Britney Spears revealed that her controversial conservatorship is actually voluntary in a recent court statement. According to the BBC , Britney’s attorney revealed that she 100 percent consents to the conservatorship while discussing a hearing to replace her court-appointed guardian.
“This is a voluntary conservatorship. Conservatee wishes to exercise her right to nominate a conservator of the estate,” her lawyer, Samuel Ingham III, wrote.
The conservatorship was instated in 2008 after her public mental breakdowns. The agreement reportedly states that Britney must have a court-appointed guardian make all of her personal and financial decisions.
Previously, she had purportedly seemed opposed to the arrangement as a whole. Now, it seems that Britney is not opposed to having the arrangement in place, but rather she wants the conservatorship to be on her terms. She is vehemently against her father, Jamie Spears, holding that position. Jamie served as her guardian since it was first enforced. He had reportedly stepped aside from the position while recovering from health issues. Her manager, Jodi Montgomery, temporarily filled the role, but the time has likely come to appoint a permanent guardian, and Jamie is purportedly still vying for the position.
Britney is likely pushing for Jodi to remain in control of her health and personal decisions. She has accused her father of being controlling and having her admitted into mental facilities against her will. In this most recent hearing, she has asked the court to remove his name from the arrangement entirely. Her lawyer explained to BBC that she wants the right to terminate him and that she would prefer a bank to control her finances.
“Britney is strongly opposed to her father continuing as sole conservator of her estate. Rather, without in any way waiving her right to seek termination of this conservatorship in the future, she strongly prefers to have a qualified corporate fiduciary appointed to serve in this role.”
She also has made it clear that she wants the arrangement to state that she has no interest in performing and making music anymore.
When word of her conservatorship broke, fans began a #FreeBritney movement. Fans strongly disapproved of the control that her father had over her life. According to Insider , they gathered outside the L.A. courthouse where her hearings have been taking place to protest her father serving as her guardian. They even accused him of controlling her social media posts. While Britney hasn’t publicly voiced her opinion on the movement, she did post selfies with timestamps to Instagram .