory was founded in 2008 when Britney Spears began to have very public mental battles, when the media became obsessed with every moment, hordes of paparazzi aggressively followed her everywhere, and she lost custody of her children.
Tuesday’s file cited how Britney Spears’ “passionate plea” rejected the legal agreement in a speech in court on Jan.
“I just want my life back,” said Britney Spears. “And it’s been 13 years and it’s enough. It’s been a long time since I owned my money. And it is my wish and my dream that it all end unchecked.”
Tuesday’s filing notes that Spears said she didn’t know she could petition to end the Conservatory, which she has yet to do. Penny’s decision to hire her own attorney, Mathew Rosengart, shows that the court is entrusting her with important decisions. And it is said that evidence shows she appeared to have “demonstrated a level of independence” by, for example, driving around Southern California herself.
It also cites her desire to make her own decisions about therapy and other medical care.
Spears had said in her June 23 speech that under the Conservatory she was forced to take certain drugs against her will and use an intrauterine device to control births.
James Spears called for an investigation into these and other allegations, saying they were issues beyond his control as he resigned as curator of his daughter’s person and turned the role over to court-appointed professional Jodi Montgomery.
Rosengart, Britney Spears’ new attorney, said when he was hired in July that he wanted to help end the conservatories.
He said instead that his first priority was getting rid of James Spears, whom he asked to step down on his first court appearance.
Rosengart requested the removal of James Spears on July 26 on the grounds that he had mismanaged his daughter’s money and affairs, suggesting that he had used the conservatories for his own benefit. The judge denied him an emergency hearing on the matter and said it could be heard in September in due course.
The attorney said he welcomed James Spears’ announcement that he would eventually step down, but said it would not slow his efforts to get him removed.
Spears has commended the Conservatory’s early existence for keeping her career afloat, although she has now completely put her work on hold for more than two years.
Fans who objected to their circumstances and saw what they thought were calls for help on the pop star’s Instagram posts called #FreeBritney online and appeared before their court hearings to protest.
Famous names from Miley Cyrus to Britney Spears ‘ex Justin Timberlake have joined the outcry in recent months, especially after Spears’ passionate courtroom speeches in June and July.
Penny, the judge with ultimate power over the Conservatory, never seems inclined to end it, but neither has she ever had such a clear opportunity.
