In a virtual court hearing in Los Angeles, Britney Spears has asked Judge Brenda Penny to charge her father, Jamie, with conservatorship abuse.
Less than one month after her first emotional 20-minute testimony on June 24, Spears has once again adamantly requested her father’s removal from his 13-year-long ruling over her every move.
Appearing in court over the phone, the 39-year-old musician spoke to a crowded courtroom, after first requesting that they leave the room.
The star went onto list even more restrictions she is forced to obey as per the conservatorship, including having her hair vitamins and coffee taken from her.
“Ma’am, that’s not abuse, that’s just f***ing cruelty,” she explained to the judge through tears, as per Sky News. “Excuse my language but it’s the truth.”
She then called for her father, Jamie, to be removed from his complex place of power and to be charged with “conservatorship abuse”, adding that she wants the conservatorship terminated without a medical assessment, but ensured that having her father removed was a non-negotiable for her.
As for co-conservator Jodi Montgomery, she admitted that she is happy to allow her to remain in control.
“My dad needs to be removed today and I will be happy with Jodi helping me,” Spears said.
However, her public criticism of her father wasn’t over yet. Spears revealed that Jamie—who has previously struggled with alcohol addiction—left her with “extreme abandonment issues”. She went on to recall her childhood and the moments she felt “extremely scared of my dad” and feared he was always going to “show up drunk somewhere and embarrass me”.
But that wasn’t the only development in the July 15 court hearing. After Spears’ court-appointed lawyer, Samuel Ingham III, and Bessemer Trust—a financial management company hired in 2020 to oversee her estate—both stepped down from the case weeks before, Spears has now officially been granted permission by Judge Penny to hire her own legal counsel for the first time since 2008.
As for who she has chosen to represent her and hopefully end the conservatorship once and for all? Spears has approved Mathew S Rosengart, a high-powered Hollywood lawyer, who has worked for the likes of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Steven Speilberg and Madonna.
Rosengart has also told the court that his firm is more than capable to handle her complex case. So, here’s hoping that #FreeBritney is a reality sooner rather than later.