The conservatorship that had controlled Britney Spears’ finances, personal life, and medical decisions since 2008 was terminated Friday afternoon in a Los Angeles courtroom. After revealing terrifying information about the state of her conservatorship and its effect on her life, the pop star spent a long legal battle fighting for changes to her court-appointed conservatorship. Now that her life has ultimately been handed back to her, fans are questioning where the celebrity will go from here.
Spears’ Conservatorship Was An Involuntary Era
A conservatorship is legally defined as a court case where a judge appoints an individual or organization, called the conservator, to care for someone who “cannot care” for themselves or who cannot manage their own finances, according to the Judicial Branch of California.
In 2008, Britney’s father, Jamie Spears was granted the conservatorship after Britney struggled with mental health issues and was hospitalized. After Britney was released, a Los Angeles court made the conservatorship permanent, giving her father and another co-conservator power over her finances and medical decisions.
Good God I love my fans so much it’s crazy ????❤️ !!! I think I’m gonna cry the rest of the day !!!! Best day ever … praise the Lord … can I get an Amen ????????☀️???????? ???? #FreedBritney
????: @AbbyShalawylo pic.twitter.com/yk1vO3H02L
— Britney Spears ???????? (@britneyspears) November 12, 2021
The conservatorship was split into two parts: the conservatorship of Spears’ estate, which controlled all her income and financial decisions, and the conservatorship of Spears’ person, which was in charge of her well-being and health.
Britney Spear’s stayed tight-lipped about the situation until she unapologetically broke her silence on June 23 by making a public statement to the court, pushing the judge to end the conservatorship. Since then, her fans have used the hashtag #FreeBritney to bring attention to her legal battle against her father, and the fight to end her conservatorship had been nonstop.
This Is Not The End
While the fight to end the conservatorship has been an important one, it’s important to remember what pushed Spears into this position in the first place.
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In a candid Instagram post last month, Spears reflected on a time in her life where she was afraid to do simple tasks, such as drive her car, and that paparazzi would jump out at her “like they want me to do something crazy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVENG4JPYDv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
“I’ll just be honest and say I’ve waited so long to be free from the situation I’m in … and now that it’s here I’m scared to do anything because I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake !!!” she wrote. “For so many years I was always told if I succeeded at things, it could end … and it never did.”
So while Britney Spears is finally freed of her conservatorship, observers and fans worry that society will fall back into the same behavior that helped put her there more than 13 years ago.
OH MY GOD!!! oh my god. You guys freed Britney!!!! ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
But NOW we have to protect her from the paparazzi and tabloid media who are determined to drive her back into this same mess, by harassing and stalking her. We have to now PROTECT BRITNEY. https://t.co/Rifd2prnir— ❤️ Jameela Jamil ❤️ She/Her ❤️ (@jameelajamil) November 12, 2021
The cry from the #FreeBritney movement is one that should never be forgotten. Any entire population of people stood up for something that they believed in and fought to protect someone they cared about. We’ve reached a point where we can all recognize just how powerful our voices can be, so maybe we should all speak up a little more. Now, it’s time to keep that same energy even though Britney is free.
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