How Britney was freed

Everyone's favorite 2000s pop star, Britney Spears, was recently released from her conservatorship with her father. As the process to gain her individual rights back began many years ago, here is a precise timeline of how she came back into full independence as a 39-year-old woman.

In 2008, Britney Spears had a very public breakdown, leading to another year of erratic behavior; shaving her hair, attacking paparazzi, etc. Spears was eventually placed in a psychiatric hospital, and her father, Jamie Spears, had petitioned for an emergency “temporary” conservatorship, as he believed his daughter was unable to properly care for herself amid her struggles.

By definition, a conservatorship is where a judge appoints an individual to care for another adult who is deemed unfit to care for themselves or to manage any of their own finances. As the conservatorship continued, there was much debate that took place to terminate the act. However, the court ruled with Britney’s father and maintained the conservatorship. Spears’ fans had questioned if the conservatorship was in her best interest, therefore cultivating the #FreeBritney movement. It was in 2016 when she spoke publicly about her conservatorship for the first time.

“So I have this conservatorship. I have been under this conservatorship for three years, and I felt like a lot of decisions were made for me,” Spears said. Documents released after she gained independence this year showed that she had been legally trying to fight against her family since 2014.

Fans eventually came to a collective agreement that she is no longer in need of a conservatorship at this age of her life. Therefore, they had decided to do whatever they could to help Spears out of this situation. A fan's website made the comment: "Her conservators decide whether she works, as she cannot enter into contracts for herself because she is legally not her own person. Britney Spears needs permission from her conservators to leave her house or spend any of her own money." In 2020, for the first time in more than a decade of the conservatorship, Spears argued to make her case public. It was then that the #FreeBritney movement gained a crucial supporter: Britney herself. Spears voiced her desire to end her “abusive” conservatorship.

On November 30, Britney pleaded for the removal of her father as conservator in a court filing, as she publicly stated that she will no longer perform out of fear of her father. She claimed to the judge that she would not resume her career as long as her father had control over it. For more than a year, there was a continual back and forth pattern before reaching a final conclusion in September 2021. The conservatorship eventually ended with Spears' father giving up on the fight and publicly declaring his wish to see his daughter stand as an independent. However, on June 23, Britney disclosed all the details of the conservator relationship in a very emotional court hearing. She detailed that she was forced to keep working, she was not allowed to get married, have more children or remove her IUD.

With the support of many fans and the jury, Jamie Spears was officially suspended from the conservatorship on Sept. 29, 2021.