The singer at the center of the #FreeBritney movement made horrific allegations of abuse she says she sustained at the hands of her family and lawyers.
Britney Spears on Wednesday sharply condemned the legal arrangement that gives others control over her personal finances, asking a judge to put a stop to it.
“I’ve told the world I’m happy and OK,” Spears said, speaking in a California courtroom. “I’m traumatized. I’m not happy. I can’t sleep.”
Since 2008, the pop star has been under a conservatorship, a formerly little-known legal tool to protect the finances of a person deemed mentally unfit to handle them. In recent years, public awareness and criticism of the arrangement have mounted, with fans asking why a successful professional woman should not be allowed to control the money she makes.
Wednesday’s comments mark the first time Spears, 39, has publicly spoken about the situation. She railed against her family and lawyers, painting a picture of herself as a woman imprisoned within her own life. The conservatorship, Spears said, is “abusive” and prevents her from living a “full life.”
“I’m so angry, it’s insane,” she said.
At one point, Spears accused those in charge of her finances of refusing to take her to a doctor to remove a birth control device so she could get pregnant.
“This is doing way more harm than good,” Spears said. “I deserve a life.”
Spears’ estate has been placed in the hands of her father, Jamie Spears, who serves as joint conservator alongside an attorney. The singer wants the court to permanently remove her father from the conservatorship, leaving her attorney Jodi Montgomery at the helm.
The extent of the restrictions on Spears’ life was laid bare this week in The New York Times, which reported that her father has the final say even over minute details, such as whether she can paint her kitchen cabinets. Jamie Spears reportedly referred to his daughter as “a racehorse who has to be handled like one.”
For Britney Spears, the road to the conservatorship began with a series of mental health crises in the mid-2000s. She was involuntarily hospitalized twice in January 2008 following a difficult custody dispute over her two children with ex-husband Kevin Federline, who was granted sole custody by a judge.
Since then, Spears has embarked on four worldwide tours and completed a residency in Las Vegas, where fans bought 900,000 tickets for nearly 250 performances.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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