|
 Spears, 39, has been under a
conservatorship since 2008, but rarely takes
part in court hearings and has not publicly
commented on the legal arrangement where a
court-appointed adviser controls her personal
and financial affairs, including her medical
treatment, security and career.
"My client (Britney Spears) has requested a
hearing at which she can address the court
directly," the singer's lawyer Samuel Ingham
told the court on Tuesday. "My client has asked
that it be done on an expedited basis."
The judge set a June 23 hearing for Spears to
speak to the court. It was not known which
matters the singer planned to address.
The singer's father, Jamie Spears, was appointed
his daughter's conservator in 2008 after the pop
star was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment
following a widely publicized breakdown.
Britney Spears, who became a teen phenomenon 20
years ago with hits like "...Baby One More Time"
and "Toxic," made clear last year through her
lawyer that she no longer wants her father
involved in her affairs.
A previous bid to remove him failed in August
2020 and a hearing on Tuesday on a new request
to replace him with someone else was postponed
until July without discussion.
Vivian Thoreen, an attorney for Jamie Spears,
said in interviews last month that the pop star
had never requested the termination of the legal
arrangement.
[to top of second column]
|
 Spears has not performed in
public since October 2018, though she frequently
posts photos and videos of herself dancing at
her Los Angeles area home. In 2019, she pulled
out of a Las Vegas concert residency and briefly
entered a mental health facility.
The release of a television documentary in
February brought new scrutiny to the case and to
the #FreeBritney movement started by fans.
#FreeBritney supporters, who rallied outside the
courthouse on Tuesday, believe Spears is being
kept prisoner and she is sending cryptic signals
begging to be freed through her social media
accounts.
Loud cheers rang out as some 30 supporters heard
the news about her upcoming appearance. One fan
had shaved her head in solidarity with Spears,
who shocked fans when she took pictures of
herself doing the same in 2007 at the height of
her health breakdown.
"This is the first time in 13 years we're
getting any sort of word from Britney about her
conservatorship and it's the biggest deal to me.
My life is Free Britney and it just changed,"
said supporter Jake Yonce, outside the court.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant and Rollo Ross;
Editing by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker and
Karishma Singh)
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