Imagine this, it is your wake-up call and coffee on the morning menu, but wait before spending the money on coffee, one must seek permission from their conservatory. This more likely doesn’t sound fair and that is because it isn’t fair, according to the newsworthy situation, but even more so if the money is not that of the conservatories. When hearing the word “conservatory” the mind obviously goes to Britney Spears. Not even the reasoning of living under a rock would explain anyone not being informed about Ms. Spears and her situation. The “Free Britney” movement is all about Spears and her conservatorship. The movement is fans’ way of taking Spears’ said “unethical” conservatorship and bringing it to light. The conservator that holds the rights to Britney Spears’ person and finances is her father, Jamie Spears. Before going into too much detail about the trials, the conservatorship, and Spear’s story, there needs to be a discussion on how she got to that point and why there is an ongoing trial for her freedom.
According to the documentary produced by the New York Times, Framing Britney Spears, Spears started her rise to fame in 1992, at the age of ten. Spears sang on the television “Star Search” and it sprang her rise to fame. After her appearance on the show, her career took off from there and her parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears were not financially prepared. When Spears’ career took off, they hired her now former assistant, Felicia Culotta. Culotta was one of the few people on the documentary, Framing Britney Spears, that was willing to speak about Spears and what she saw over the years. As Spears continued up her path to success, one has to remember the time period that she was rising. One very unique part of Spears’ career was her ability to start normalizing not judging women by what they’re wearing, for that was truly revolutionary for women, thus making Spears so important to 2000s babies. She was also winning over fans in an era where boy bands were the standard, thus the reason she is so prevalent even in 2021. Fortunately and unfortunately, everything started to change for Britney when the paparazzi found her success.
At first, when Britney Spears saw the paparazzi, she would wave and interact positively with them. A lot started to change when Britney started dating Justin Timberlake. They didn’t date for an extremely long amount of time, but the backlash was horrible for Britney and her mental health. Britney spoke in an interview stating that she was going to be abstinent in this relationship until they’re married, which was contradicted by Justin Timberlake after the breakup, thus putting a massive spotlight on her. Spears was seen as the villain and after that photos of her were being sold for one million dollars, so the incentive was high for the paparazzi. In this reporter’s opinion, everyone owes Britney Spears an apology for everything and it should have surprised no one when we went into her downward spiral of mental health.
Things were starting to look up for Britney when she met and married Kevin Federline. In 2004, Kevin and Britney got married and in 2005 had their first child. Within the year of having their son, Sean, Britney and Kevin had their other child Jayden in 2006. In the year of Britney Spears having Jayden, she was pinned as an unfit mother due to a photo surfacing. The photo was a picture of her and her driving with her child on her lap. Spears immediately went into an interview, according to the New York Times, and stated that she was just trying to escape the paparazzi. After the backlash, a lot of people noticed that Britney was going out more with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan after having her two children. As stated by the documentary, Framing Britney Spears, by the New York Times, in 2007 Kevin and Britney got a divorce and within the year, Britney is losing in a custody battle over her children. Within that year as well, Britney goes into a hair salon and shaves her own head. No one at the salon was willing to shave her head, so she took the liberty and all of her hair was completely gone by the end. After shaving her head, paparazzi were constantly bothering her, for even after persistently neglecting comments, they still were persistent in harassing her, so she took the situation into her own hands. Spears took an umbrella and attempted to smash the car window of the man taking pictures of her. Because of this altercation, the paparazzi got “great” pictures, That outbreak of rage was on every headline. Who would have thought this wasn’t even the worst of her milestones.
Unfortunately, after the paparazzi mishap and the head shaving, Spears lost custody of her children overall. At one point, she went to her ex-husband’s house and refused to leave until she got to see her children, but that did not work as well as intended. She was sent to the hospital on that occasion and another, thus placing her in a mental health hold on January 31st, 2008. After this downfall in Britney’s life, word of conservatorship was circling as she was put on a mental health hold. Two people, stated on Spears’ behalf, that being her former assistant and brother, that she did not want her conservator to be Jamie Spears. Even though the court is aware of this, they still made Jamie Spears the financial and person of the conservatorship and in October of 2008, the conservatorship was made permanent., according to the documentary Framing Britney Spears.
Fast forward about ten years. Britney hasn’t been heard from in that frame of time, but on October 18th, 2018, she was going to perform (Framing Britney Spears). She was late for the concert, as that really upset fans, but when she did arrive, she walked right past everyone and did not perform. After that, a lot of questions were raised and no one knew what the statement was that she was trying to make. An anonymous caller called and made a statement that Britney was “supposedly” admitted to a mental health hospital, but the caller stated it was actually Jamie Spears. The anonymous caller was said to be a former paralegal and knew the truth about Britney’s hold at the mental health hospital. No one knows if the caller was telling the truth, but conspiracy theorists think it is the truth. This was the peak of the reasoning for the “Free Britney” movement.
The “Free Britney” movement is starting to take traction starting in mid-April of 2019, according to a New York Times article. In bigger cities, people are coming together and having peaceful protests in the spirit of the “Free Britney movement. “September 9th, 2019, Jamie Spears temporarily steps down and is replaced as the conservator, but still controls finances”(New York Times, Framing Britney Spears). Jamie Spears now doesn’t have control of her person temporarily, but he still has full control of her money. A lot of people credit this temporary “takedown” of Jamie Spears to the “Free Britney” movement, but the fight isn’t over yet. Soon Britney will get the courage, most likely from the movement, to take her father to court and maybe prove she doesn’t need a conservatorship.
Now that Spears is finally getting a platform to stand on and speak her truth about the conservatorship, details have arisen that make eyebrows raise. Before getting into the details, Britney Spears made a statement of her gratitude to her informed fans, for that put a new meaning to the movement. Before informing about the trial, first, everyone should know what Britney is fighting for and Jamie’s stance as the conservator. First, Britney wants to be free of any conservatorship without being evaluated in regards to her mental health, according to the New York Times. Second, is the potential reevaluation of Spears’ father’s role as the financial conservator at the “very least”. Within the trial, Ms. Spears made the following statement which spoke volume in the courtroom, ” This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life.”. When she spoke about not having a life, the first problem that came to mind is knowing she is forced to take birth control so she cannot expand her family (New York Times). Spears is nearing the age where having a child would be dangerous and Jamie Spears took that time from her by having her take birth control. The main part of the trial is making sure Britney’s mental health is stable enough so she doesn’t need a conservator and she continues to claim that case, but Spears also feels that no one has any business evaluating her mental health. Based on those terms, the idea of this trial ending very soon is off the table.
Throughout the “Free Britney” movement, there are multiple celebrities that have stepped forward and associated with Britney. Some of the most famous celebrities include Miley Cyrus, old-time friend Paris Hilton, Iggy Azaela, Tinashe, and so many more celebrities. Even one very surprising person, Justin Timberlake, made a statement on the movement on Twitter, “After what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time. Regardless of our past, what’s happening to her is not right.” By these celebrities supporting Britney, they’re shedding light on the importance of this case and the importance of Britney’s mental health. When Spears’ ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, puts his differences with her aside, that should be the biggest red flag of her situation being more unethical than previously stated by the media.
According to Webster’s dictionary, the word conservator means “ one that preserves from injury or violation; protector or a person, official, or institution designated to take over and protect the interests of an incompetent.” The idea of conservatorship has been very prevalent in this article and that is because the conservatorship that Ms. Spears is in is not in her best interest, according to closer people in her life such as Felicia Culotta. A multi-millionaire should not have her finances guarded by someone she doesn’t fully trust and the court needs to take that into account regardless of her mental state evaluation. Hoping this statement doesn’t leave any minds everyone needs to remember, we cannot all be free until Britney Spears is free.
