Good news for Britney Spears: After more than 13 years, Jamie Spears has announced that he is stepping down from guardianship of his daughter. However, this does not mean that the singer is released from her martyrdom.
It’s a big day for Britney Spears and the #FreeBritney movement that supports her: Her father, Jamie Spears, has announced his resignation from his guardianship. With that, the singer would have achieved the most important goal that she has been trying to enforce in court for years.
On February 1, 2008, the Los Angeles court granted her parents’ urgent petition and appointed her father as guardian. Since then, together with a lawyer, he has been managing the artist’s million dollar fortune in trust – and probably doing a lot more. In fact, Jamie Spears seems to have massively intervened in his daughter’s life and made far-reaching decisions for her private life.
This became public for the first time in 2019 in the podcast “Britney’s Gram”. It alleged that Britney Spears was being held in a psychiatric hospital against her will. It was the starting shot of the FreeBritney movement, which quickly became influential on Twitter and which was joined by numerous prominent artists such as Cher, Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus. The singer is also supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Britney Spears goes to court
In September 2019, Britney’s longtime manager Jodi Montgomery temporarily replaced her father as guardian. It is the starting point for the ongoing court hearings for Britney’s guardianship. Because in August 2020, Spears’ lawyers filed a motion to appoint Montgomery permanently as guardian, while her father should be deposed as trustee of her assets.
Now the matter took on momentum: the court rejected her application and initially extended her father’s guardianship until February 2021. Britney countered by announcing that she would no longer appear as a singer as long as her father made her decision. In February 2021, a court upheld Jamie Spears’ guardianship.
Britney went on litigation, and now went on the offensive: In June, she unpacked in court and described how profoundly her father determined her life. She is not allowed to marry or have children. She is wearing a contraceptive coil against her will.
Jamie Spears announces the withdrawal
Her performance made waves and confirmed the FreeBritney movement in their fears that the singer was doing a great injustice. Notwithstanding this, the court only recently rejected an urgent motion to release Jamie Spears before a hearing scheduled for the end of September.
Now Jamie Spears has created facts himself and announced his withdrawal in a court declaration. But the 39-year-old shouldn’t be happy too soon. Because her father avoided naming a specific point in time. Instead, the document speaks of a “proper transition” to the appointment of a new guardian. Which leaves the main problem: There is no question of the removal of guardianship.
Britney Spears seems to have come closer to her first goal: Her father’s rule over her life could soon be over. However, she will remain an underage person for the time being. A fan aptly commented on Britney’s latest Instagram posting: “We’re one step closer to your freedom!”
A step. No more. But no less either. Much remains to be done for the FreeBritney movement.
Sources used: , Podcast , ,
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