Britney Spears will address the court directly in her conservatorship case
When it comes to speaking on her own behalf, Britney Spears is stronger than yesterday.
Spears has often declined to comment on the court-approved conservatorship that has ruled much of her life since 2008, but now she is ready to take the stand.
On Tuesday, a lawyer for Spears requested she be allowed to speak at a hearing soon. "The conservatee has requested that I seek from the court a status hearing at which she can address the court directly," Samuel D. Ingham III, the court-appointed lawyer who represents Spears in her conservatorship, asked the judge overseeing the case, according to the New York Times.
Ingham declined EW's request for comment on the case.
According to the Times, he requested that the hearing be scheduled on an "expedited basis," with a preference for a 30-day window, to which Judge Brenda Penny agreed, setting the hearing for June 23.
If Spears does speak in June, it will mark the first time she's done so since first seeking substantial changes to her conservatorship, including the resignation of her father as her permanent conservator.
Spears has lived under this arrangement for 13 years, after it was instated following a lengthy public breakdown that involved multiple hospitalizations. But she is seeking changes to the arrangement, which currently finds her father, Jamie Spears, as co-conservator to her estate, overseeing her finances alongside corporate fiduciary Bessemer Trust.
Spears' father had previously also served as her personal conservator, but he stepped down from the role in 2019, and licensed conservator Jodi Montgomery assumed those responsibilities. Spears has since requested Montgomery remain in the role in place of her father.
For years, a #FreeBritney movement has revolved around the conservatorship, calling in to question why Spears requires it. Recently, the outcry has picked up steam, thanks in large part to the documentary Framing Britney Spears, which puts Spears' entire career and her agency into a broader cultural context.
Spears spoke out about the documentary, first reminding fans that "each person has their own story" and later saying she was "embarrassed" by how it portrayed her.
Back in March, Spears' father said he would happily see the conservatorship end if it was what Britney wanted. "[Jamie] would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship," Thoreen told CNN. "Whether or not there is an end to the conservatorship really depends on Britney. If she wants to end her conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it."
Perhaps we will get more answers if Spears gets her day in court.
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