Britney Spears has been dominating the headlines these days, as this seems to be the year she's felt confident enough to speak up and fight for what's right. Britney has been under a strict conservatorship run by her father since February 2008. Around that time was when Britney was photographed in the news for having a "breakdown."
It's unclear as to what actually happened, as the media was very unforgiving of Britney at the time. But after realizing how much pressure she was under, it makes sense as to why she needed to focus on her health.
The conservatorship is still in place today, despite Britney having played countless shows since. She's also taken on plenty of media roles, proving she's capable of putting herself out there. Yet her father — who has profited heavily due to Britney throughout the years — believes she's still unwell.
Britney has tried to get her father removed from her conservatorship for some time. But Jamie Spears claimed that Britney is still "mentally sick" in his recent filings. He stated that he talked to her temporary conservator-of-the-person, Jodi Montgomery, in July and she agreed with this assessment.
Speaking through her lawyer, Montgomery claimed that Jamie Spears' statement misrepresents what she actually said to him. She said she was concerned over Britney's "overall mental health," which makes sense. Aside from the legal issues, there's been a lot of new media, including the Framing Britney Spears documentary, which rehashes much of Britney's traumatic past.
Montgomery admitted that she didn't agree with Jamie Spears' request to possibly put Britney in a potential 5150 psychiatric hold. Lawyer Lauriann Wright made sure to clear that up immediately. "At no time did Ms. Montgomery express to Mr. Spears that Ms. Spears would currently qualify for such a hold," she said.
"The concern that Ms. Montgomery did raise to Mr. Spears during their telephone call is that forcing Ms. Spears to take the stand to testify or to have her evaluated would move the needle in the wrong direction for her mental health," Wright continued. Montgomery has been working with Britney as her temporary conservator-of-the-person since 2019.
The paperwork that states otherwise says that Montgomery sounded "distraught" over Britney's health. Montgomery also reportedly "expressed concern about Ms. Spears' recent behavior and her refusal to listen to or even see her doctors," according to Today. That said, it's hard to take Jamie Spears' words to heart, especially after it was revealed how much he has made per month since the conservatorship was set up.
Jamie Spears mentioned in the documents that he felt, based on that conversation, that "Ms. Spears was spiraling out of control." He mentioned that one thing that alarmed him was that Britney wasn't taking her medications on time or seeing her doctors. It's unclear as to whether or not this is actually true, or what her medical situation is currently like.
"Ms. Montgomery explained that my daughter was not timely or properly taking her medications, was not listening to the recommendations of her medical team, and refused to even see some of her doctors," he stated in the filing. "Ms. Montgomery said she was very worried about the direction my daughter was heading in and directly asked for my help to address these issues."
He also claimed that Montgomery confided in him that Britney had lied publicly. "Ms. Montgomery acknowledged that many of my daughter's statements at the last hearing were not true," he said, "and attributed her statements to the fact that my daughter is 'mentally sick.'" But the statements of others who have nothing to gain from Britney have shown that Jamie Spears has been overly controlling of his daughter throughout her entire career.
One of those people is Iggy Azalea, who had no trouble sticking up for Britney by sharing her own personal story about Jamie Spears. "It's basic human decency to at the very least remove a person Britney has identified as abusive from her life. This should be illegal," she said on social media. "I just want to back her up and tell the world that: She is not exaggerating or lying."
"I saw her restricted from even the most bizarre and trivial things," Iggy Azalea continued. "Jamie Spears has a habit of making people sign documents while under duress it seems, and Britney Spears should not be forced to co-exist with that man when she's made it clear it is negatively impacting her mental health." She stated this knowing that every account was important, and it's sweet to know she has Britney's back.
Even though you'd want to believe that a father has his daughter's best interests at heart, it seems as if Jamie Spears was financially abusing his daughter. Mental health is often on a spectrum. But if Britney has been well enough to have a Las Vegas residency and continue working (both of which would financially benefit Jamie), she is likely also well enough to make decisions about her own money, life, and body. Britney alleged that despite her desire to have more kids, her family has forced her to prevent pregnancy with an IUD.
Just recently, it was revealed that Britney bought an iPad for herself for the first time. That puts her situation in perspective even more. "This is just a groundbreaking day," she said. "I've always had a little phone, but now this iPad is in my hands and I feel like my life is changing as we speak and I am so excited." One of the biggest pop stars of our generation was apparently denied an iPad for so long, and that alone is enough to make you wonder why her family has such strict rules. Britney Spears will be turning 40 this year, and it's time she's able to embrace that.
