Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny permitted pop-star Britney Spears to personally address the court dealing with her conservatorship on June 23.
What We Know:
- Spears’ attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, asked for the hearing when the court convened to discuss matters about accounting and fees on Tuesday. Spears wanted to talk to the court “on an expedited basis,” said Ingham. As of right now, nobody knows what Britney will discuss in June.
“The conservatee, she has requested that I seek from the court a status hearing at which she can address the court directly… This does not relate to any of the matters on the calendar now, and it does not relate to the accounting or the fee issues,” said Ingham in a video conference.
- The court met on Tuesday to review motions about fees and accounting matters for the conservatorship. The court date included an objection from Lynne Spears, Britney’s mother, over more than $890,000 in fees charged to Britney’s estate. Lynne took issue with payments to the firm Holland & Knight and requested the firm reimburse Britney. In addition, she asked the court to review all “raw records” of expenses in a filing from last week. NBC News discusses more on Tuesday’s hearing, as well as Jamie Spears’ response.
- Britney’s conservatorship began in 2008, after a public mental breakdown. The court-appointed Britney’s father, Jamie, and attorney Andrew Wallet, as her conservators. This title gave Jamie and Wallet complete control of her finances. In 2019, Jamie became the sole conservator after Wallet resigned.
- A documentary released in February, Framing Britney Spears, brought more scrutiny to the case. Britney fans started a movement called #FreeBritney to free the singer. The movement’s supporters believe her conservator is keeping Britney prisoner. They also think Britney’s social media posts are cries for help.
- Britney also expressed disdain for the documentary’s representation of her and her family on Instagram. She said she felt “embarrassed” and cried for two weeks after watching a clip from it. Although Britney has expressed her appreciation for the fans on social media and court documents, she has not asked for the conservatorship’s end.
- However, Britney wants to loosen the conservatorship’s control. In 2020, Britney began requesting her father be removed as the sole conservator of her estate. In November, she stated she is “afraid” of Jamie and would refuse to perform if he is still in charge of her. However, the court has not ruled in her favor just yet. Instead of removing him, the court made Bessemer Trust, a private financial institution, a co-conservator.
The June 23rd appearance will be the first known time Spears speaks in a court in more than two years. The public did not have access to her last court presence on May 10, 2019. It is currently speculated Judge Penny will also block the media and public from this hearing.
