The #FreeBritney became a trend again at dawn, when the people of USA had ‘gathered’ in front of the televisions and social media to enjoy one of the biggest television and sporting events in the country, the SuperBowl. The beginning was made by Sarah Jessika Parker. Thousands of others followed. But what is the problem?;
Earlier on Sunday 7/2 the producer and director of the latest documentary about Britney Spears‘ life appeared on the TV network ’ET', Samantha Stark, to explain what makes FX's ‘Framing Britney Spears’ different from all previous attempts to explain what really happened to the pop princess.
For starters, Stark explained that among the interviews she secured was that of the artist's longtime assistant, Felicia Culotta, which had rejected several previous requests. They had also found evidence proving the fairness of Spears' fan movement (members of a fan club called Britney Army) with the hashtag #FreeBritney. To wit, of Spears' release from her father.
For a dozen years now, the former pop icon has been denied the right to marry, to have more children, to do whatever she wants with the money she has earned and to speak publicly about the reasons why she has been stripped of all these rights - among many others - without the permission of her court-appointed supervisor.
In January 2007 the ‘downhill’ began, after the death of her beloved aunt from cancer, the entrance and escape from a rehab clinic, the shaving of hair, the tattoo in front of cameras, the return to rehab, the new escape, the tour (because somehow she had to ‘make’ money), losing custody of her boys (for reasons that were never made public), recording her fifth studio album (Blackout - reached #1 upon its release), the relationship with paparazzo, being ‘sold out’ by a man who paid to keep her safe and he informed the media of her every move, and the January 3, 2008 meltdown.
With prosecutorial intervention, was transferred to the psychiatric ward at Ronald Reagan Medical Center and her father, Jamie, was assigned as her supervisor. For the record, she had agreed to have someone else take responsibility for her (she had lost some of her property through moves she made in fits and starts), but had asked that her dad not be that person. Incidentally, her parents were divorced.
Let's look at the two basic terms: conservatorship is the subjection of a person or organization to legal control by another person or organization referred to as a conservator. This is appointed by court order (for individuals) or through a legal or regulatory authority (for organisations).
The supervisor assumes the legal responsibilities of a person judged to be mentally ill. That is, he or she has been diagnosed as psychotic, suicidal, incapacitated or unable to make a legal, medical or financial decision that affects him or her.
Fact: Britney Spears had created the SJB Revocable Trust in 2004 to protect, in the event of her death, everything she owned and her children Sean and Jayden as her legal heirs. She was, however, removed as trustee when she obtained a supervisor-four years later. In her place was her younger sister, Jamie Lynn.
In addition to her father, a supervisor was appointed and attorney Andrew Wallet - who resigned in 2018. Once Jamie became supervisor, he stopped asking her about the business he ‘booked’ her or the investments she made. Spears was discharged on 8/1 and resumed her regular job.
On the 4th day of 2019 he said ‘this far’ and stopped working. The reason was her father's decision to cancel a job that she had ’booked‘ in Las Vegas (residency is defined as up to several years with a particular employer), without asking her. Jamie said she was under a lot of pressure and her health was threatened. The truth is that ‘punished’ her for refusing to take her medication and then forced her into a psychiatric hospital.
Note: Documents show that in 2018 she spent $400,000 on living expenses, $66,000 on supplies related to her home and $1.1 million on attorneys and supervision fees. Her father “made” $128,000.
Her latest album was released in 2016. She hasn't performed live since 2018 and as of November 2020 she stopped performing anywhere. Since then it has not worked a second.
In July 2020, her mother filed a court request to receive notices regarding her daughter's income and property, making it clear that wants to have a say in how Spears' $59 million fortune is used. A month later, Britney herself requested that Jamie's guardianship be terminated and that third parties take over the management of her appearances and investments. This was not accepted.
When her father suffered a ruptured colon (September 2020) and could not discharge his debts, she petitioned the court for a change of custody: she asked that only Jodi Pais Montgomery be appointed and that her father be replaced by a qualified custodian, as regards the management of its property. The request was not accepted.
Jamie, who was also acting as his daughter's manager, suffered a ruptured colon and required medical attention. He was unable to perform his duties. He appointed Jodi Montgomery, who was in the process of divorcing her husband and partner, Jack, as his temporary replacement. She was to take over Spears until Jan. 31, 2020, but due to a coronavirus, the supervision continues to this day.
On the day Motgomery became her temporary supervisor, Spears asked the court to have the court appoint her alone and in her father's place a qualified custodian to manage her estate. A specialist was appointed, but Jamie was not removed, who also faced charges of using violence against his grandson, Preston. He was denounced by the child's father, who had obtained a restraining order prohibiting Jamie from seeing his grandchildren (70% of custody is held by Kevin Federline and 30% by their mother) for three consecutive years. A month later came the ruptured colon.
Spears‘ lawyers made another attempt to get their client released (last November), but were again unsuccessful, only to state that 'there is no longer a viable working relationship between daughter and father’. Jamie's lawyers argued that ‘our client is doing exactly what he owes as conservator of the estate”. As such, he remains a supervisor of the estate and career. She controls her money and her schedule, working with Bessemer Trust. For the record, she has not lost any money.
The hard core of her fans (Britney Army) feel that their idol has the right to live on her own terms, without anyone else deciding for her. Hence the #FreeBritney movement, as her fans believe Spears is being manipulated, when she is perfectly capable of taking her life in her own hands.
Last spring, Spears informed her people that her gym caught fire from candles she left lit. A new round of concerns about her condition began, with fans insisting it was a consequence of supervision and lack of freedom. Toward the end of 2020, her attorney Samuel D. Ingham III described her mental state as comatose - while he had made it clear that she's afraid of her father and that she will never perform on any stage again unless Jamie is removed from the position of career manager.
Later, Ingham explained that he used the term ’comatose' to describe his client's inability to sign any legal document and not because she was in a coma.
The producer of the latest documentary about Spears' life told Vanity Fair that “the central mystery of our work is about living the life of a busy pop star and at the same time being told she is in constant danger. She earns millions of dollars and yet she can't make a decision about anything to do with her life. There is a contrast that is not easily understood as to why this exists. And too many court documents remain sealed.’.
