Britney Spears’s mother, Lynne Spears, has officially backed up her daughter’s formal request to remove Jamie Spears, Lynne’s ex-husband and Britney’s father, from his role of controlling Britney’s estate and finances. Lynne said that since the start of this now-13-year conservatorship, Jamie has maintained “absolute control over [Britney’s] money and her health-care decisions,†and that the relationship between Britney, now 39, and her father has “dwindled to nothing but fear and hatred†due to Jamie’s behavior, according to Lynne’s signed declaration submitted to the court on July 22.
Lynne said that Jamie has “exercise[d] absolutely microscopic control over [Britney].†She maintains that, under Jamie’s reign, he has “relied on member[s] of [Britney’s] household staff, medical aids on-site at [Britney’s] home, and her own security detail to inform on and report back to him each and every detail of every action that takes place in [Britney’s] home.†Lynne said that Jamie uses that information to mete out punishments and rewards. She said that such scrutiny for Britney is both “exhausting and terrifying†for her daughter. Lynne said Britney is subject to Jamie’s “constant threats and his decision-making over all aspects of her life.â€
Lynne doubles down on Britney’s claim that she was compelled “with the knowledge and encouragement of [Jamie] to enter a facility against her wishes†and “was threatened with punishment if she did not stay for medical treatment that she did not want to endure.†According to Lynne, Jamie viewed Britney like a racehorse and felt he had to handle her like one. Lynne called Jamie’s physical altercation with one of their grandchildren two years ago “the most appalling and inexcusable, and understandably destroyed whatever was left of a relationship between [Jamie and Britney].†She said Jamie is incapable of putting Britney’s interest ahead of his own and urged the court to remove him as Britney’s conservator.
Lynne’s assertions were backed up by Jodi Montgomery, who has been serving as the conservator over Britney’s person since Jamie stepped down September 9, 2019, after his altercation with Britney’s son became public. Montgomery said that Jamie has still yet to execute a resignation of this role of conservator over Britney’s person. In addition, Montgomery said in her declaration, signed July 22, that Britney “has serious, unresolved issues with her father Mr. Spears sourcing back to her childhood that cause her great distress and emotional upset.â€
“The distress and upset is genuine and real,†Montgomery said. She called the relationship between Britney and her father “not psychologically healthy†and said that Jamie “needs to go back to just being Ms. Spears’s father†and work on developing a healthy, supportive father-daughter relationship. Montgomery said that even Britney’s medical team, after “numerous, ongoing conversations,†believe Jamie’s removal is “critical to [Britney’s] emotional health and well-being.â€
Both Lynne and Montgomery’s declarations are part of Britney’s new attorney Mathew Rosengart’s official court request filed on July 26 to remove Jamie from his role as conservator of Britney’s finances. Since being retained earlier this month, Rosengart has taken an aggressive approach to getting rid of Jamie, per his client’s wishes. Rosengart stated in his memo that despite the fact that Britney had worked tirelessly since her conservatorship was enacted, releasing four albums (Circus, Femme Fatale, Britney Jean, and Glory) and headlining hundreds of shows grossing almost $400 million, she has had no control of whether she wanted to perform at all. When Britney refused to do the next Vegas Domination tour, she was put on lithium against her wishes, Rosengart said. He said for the past 13 years that Britney has been in a “Kafkaesque nightmare.â€
“The message Ms. Spears received from her father was clear: She had no say; she had no control or autonomy; and she had to do as she was told or else she would, once again, be deemed ‘uncooperative’ and be further medicated against her wishes,†Rosengart wrote in his motion to Judge Brenda Penny to remove Jamie from his position. “The relationship between Ms. Spears and her father is so fractured that Ms. Spears and her father do not even speak, and any interaction with her father is unwelcomed and needlessly stressful for Ms. Spears, who, as referenced above, has testified that she is fearful of her father, along with many reasons for that fear. “
He said that during the course of the conservatorship, Jamie has stripped his daughter of her dignity and of her humanity. Rosengart said Britney is a “highly functioning individual†and points out that he finds the fact that she is still under the control of a conservatorship that was supposed to be a last resort unusual.
Rosengart also makes it clear in his court papers that if Jamie decides to fight his removal, he will have to pay for his attorney fees himself, rather than have them come out of Britney’s estate.
“For more than 13 years, Petitioner Britney Jean Spears (‘Ms. Spears’) has endured a conservatorship that, certainly as it concerns James P. Spears (â€Mr. Spears’), has grown increasingly toxic and is simply no longer tenable. There might well come a time when the Court will be called upon to consider whether the conservatorship should be terminated in its entirety and whether — in addition to stripping his daughter of her dignity, autonomy, and certain fundamental liberties — Mr. Spears is also guilty of misfeasance or malfeasance warranting the imposition of surcharges, damages, or other legal action against him,†Rosengart said.
Rosengart said he also still plans to fully investigate Britney’s abuse claims against her father. He said in his court filing that Jamie has “profited handsomely from his daughter’s conservatorship†and that, since 2009, has been “paying himself $16,000 per month from Ms. Spears’s estate, which is $2,000 more than he has allotted to Britney.†He added that Jamie also received a share of the revenues generated by Britney’s performances. Rosengart claims that the legal fees Jamie’s attorneys have received — paid for by Britney — have been astounding; Jamie’s litigation counsel, Holland & Knight, alone seeks compensation of $1,356,293 in attorneys’ fees from October 17, 2020, to June 30, 2021, which includes $541,065.50 for unspecified “media matters,†according to Rosengart. He also pointed out that Jamie is not a professional business or financial manager.
Jamie’s attorneys have not responded to a request for comment.
A hearing originally set for December 13 regarding Britney’s request to remove her father from her conservatorship has been moved up to September 29.
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