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Britney Spears Makes Court Statement Against Conservatorship

Britney Spears accepting Fragrance of the Year at the Hollywood Beauty Awards

On Wednesday June 23rd, pop star Britney Spears made a statement pleading to be released from her 13 year conservatorship under her father. 

The singer's full statement below: 

Britney Spears: I just got a new phone, and I have a lot to say, so bear with me. Basically, a lot has happened since two years ago… I wrote all this down.

The last time I was in court, I will be honest with you. 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.

Well, when I came to court, the last time I brought four sheets of paper in my hands and wrote in length, what I had been through the last four months before I came there. The people who did that to me should not be able to walk away so easily. I'll recap. I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do. My management said if I don't do this tour, I will have to find— 

Judge Brenda Penny: Uh, I do. I hate to interrupt you, but my court reporter is taking down what you’re saying, so you have to speak a little more slowly. Oh yes. Okay, great. 

Spears: Oh yes. Okay, great. The people who did this to me should not get away and to be able to walk away so easily. Recap. I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do. My management said if I don't do this tour, I will have to find an attorney, and by contract, my own management could sue me if I didn't follow through with the tour. He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it. It was very threatening and scary, and with the conservatorship, I couldn't even get my own attorney, so out of fear, I went ahead and I did the tour. When I came off that tour, a new show in Las Vegas was supposed to take place. I started rehearsing early, but it was hard cause I've been doing Vegas for four years, and I needed a break in between. 

But no, I was told, this is the timeline, and this is how it's going to go. I rehearsed four to four days a week—half of the time in the studio and a half of the other time in a Westlake studio. I was basically directing most of the show with my whereabouts, where I preferred to rehearse and actually did most of the choreography, meaning I taught my dancers my new choreography myself. I take everything I do very seriously. There's tons of videos with me at rehearsal. I wasn't good. I was great. I led a room of 16 new dancers and rehearsals. It's funny to hear my manager's side of the story. They all said I wasn't participating in rehearsals. And I never agreed to take my medication, which my medication is only taken in the mornings, never at rehearsal. They don't even see me. So why are they even claiming that? 

When I said no to one dance move into rehearsals, it was as if I planted a huge bomb somewhere. And I said, no, I don't want to do it this way. After that, my management and my dancers and my assistant of the new people that were supposed to do the new show, all went into a room, shut the door and didn't come out for at least 45 minutes. Ma'am, I'm not here to be anyone's slave. I can say no to a dance move. I was told by my at-the-time therapist Dr. Benson, who died, then my manager called him, and then that moment and told him I wasn't cooperating or following the guidelines in rehearsals. And he also said, I wasn't taking my medication, which is so dumb because I've had the same lady every morning for the past eight years give me my same medication, and I'm nowhere near these stupid people. It made no sense at all. 

There was a week period where they were nice to me and they said if I don't want to do the new Vegas show, I don't have to, because I was getting really nervous. I said, I can wait. It was like, they told me I could wait. It was like lifting literally 200 pounds off of me when they said I don't have to do the show anymore. Cause it was, I was really, really hard on myself, and it was too much.  I couldn't take it anymore. So I remember telling my assistant, but you know, I feel weird if I say no, I feel like they're going to come back and be mean to me or punish me or something. 

Three days later after I said no to Vegas, my therapist sat me down in a room and said he had a million phone calls about how I was not cooperating in rehearsals. And I haven't been taking my medication. All of this was false. He immediately, the next day, put me on lithium, out of nowhere. He took me off my normal meds I've been on for five years. And lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to. You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months. But he put me on that, and I felt drunk. I really couldn't even take up for myself. I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom or dad, really about anything. I told them I was scared. And my doctor had me on six different nurses with this new medication, come to my home, stay with me to monitor me on this new medication, which I never wanted to be on to begin with. 

There were six different nurses in my homes and they wouldn't let me get in my car to go anywhere for a month. Not only did my family not do a god damn thing, my dad was all for it. Anything that happened to me had to be approved by my dad and my dad only. He acted like he didn't know that I was told I had to be tested over the Christmas holidays before they sent me away when my kids went home to Louisiana. He was the one who approved all of it. My whole family did nothing. Over the two week holiday, a lady came into my home for four hours a day, sat me down and did a psych test on me. It took forever. But I was, I was told I had to then after I got off a phone call from my dad saying after I did the psych test with this lady, basically saying, I'd failed the test or whatever at whatever. 

‘I'm sorry, Brittany, you have to listen to your doctors. They were planning to send you to a small home in Beverly Hills to do a small rehab program that we're going to make up for you. You're going to pay $60,000 a month for this.’ 

I cried on the phone for an hour, and he loved every minute of it. The control he had over someone as powerful as me, as he loved the control to hurt his own daughter. 100,000%, he loved it. I packed my bags and went to that place. I worked seven days a week, no days off, which in California, the only similar thing to this is called sex trafficking: making anyone work, work against their will, taking all their possessions away credit card, cash, phone, passport card, and placing them in the home where they, they work with the people who live with them. They all lived in the house with me, the nurses, the 24/7 security. There was one chef that came there and cooked for me daily, during the weekdays. They watched me change, everyday, naked. Morning, noon and night. My body: I had no privacy, door  for my room. I gave eight gallons of blood a week. If I didn't do any of my meetings and work from eight to six at night, which is 10 hours a day, seven days a week, no days off, I wouldn't be able to see my kids or my boyfriend. I never had a say in my schedule. They always told me I had to do this. And ma'am, I will tell you, sitting in a chair, 10 hours a day, seven days a week, it ain't fun. And especially when you can't walk out the front door. 

That's why I'm telling you this again two years later. After I've lied and told the whole world I'm okay and I'm happy. It's a lie. I thought, I just, maybe if I said that enough, maybe I might become happy. Cause I've been in denial. I've been in shock. I am traumatized. You know, fake it till you make it. But now I'm telling you the truth, okay? I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry, it's insane. And I'm depressed. I cry every day. And the reason I'm telling you this is because I don't think how the state of California can have all this written in the court documents from the time I showed up and do absolutely nothing. Just hire with my money another person and keep my dad on board. Ma'am, my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship, and my management who played a huge role in punishing me, and I said, no, ma'am they should be in jail. 

Their cruel tactics working for Miley Cyrus as she smokes on joints and stage at the VMAs. Nothing is ever done to this generation for doing wrong things. But my precious body, who's worked for my dad for the past fucking 13 years, trying to be so good and pretty, so perfect when he works me so hard, when I do everything I'm told. And the state of California allowed my ignorant father to take his own daughter, who only has a role with me if I work with him, they set back the whole course and allow him to do that to me. That's given these people I've worked for way too much control. They also threatened me and said, if I don't go, then I have to go to court, and it will be more embarrassing me if the judge publicly…

I was advised for my image. I need to go ahead, and just go and get it over with. They said that to me. I don't, I don't even drink alcohol. I should drink alcohol considering what they put my heart through. 

Also the Bridges facility they sent me to, none of the kids… I was doing this program for four months, so the last two months I went to a Bridges facility. None of the kids there did the program. They never showed up for any of them. You didn't have to do anything if you didn't want to. How come they always made me go? How come I was always threatened by my dad and anybody that participated in this conservatorship. If I don't do this, what they tell me to enslave me to do, they're going to punish me. 

The last time I spoke to you by just keeping the conservatorship going and also keeping my dad in the loop made me feel like I was dead. Like I didn't matter. Like nothing had been done to me. Like you thought I was lying or something. I'm telling you again, cause I'm not lying. I want to feel heard. And I'm telling you this again so maybe you can understand depth and the degree and the damage that they did to me back then. I want changes, and I want changes going forward. I deserve changes. 

I was told I have to sit down and be evaluated again if I want to end the conservatorship. Ma'am, I didn't know I could petition the conservatorship. I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn't know that. But honestly, I don't think I owe anyone to be evaluated. I've done more than enough. I don't feel like I should even be in room with anyone to offend me by trying to question my capacity of intelligence, whether I need to be in this stupid conservatorship or not. I've done more than enough. 

I don't owe these people anything. Especially me,  the one that has roofed and fed tons of people on tour on the road. It's embarrassing and demoralizing what I've been through. And that's the main reason I've never said it openly. And mainly I didn't want to say it openly because I honestly don't think anyone would believe me.

To be honest with you, that Paris Hilton story, on what they did to her at  that school. I didn't believe any of it. I'm sorry. I'm an outsider, and I'll just be honest, I didn't believe it. And maybe I'm wrong. And that's why I didn't want to say any of this to anybody, to the public, because I thought people would make fun of me or laugh at me and say, ‘She's lying. She's got everything. She's Britney Spears.’ I'm not lying. I just want my life back. And it's been 13 years and it's enough. 

It's been a long time since I've owned my money, and it's my wish and my dream for all of this to end, without being tested. Again, it makes no sense whatsoever for the state of California to sit back and literally watch me, with their own two eyes, make a living for so many people and pay so many people, trucks and buses on tour, on the road with me, and be told I'm not good enough’ But I'm great at what I do. And I allow these people to control what I do, Ma'am, and it's enough. It makes no sense at all. Now going forward, I'm not willing to meet or see anyone. I've not with enough people against my will. I'm done. All I want is to own my money, for this to end and my boyfriend to drive me in his fucking car. 

And I would honestly like to sue my family to be totally honest with you. I also would like to be able to share my story with the world and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hash secret to benefit all of them. I want to be able to be heard on what they did to me by making me keep this in for so long. It's not good for my heart. I've been so angry, and I cry every day. It concerns me. I'm told I'm not allowed to expose the people who did this to me. 

For my sanity, I need you, the judge, to approve me to do an interview where I can be heard and what they did to me. And actually I have the right to use my voice and take up for myself. My attorney says I can't, um, it's not good. I can't let the public know anything they did to me. And by not saying anything is saying it's okay. 

I can, I don't know what I said here.

It's not okay. I would rush. Actually. I don't want an interview. I'd much rather just have an open call to you for the press to hear, which I didn't know today we’re doing, so thank you. Instead of having an interview, honestly, I need that to get it off my heart, the anger and all of that that's happening. It's not fair. They're telling me lies about me openly. Even my family. They do interviews to anyone they want on news stations. My own family doing interviews and talking about the situation and making me feel so stupid. And I can't say one thing, and my own people say, I can't say anything. 

It's been two years. I want a recorded call to you. Actually, we’re doing this now, which I didn't know that we were doing this, until the public knows what they did to me. I told my, I know my lawyer, Sam, has been very scared for me to go forward because he's saying if I speak up about being overworked in that facility, that rehab place, that the rehab place will sue me. He told me I should keep it to myself. I would personally like to, actually, I know I have grown a personal relationship with Sam, my lawyer, I've been talking to him like three times a week now,  we've kind of built a relationship, but I haven't really had the opportunity by my own self to actually handpick my own lawyer by myself. And I would like to be able to do that. 

I would like to, also, the main reason why I'm here is because I want you to end conservatorship without having to be evaluated. I've done a lot of research ma'am, and there's a lot of judges who do end conservatorships for people without them having to be evaluated all the time. The only times they don't is if the concerned family member says something's wrong with this person and otherwise. And considering my family has lived off my conservatorship for 13 years, I won't be surprised if one of them has something to say and go forward, and say, ‘We don't think this should end. We have to help her.’ Especially if I get my fair turn in exposing what they did to me. 

Also, I want to speak to you about, at the moment, my obligations, which I personally don't think at the very moment, I owe anybody, anything. I have three meetings a week I have to attend no matter what. I just don't like feeling like I work for the people who I pay. I don't like being told I have to, no matter what, even if I'm sick. Jody, the conservator, says I have to see my coach Ken, even when I'm sick. I would like to do one meeting a week with a therapist. I've never before, even before they sent me to that place, had two therapy sessions. I have a doctor and then a therapy person. What I've been forced to do is illegal. I shouldn't be told I have to be available three times a week to these people I don't know. 

I'm talking to you today because I feel again, yes, even Jodi (Montgomery) is starting to kind of take it too far with me. They have me going to therapy twice a week and a psychiatrist, that's three times a week. I've never in the past or to see a therapist more than once a week. It takes too much out of me going to this man I don't know. 

Number one, I'm scared of people. I don't trust people with what I've been through, and the clever setup of being in Westlake, one of the most exposed places in Westlake, which yesterday, paparazzi showed me coming out of the place literally crying. It's embarrassing and it's demoralizing. I deserve privacy when I go and have therapy. Either at my home, like I've done for eight years, they've always come to my home. Or when Dr. Benson, the guy, the man that died, I went to a place similar to what I went to in Westlake, which was very exposed and really bad. It was identical to Dr. Benson, the one who illegally—yes, 100%—abused me by the treatment he gave me. And to be totally honest with you, I was so…

Judge Penny: Excuse me for interrupting. But my reporter says if you could just slow down a little bit, cause she's trying to make sure she gets everything that you're saying. 

Spears: Okay, cool. … The stuff in Westlake is identical to Dr. Benson, who died, the one who illegally—yes, 100%—abused me by the treatment he gave me. And to be totally honest with you, when he passed away, I got on my knees and thanked God. 

In other words, my team is pushing it with me again. I have trapped phobias being in small rooms because the trauma locking me up for four months in that place. It's not okay for them to send me—sorry, I'm going fast—to that small room twice a week with another new therapist I pay that I never even approved. I don't like it. I don't want to do that. And I haven't done anything wrong to deserve this treatment. 

It's not okay to force me to do anything I don't want to do by law. By law, Jodi and his so-called team, honestly, I should be able to sue them for threatening me and saying if I don't go and do these meetings twice a week, we can't let you have your money and go to Maui on your vacations. You have to do what you're told for this program. And then you will be able to go. 

But it was a very clever thing. One of the most exposed places in Westlake, knowing I have the hot topic of the conservatorship, that over five paparazzis are going to show up and get me crying coming out of that place. I've begged them to make sure that they did this at my home so I would have privacy. I deserve privacy,

The whole conservatorship from the beginning, once you see someone, whoever it is in the conservatorship, making money, making them money and myself money and working, that whole statement, the conservatorships should end. I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people. It makes no sense the laws need to change. What state allows people to own another person's money and account and threaten them and saying, ‘You can't spend your money unless you do what we want you to do.” And I'm paying them. 

Ma'am, I've worked since I was 17 years old. You have to understand how thin that is for me every morning I get up to know I can't go on somewhere unless I meet people I don't know every week in an office identical to the one where the therapist was very abusive to me. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. And we can sit here all day and say, ‘Oh, conservatorships are here to help people.’ But, ma’am, there's a thousand conservatorships that are abusive as well. 

I don't feel like I can live a full life. I don't owe them to go see a man I don't know and share him my problems. I don't even believe in therapy. I always think you take it to God. I want to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. 

In the meantime, I want this therapist, once a week, he can either come to my home. I just want him to come to my home. I'm not willing to go to Westlake and be embarrassed by all these paparazzi. The scummy paparazzi laughing at my face while I'm crying, coming out and taking my pictures, as all these white, nice dinners where people drinking wine at restaurants, watching me in these places. They set me up by sending me to the most exposed places. And I told them I didn't want to go there because I knew, paparazzi would show up there. 

They only gave me two options for therapists, and I'm not sure how you make your decisions, ma’am, but this is the only chance for me to talk to you for a while. I need your help. So if you can just kind of let me know where your head is. I don't really honestly know what to say, but my requests are just to end the conservatorship without being evaluated. I want to petition, basically, to end the conservatorship, but I don't want to be evaluated and be sat in a room with people four hours a day like they did me before, and they made it even worse for me after that happened. 

So  I'm honestly new at this, and I'm doing research on all these things. I do know common sense and the method that things can end, for people that has ended without them being evaluated. So I just want you to take that and consider it. I've also done research. 

It took a year during COVID to get me any self-care methods during COVID. She said there were no services available. She's lying. Ma'am, my mom went to the spa twice in Louisiana during COVID. For a year, I didn't have my nails done, no hairstyling, no massages, no acupuncture, nothing for a year. I saw the maids in my home each week with their nails done different each time. (Jodi) made me feel like my dad does, very similar, her behavior, and my dad, but just a different dynamic. She wants me to work and stay home, instead of having longer vacations.

They are used to me sort of doing a weekly routine for them, and I'm over it. I don't feel like I owe them anything at this point. They need to be reminded, they actually work for me. …

Also I have a friend that I used to do AA meetings with. I did AA for two years; I did three meetings a week, I met a bunch of women there, and I'm not able to see my friends that live eight minutes away from me, which I find extremely strange. I feel like they're making me feel like I live in a rehab program. This is my home. I'd like for my boyfriend to be able to drive me in his car. I want to meet with a therapist once a week, not twice a week, and I want him to come to my home—because I actually know I do need a little therapy.  

I would like to progressively move forward, and I want to have the real deal. I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship I'm not able to get married or have a baby. I have a IUD inside of myself right now so I don't get pregnant. I wanted to take the IUD out so I could start trying to have another baby, but this so-called team won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don't want me to have children, any more children. 

So basically this conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life. I've worked my whole life. I deserve to have a two to three-year break and just, you know, do what I want to do. But I do feel like there is a crunch here ,and I feel open, and I'm okay to talk to you today about it. 

But I wish I could stay with you on the phone forever because when I get off the phone with you, all of a sudden, all I hear are all these nos. No, no, no. And then all of a sudden, Ifeel ganged up on, and I feel bullied, and I feel left out and alone, and I'm tired of feeling alone. I deserve to have the same rights as anybody does by having a child, a family, any of those things. And that's all I wanted to say to you, and thank you so much for letting me speak to you today. 

Judge Penny: Oh, Ms. Spears, you're quite welcome. And also, I just want to tell you that I certainly am sensitive to everything that you said and how you're feeling. And I know that it took a lot of courage for you to say everything you had to say today, and I want to let you know that the court does appreciate you’re coming on the line and sharing how you're feeling. 

Spears: Okay. Well, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.

 

 

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