A Los Angeles judge has today granted a motion to seal a hearing and transcripts Britney Spears’ conservatorship case following the news that the 38-year-old had requested to remove her father as sole conservator of her personal and professional life.
According to the LA Times, “Judge Brenda Penny was set to evaluate the role of Spears’ temporary conservator, Jodi Montgomery, and her request to curb James ‘Jamie” Spears’ broad authority over his daughter’s life. Penny granted the motion to seal and cleared the courtroom.”
According to a document filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court by the singer’s lawyer, Samuel Ingham, “Britney is strongly opposed” to having her father, James “Jamie” Spears, continue as the sole conservator of her financial affairs, a role he has held for 12 years.
Britney Spears also reportedly requested that Jodi Montgomery, the temporary conservator who has been overseeing her case since last year, be the one to oversee her financial affairs. She added that it did not mean she would be waiving her right to seek an end to the entire arrangement.
“Without in any way waiving her right to seek termination of this conservatorship in the future, Britney would like Ms. Montgomery’s appointment as conservator of her person to be made permanent,” Ingham wrote.
“She strongly prefers to have a qualified corporate fiduciary appointed to serve (as conservator of her estate).”
“We are now at a point where the conservatorship must be changed substantially in order to reflect the major changes in her current lifestyle and her stated wishes,” Ingham wrote.
The status hearing, which was closed to the media and public, is the latest development in the ongoing #FreeBritney movement, in which fans are demanding the singer be released from her conservatorship, which has been in place since 2008.
The court-approved conservatorship — also known as a legal guardianship — subsequently gave her father control over her finances and many personal decisions, including when the “Lucky” singer can drive a car, leave her home, and possibly even vote.
According to the fans behind the #FreeBritney petition, the star’s dedicated followers want the conservatorship to be “investigated for abuse and ultimately terminated so Britney can finally be free and live her best life.”
“And if she breaks a ‘rule’ he threatens to have her kids taken away!” the petition alleged.
In a blow to the #FreeBritney movement earlier this year, courts had granted Jamie Spears’ wish to make Britney’s conservatorship strictly a private matter, granting “the motion to seal the transcript, conditionally seal the Status Report filed pending a further motion, and the motion to clear and close the courtroom.”
The movement looking into Britney Spears’ highly-guarded private life has gained significant traction in the past few months, with celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Rose McGowan, Vera Wang, Miley Cyrus and Bella Thorne voicing their support for the #FreeBritney campaign.
In April 2020, fans drew more attention to the issue by holding a protest in Los Angeles demanding that she be released.
Jamie Spears has previously been vocal about his thoughts on the #FreeBritney movement, telling Page Six:
“All these conspiracy theorists don’t know anything. The world don’t have a clue. It’s up to the court of California to decide what’s best for my daughter. It’s no one else’s business.”
