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In a statement of more than 20 minutes, pop
star Spears, 39, told the Los Angeles judge overseeing the
arrangement that she wanted it to end.
"I just want my life back," she said. "I’m not here to be
anyone’s slave."
"I'm traumatized ... I'm not happy, I can't sleep," she said.
Spears said her frequent upbeat postings on her Instagram
account were lies. "I'm so angry. And I'm depressed. I cry every
day," she added.
Spears delivered her remarks by phone, her first public
statements about the court-approved arrangement that was first
put in place in 2008 when she suffered a mental health
breakdown.
"I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive," Spears said,
her words tumbling out so fast the judge asked her to slow down.
"My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my
management who played a key role in punishing - ma'am, they
should be in jail."
She said she was forced into a mental health facility that cost
her $60,000 a month after canceling her planned Las Vegas shows
in early 2019. She has not performed since late 2018.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny said she would
need a petition submitted to the court asking for the
conservatorship to be terminated before she could take any
action.
Spears has never formally petitioned to have the arrangement
terminated. Under terms of the conservatorship, she would have
to demonstrate that she can take responsibility for her personal
and financial affairs.
Penny praised Spears for speaking out. "I know it took a lot of
courage," Penny said. "I just want to commend you again for
really stepping forward and stepping out to have your thoughts
heard, not only by myself but by everybody who has been involved
in this case."
The last time Spears spoke directly to the judge was in May 2019
but the court was closed to the public and her testimony was
sealed. On Wednesday the singer stated that she wanted people to
hear what she had to say.
The former teen phenomenon said she wanted to get married again
and have a baby. But she said she has a contraceptive device
that she wants removed, but is not allowed to go to the doctor
"because they don’t want me to have any more children."
Spears, who has been dating boyfriend Sam Asghari for five
years, has 30% custody of her two children with her former
husband Kevin Federline.
Outside the courthouse, several dozen fans, many of them dressed
in pink and holding "Free Britney" placards, rallied in support
of the "Stronger" singer.
Last year, Spears began the legal process to remove her father,
Jamie Spears, from handling personal affairs ranging from her
medical care to who visits her secluded villa outside Los
Angeles. Jamie Spears also is a joint conservator of the
singer's finances.
Jamie Spears said in a statement read out by his attorney on
Wednesday that he was “sorry to see his daughter suffer and in
so much pain. Mr. Spears loves his daughter and misses her very
much."
The singer however, called her father "ignorant" and
controlling. "He loved every minute of it, the control he had.
He loved it," she said.
Spears complained that she had not been allowed to have her
nails or hair done, or had a massage or acupuncture in a year.
"It's embarrassing and demoralizing what I've been through," she
said. "I feel bullied. I feel left out and alone."
During the conservatorship, the singer made a comeback in late
2009 and performed, released albums and went on world tours
solidly until late 2018.
Details of her mental health issues have never been disclosed
but Spears said on Wednesday that doctors had put her on the
drug Lithium and that she "felt drunk."
The unusually long conservatorship has come under increasing
scrutiny in recent years thanks to the fan-based #FreeBritney
movement, a 2021 documentary, and a series of leaked court
documents.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Jill Serjeant; editing by Grant
McCool)
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