Britney Spears Addresses Court Over Conservatorship

"I’ve been in shock. I am traumatised."

Britney Spears has addressed a court hearing on the subject of her conservatorship.

The pop icon spoke to the Los Angeles County Superior Court yesterday (June 23rd), at a hearing surrounding her conservatorship, which was managed for 11 years by her father, Jamie Spears.

Jamie Spears stepped away from the role in 2019, with Jodi Montgomery being appointed in his place; the conservatorship – and its impact on Britney's life – has been the subject of two high profile documentaries in the past 12 months.

At a hearing, Britney Spears spoke for just under 30 minutes over phone call, and requested that the hearing be made open to the public.

She said: “they’ve done a pretty good job exploiting my life. So I feel like it should be an open court hearing, and they should listen to what I have to say.”

Britney called the conservatorship "abusive", and when questioned about social media posts indicating that she was happy, the icon replied: “… I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy”.

She continued: “It’s a lie. I thought I just maybe if I said that enough. Because I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatised. You know, fake it till you make it. 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.”

Later in the hearing, Britney Spears demanded that the conservatorship end “without being evaluated” before saying: “I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive… I don’t feel like I can live a full life.”

Discussing the way her life is managed, Britney Spears spoke about her Las Vegas residency, describing the behaviour of those around her and revealing she had been forced to take lithium medication against her will.

Her schedule was “seven days a week, no days off”, with Britney adding: “In California, the only similar thing to this is called sex trafficking.”

Discussing her father's role in this, Britney said he "should be in jail".

Variety have published the full transcript from the hearing, which can be found HERE.

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