On Wednesday, a judge in Los Angeles ruled that Britney Spears’s father, Jamie Spears, will be removed as the conservator of her estate.
Speaking in court, Britney’s attorney Matthew Rosengart accused Jamie of being “cruel, toxic, and abusive,” and said, “this man does not belong in her life for another day.” An accountant chosen by Britney and her lawyer will temporarily take over Jamie’s duties.
Britney has been in the conservatorship since 2008, but had been mostly silent on her feelings about the situation until June of this year when she told a court that she felt the arrangement was “abusive” and that she wanted out. “I just want my life back,” she said at the time.
Like most things in Britney’s life, from Starbucks runs to psychiatric crises, the court hearings related to her conservatorship have become something of a circus. Since 2019, fans have been holding #FreeBritney rallies outside the courthouse whenever the conservatorship is on the docket.
During Wednesday’s hearing, a couple hundred fans and about as many members of the media gathered in the street outside the courthouse. For about five hours, the crowd waited, occasionally marching while chanting slogans about freeing Britney and putting various members of her family and team in prison. The rally was billed as a unity rally, and speakers talked about conservatorships in general, and other people who they feel have been unfairly placed in the system. When the judge’s decision was announced, the crowd was overjoyed. People began cheering and crying in the street.
Another hearing to decide whether the conservatorship should be ended altogether has been scheduled for November 12.
