Britney Spears broke her silence in a court hearing on Wednesday regarding her court-ordered conservatorship that has been in place for nearly 13 years.
Spears requested to address Judge Brenda Penny to speak out about the arrangement. The singer attended the hearing virtually by phone and spoke for more than 20 minutes as she read from prepared notes.
"A lot has happened since two years ago…the last time I was in court," she began. "I haven't been back to court in a long time because I don't think I was heard on any level when I came to court the last time."
She said she felt she had been forced to perform, was given no privacy and was made to use birth control, take medication and attend therapy sessions against her will.
Spears said on Wednesday that she was put on lithium, despite her objections.
"Lithium is a very, very strong [medication] and completely different medication than what I've been on. You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, stay on it longer than five months," Spears said. "I felt drunk. I couldn't even stick up for myself. I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom or dad about anything. I told them I was scared and they had six different nurses come to my home to monitor me while I was on this medication that I didn't want to be on to begin with."
Lithium is commonly used to treat bipolar disorder, which often causes episodes of depression and mania — a feeling of uncontrolled irritability or excitement. It can also be used to treat depression.
Spears criticized how her family, including her father Jamie Spears, has handled her conservatorship and responded to her concerns about her care.
"My family didn't do a goddam thing," she said. "Anything that happened to me had to be approved by my dad."
Spears' father had been the conservator of her estimated $60 million estate since 2008, along with attorney Andrew Wallet, following a series of personal issues that played out publicly for the singer. Following Wallet's resignation in 2019, Spears had been solely responsible for overseeing her finances until Judge Penny appointed Bessemer Trust in November 2020 to serve as co-conservator.
In response to her remarks, Vivian Thoreen, an attorney for Jamie Spears told CNN, "Mr. Spears loves his daughter and misses her very much."
Britney Spears said she has expressed her frustration about her medical care and management of her career to her dad but that she felt like he "loved" the control he had over her.
"I never had a say in my schedule. They always told me I had to do this," Spears said.
Spears also addressed why she has not brought up these issues on social media.
"I thought I might become happy because I've been in denial." she said. "I've been in shock. I am traumatized. You know, fake it til' you make it. But now I'm telling you the truth, OK. I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry it's insane and i'm depressed."
Spears said that she wants to hire an attorney of her choosing, since her current counsel, Samuel Ingham III was court appointed in 2008.
She pleaded with judge to take her concerns seriously.
#BritneySpears #CNN #DonLemonTonight
Good for her. Everyone else seems to be enjoying the fruits of her labors. Why can’t she?
@Mutton Chops no might some illness but not that bad to desrve this she has right to conteol her own money
@Dilena King what an ignorant prick may have still her money and clearly she not bad to control her own money
@Dilena King not nuts like the misconception
@jack nulty well I guess the courts will decide. Hope it works out for her.have a great day.
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
I Don’t Blame her.. and remember that she PAYS all those people who are ” Taking Care of her “… Ridiculous!!!
@Sara Mill everyone who follows Britney’s story and goes around with topics about her can see Sara Mill and her horrible comments which can be done only by trolls, so shut up!
@Inge Laimite hates truth
@Sara Mill Good?? Did u even heard all of that? Wtf is wrong with u
@Sara Mill No, dear, Inge hates trolls.
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
Many people have had much worse public meltdowns than Britney Spears did, and they never lost control over all aspects of their lives. This is criminal exploitation and needs to end now.
She just destroyed a car of a paparazzi with an umbrella. Actually that’s not bad.
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
@meyecol
She tripped while trying to get away from the paparazzi. That’s not anything scandalous. She’s not the first mother to trip while holding the baby and she won’t be the last.
@meyecol she was a young mother. On that particular day, she was being hounded and followed by paparazzi whilst holding her baby and tripped. We need to give this woman a break
@meyecol she was chased mobbed and surrounded my grown men flashing cameras in her face and she stumbled wow I wonder why she lost her balance crazy huh? she must just be clumsy right?
This is not about Britney this is about the greedy that surround her hoping to partake in her finances greed is a powerful motivator of the greedy .
@Ginny Jenorc You obviously have no clue why she was put under a conservatorship in the first place. It was done for her and her kids best interest. Obviously she is still proving she is unfit since the judge has kept it in force all these years. She is the one that has to prove she is stable and can manage her life on her own.
@William Hunt of course she is still unfit because her father isn’t getting her the help she needs only taking her Money
@emily carter Not getting her help! Then who prescribed her Lithium? I am pretty confident that the judge gets input from more than just Mr. Spears on her mental state and decision making abilities.
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
She’s an adult. This is disgusting what is happening to her.
@William Hunt
Absolutely nonsense. Even if she has a diagnosed mood disorder, that is not enough to put her in a conservatorship. It’s mainly for the elderly/immobilized. People who are not mentally competent to to take care of themselves. If Brittany can work, interact with fans, hold a relationship, and speak articulately she doesn’t need to be under a conservatorship.
@Surf_KaaboMantis10 troll
@nope, I’m bored👨💻
@Rj Bennett my dad saved my life 2 time but he never put a conservatorship on me but im not Britney $$$$$
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
I’m not a fan of her music, but what she went through is pretty disturbing. I feel really bad for her.
@the moonbleu
No I don’t know her, but I know how courts work, and it is exceptionally hard to get someone placed under conservatorship if they are of sound mind. She did some things and behaved in ways that made a very very well educated judge feel that she needed to be looked after. You don’t have to commit a crime, you just need to be helped, that’s why it happened.
@Bill Sbac they took away her right to chose her own lawyer before she even went into a court room they judge was definitely paid off that’s extremely illegal she went into the courtroom having her rights already taken from her judges can and have been paid off before they’re just as corrupt as politicians don’t be naive
@i lean
Please… it’s this kind of conspiracy theory stuff that makes people think you’re crazy and they ignore you, just like Qanon saying Trump really won the election and all the voting machines were controlled from outterspace, it’s nuts, it doesn’t happen that way, everyone is being watched too closely for that. I think Britney is a very nice girl, and a very very pretty girl, and when this is all over she should get out of Hollywood, get away from the Pop music world, go back to Louisiana, be around her people, enjoy her family and children, and maybe do something in tv or movies, something serious and real, all the things that Hollywood is not.
Same her. I can’t stand her voice, but it’s a little better on the most recent stuff. A couple of songs are funny, got a good beat you can dance to. lol
But, no one deserves the treatment she has endured. If you are aware of the story of Frances Farmer, it reminds me of that, a little, and Frances was given a forced lobotomy.
Why bring music in to this?? Can’t you this has NOTHING to do with music?? This is a ligal issues we are discussing. So leave it at that
Surreal that she’s been dealing with people who control her? She should be able to take control over her life. Good luck Brittany! God bless!
Dad and those lawyers took all the money.
How is she only worth $60Million?
Well we know it wasnt taxes. The rich dont pay taxes.
Exactly!!! She has more album sales than dollars??? Wtf!! And I didn’t even include her perfumes, tours, tv shows, etc!
@MariMar Dad, Lawyers, a Corporation, and Court fees could eat up 250 Million? It’s not only the dad. The Judge should cover the fees for a Forensic Accountant. The Judge is culpable for denying her request since 2014. The conservatorship is designed for people with dementia and Alzheimers.
@Liberal Dumbfuck Lawyers will nickel and dime their vulnerable client’s all the time.
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
The judge that allowed this to happen for 13 years needs to be held accountable as well. Men just took her life from her and told her she couldn’t have babies int he name of money. This is disgusting
https://youtu.be/3sL2x8NPyb8
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
I can’t believe she had to tell the entire world there’s an IUD inside of her. This whole situation is disgusting and I’m ashamed to be American at this point
@Nola Rolla YOU tell the rest of us what a court would do to a man to prevent him from having more children……..
I can’t WAIT to hear this
@Nola Rolla you’re the one who is provoking a battle of the sexes, and brought up the point to turn this thread into a man v. woman issue, instead of dealing with the facts that there isn’t any man-hating going on but disgust at the control Britney’s dad has on her life, so much so that she is forced to have an IUD so she doesn’t have more children.
She’s is a grown woman and is doing fine. Give her control of her money.
And her life.
https://youtu.be/3sL2x8NPyb8
https://youtu.be/zqMSUysHNtY
It’s not her money that is the issue- They control EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of her life and day and won’t let her talk to anyone freely or go anywhere- They control her every moment.
A judge will hear all the evidence and decide that. Her father is not in control of it, her father is ordered by the court to do what he is doing, and if he messes it up he can go to jail.
Her father and others have literally been syphoning money off of her for 13 years. Disgusting.
You don’t know that, and it’s illogical to think it, because everyone who is in charge of her affairs is subject to the review of the court. If you spend 10 cents of her money the court has to know about it, and they have to file a yearly report of how much they’ve spent on her, they must do this by law and the court will review every last penny of it. This is not a joke, if you mess up her conservatorship the judge will immediately order you to be arrested and charged with felony crimes. She is not being ripped off.
More than discussing it this is Criminal
Her Dad and the Judge are stealing her money. Lock Them Up !!!!!
Imagine her human rights being completely violated in a country of so-called “freedom and democracy”…🙄️
@Jeffrey 773 Well I think your just trolling at this point. Many KPop stars have been mistreated by their agencies. But the mistreatment of one does not justify the abuse of another. They are all victims whose rights have been violated. And I’m glad they start to talk about it and people listen to it. If you go by the logic that “xy is suffering from worse abuse” things will just get worse. Don’t justify abuse when it’s this obvious.
@Julia Shay the “abuse” is from the court system and your father vs the abuse from culture and record label…..Britney is in her 39 she is grown woman….she has millions so she can’t go against her father or the courts?
@Jeffrey 773 Being under a conservatorship the affected person cannot appeal to court by herself. She cannot mandate her own lawyer. She is indeed a grown woman. That’s the issue here. You don’t seem to understand what it means to be under a conservatorship.
@Julia Shay she can petition to end it…what took over 13 years to do it ? She was afraid her dad ?
https://rmolawyers.com/how-to-fight-conservatorship-abuse/
yep.
“She has to prove that she’s competent and able” Dude the other panelist just told you about how within a year of the conservatorship Britney was doing the Las Vegas residency, and how she went before the judge and was coherent enough to explain why this is abuse. Sounds pretty competent to me, but why does she have to prove she’s competent in order to not be abused?
Exactly! I think she proves it by performing and cutting paychecks to several people she shouldn’t have to pay.. sounds competent to me
Also, no one gets diagnosed for “sanity”.. it’s they other way around! You don’t have to prove your competence, they have to prove your incompetence! It makes no sense whatsoever. I hope this is the beginning of the end of this circus. It’s gone for long enough.
Yeah! I was like “dude, did you not listen to a word that was just said?”
The fact that she has an IUD that she legally cannot remove is terrifying. I’m not even sure how that’s within the law,since she’s an adult woman.
@Theo Russapparently competent enough to line people’s pockets with money though.
@Theo Russ if she’s so incompetent, why did her abusers make her continue doing shows against her will?
https://youtu.be/3sL2x8NPyb8
YES, you are so right. It is terrifying.
@Theo Russ she clearly was in court
It’s pretty disturbing what they’ve done to her. Human trafficking has many faces….
@Maxine Fowler
But they can work her to death with a Vegas residency. When they initially took her kids away, it was for good reason. But she’s since gotten help.
She doesn’t have to do any of it. They’re not ordering her to perform.
Seriously? To compare this to human trafficking is irresponsible to say the least.
@Nate Gwinn human trafficking includes coercing people to benefit from their work. If you don’t have the capacity to refuse lithium, who handled contract negotiations and execution?
https://youtu.be/3sL2x8NPyb8
This whole situation reminds me of that movie “I Care a Lot” on Netflix. Everyone around her including her ex husband are all in it together stealing her money. I dont know how many mental breakdowns I’ve had in my life from stress and I can’t imagine my family trapping me and stealing my money. If anything she needs therapy for trust issues now bc it seems like everyone has betrayed her.
Yesss! That’s exactly what I thought of when I heard of this.
Her dad is pathetic. Her ex has no issues with her being with their kids. Her father is a leach, plain and simple.
K Fed actually had the file a restraining order against her dad because he assaulted one of their kids.
The judge appointed her father to do what he is doing. Is the judge also a leech? Her father’s actions are subject to the consistent review of the court, and if he messes it up (as you are suggesting) he can be charged with felony crimes and go to jail. The court is watching her father closely, and everyone else who is involved in her care.
so true ! disgusting
https://youtu.be/3sL2x8NPyb8
@Bill Sbac Let’s not pretend this man can’t pay off the judge, and that this shite doesn’t happen ALL the time.
selling 10s of millions of albums, making 100s of millions from all those world tours, making another 100s of millions from commercials… She’s only got $60 million? ARE YOU FECKING KIDDING ME?
@Parker930 shes one of the best selling artists of all time in the 90s and 00s
*60 Million is alot compared to most artists in her exact path of success.*
@Bill Sbac I totally disagree with you it her damn that she earned on her own she should be able to spend her own damn money she is a not a underage teenager anymore. She is a grown as women who is almost 40. She doesn’t needs anybody telling her how she should spend her own money that she had worked very hard to earned This is not her daddy money he has no rights and courts to tell her how she should spend her own money.
@Darrell Wheeler
A court has the right to order anything they want, and you have the right to appeal its decision (mostly). A judge disagrees with you, and it’s the judge’s decision that matters, not ours.
She should have as much money as Katey Perry. She did Pepsi commercials. I swear she was over a 100 million in 2008 I remember looking it up.
I can’t stand the rhetoric of this CNN legal analyst gentleman on the panel, he’s the kind of oppressive society that has Brittney locked up