Britney Spears' Conservatorship
The fight for human rights and freedom is one of the toughest conflicts humans have gone through and many are going through today. Especially certain groups that are disadvantaged and do not have the privilege some groups possess, such as women, POC, muslims, and the LGBTQ+ community. Britney Spears’ fight for her own life is one of the biggest battles that the public has seen. Due to an incident that happened in 2007, her father as her personal conservator was legally given control of many of the aspects of Britney's rights. Britney lost her investments, the right to drive a car, the control of her estate, and the ability to make personal and other important life decisions, all stripped away “legally.”
What happened in 2007-2008?
This time period was when Britney’s life “spiraled” out of control, and her mental breakdowns proceeded to be widely publicized. She was seen as a potential danger to herself and others, and many involuntary psychiatric holds were filed on her. Her divorce with her husband, Kevin Federline possibly triggered everything, and she also lost custody of her kids. Just like how anyone who is depressed and having mental breakdowns might act differently, Britney did as well. However, the public and the media mocked her, especially tabloid pages that joked about her coping mechanisms.
All these events proceeded to wreck Britney’s life, and the Los Angeles Superior Court approved the conservatorship, because everyone thought that Britney was incapable of making her own decisions. Conservatorships are meant for the mentally ill, comatose or elderly; they are by no means used to dictate people who have made questionable life decisions. The constraints of a conservatorship include finances, health, and how the person under the conservatorship spends their time. The person under the conservatorship does not even have the freedom to make decisions about their body.
Her conservatorship was extended four times, and currently Britney is fighting to remove her father from the conservatorship.
#FreeBritney Movement:
In 2009 a campaign was launched on the website BreatheHeavy.com after her fans were concerned for Britney. The movement has gotten very big with support from millions of people, especially by communities who were denied freedom as well.
Apparently, the conservatorship was intended to not strip away Britney’s legal rights, but also “to protect her from potentially toxic people.”
Britney made the statement that she wasn’t being controlled or manipulated, but many people are still concerned for her as she might have been forced to make those statements. This would be low risk for whomever might be forcing her to, as they could make the case that Britney’s ‘public statements’ could fall under the conservatorship.
"The conservatorship is not a jail," Larry Rudolph, Spears' manager, told Emily Yahr of The Washington Post. "It helps Britney make business decisions and manage her life in ways she can't do on her own right now."
In 2019 Britney asked the judge to possibly end the conservatorship, yet a close source said that she wanted to end it because she wasn’t in the right mental state to understand her issues.
Jamie spears, Britney’s father, sued a source of the #FreeBritney movement, accusing her of spreading false and defamatory information.
No one really knows the truth, one side is full of people like Britney’s manager and her father who are trying to keep her rights away and claim that she is not in the mental state to make her own decisions. On the other side are people like Britney’s mother, her fans, and overall people concerned for her. Let’s hope for the best yet be sure to still be concerned for britney. Everyone has to have the access to their legal human rights, and no one should have the right to easily strip them away due to depression and mental health issues. Conservatorships are normally intended for really sick people, especially the elderly.
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