For 13 years, Britney Spears has been living under a conservatorship controlled by her father, Jamie Spears, and other conservators. Britney was originally placed under the conservatorship in 2008 after she was hospitalized on a psychiatric hold. As a result of the conservatorship, many of Britney's decisions, including those surrounding her finances, are controlled by others, her father included. In the decade-plus since the conservatorship was granted, fans of the pop star have mobilized under the #FreeBritney movement, pushing for her to regain control of her life.
But Britney hasn't spoken in court herself until now. On Wednesday, June 23, she gave a 24-minute testimony to a probate judge to request that the conservatorship end "without having to be evaluated." Britney also made several claims about her dad and other unnamed family members in her testimony. "I would honestly like to sue my family, to be totally honest with you," she said at one point.
During the testimony—which can be read in full on Variety—Britney said she was forced live in rehab facilities, that she was abused by a therapist, that she hasn't been able to make her own decisions about birth control, and that she was forced to take lithium. The testimony includes several mentions of her dad, Jamie, who was her primary conservator until recently. Read on to see what Britney had to say about her dad in the testimony.
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Britney claimed in her testimony that her dad was "all for" how she's been treated, including being put on lithium.
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty ImagesBritney claimed she was put on lithium and made to live with six nurses in her home who wouldn't let her leave for a month, and she said her father fully supported the situation. "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," he said. "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."
She continued: "Not only did my family not do a g**d*** thing, my dad was all for it. Anything that happened to me had to be approved by my dad. ... He was the one who approved all of it. My whole family did nothing."
Britney said that her dad "loved" controlling her.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.comBritney claimed in the testimony that her dad "loved" the control he had over her. She told a story about how she once had to take a psychiatric test, which he told her she "failed" and said that she would have to go to a rehab program that cost $60,000 per month. "How come I was always threatened by my dad and anybody that participated in this conservatorship?" she asked.
"I cried on the phone for an hour and he loved every minute of it," Britney said, recalling when her dad told she'd have to enter rehab. "The control he had over someone as powerful as me—he loved the control to hurt his own daughter 100,000 percent. He loved it."
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She also said her dad and "management" should "be in jail."
Featureflash Photo Agency / ShutterstockAt one point Britney referenced other conservators being brought on board while her father still remained a conservator, too. As reported by CBS News, a professional conservator and a financial group have been named co-conservators.
"I don’t [know] 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," the 39-year-old pop star said. "Ma’am, my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said no [to going on tour]... ma’am, they should be in jail."
She called her dad "ignorant" and said he "works me so hard."
A.PAES / Shutterstock.comContinuing with her testimony, Britney said, "But my precious body, who has worked for my dad for the past f***ing 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 father—ignorant father—to take his own daughter, who only has a role with me if I work with him, they’ve set back the whole course and allowed him to do that to me."
Britney talked about her family members doing interviews, while she "can't say one thing."
Chris Farina/Corbis via Getty ImagesOther than her dad—and a passing mention of her mom, Lynne Spears—Britney did not name any members of her family in her testimony. But, it's clear that she has an issue with others besides Jamie.
"Even my family, they do interviews to anyone they want on news stations," she said. Though she didn't name him, Britney's older brother, Bryan Spears, did a podcast interview in 2020 that criticized her driving and insinuated she couldn't take care of herself. "My own family [is] doing interviews, and talking about the situation and making me feel so stupid. And I can’t say one thing," Britney said.
She said her "so-called team" is preventing her from getting married and having children.
DFree/ShutterstockBritney also expressed that she would like to get married and have another child with her boyfriend, actor Sam Asghari. (She currently has two teenage sons with her ex-husband Kevin Federline.)
"I want to be able to get married and have a baby," she said. "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."
In her testimony, Britney repeatedly said what she wants: "I want to end the conservatorship without having to be evaluated." She added, "All I want is to own my money, for this to end, and my boyfriend to drive me in his f***ing car."
Britney also said she didn't know she had the power to petition the conservatorship.
Jaguar PS/ShutterstockSpears said it took her awhile to gain the courage to challenge her conservatorship. "Ma’am, I didn’t know I could petition the conservatorship to end it," she told the judge. "I’m sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn’t know that."
She continued: "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 you thought I was lying or something. I’m telling you again, because I’m not lying. I want to feel heard. And I’m telling you this again, so maybe you can understand the depth and the degree and the damage that they did to me back then."
She admitted her Instagram videos saying she was happy were just a front. "I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy. It’s a lie. I thought I just maybe if I said that enough maybe I might become happy, because I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. You know, fake it till you make it," she said. "But now I’m telling you the truth, OK? I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry it’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day."
Jamie's lawyer read a response from him in court.
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.comAs reported by E! News, after Britney's testimony, Jamie's lawyer read a statement on his behalf: "Mr. Spears is sorry to see his daughter suffering and in so much pain. Mr. Spears loves his daughter and misses her very much."
Best Life has reached out to Jamie's attorney for an additional comment on Britney's claims.
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