Britney Spears has been living under a conservatorship controlled by her father, Jamie Spears, for well over a decade now, but the singing superstar has been working towards removing her father from the conservatorship. With the well wishes of fans who have been pushing the #FreeBritney movement for years as well as various celebrities who have voiced support, Spears just scored a big win. A judge has officially determined that Jamie Spears will no longer be conservator of his daughter's estate.
Jamie Spears was conservator on Britney Spears' estate for 13 years, and Variety reports that Judge Brenda Penny's ruling means an immediate suspension of her father from her conservatorship, with accountant John Zabel replacing him in control of her estate and financial decisions for the time being. The next steps have yet to be officially determined, so Zabel is a temporary conservator. Britney Spears previously suggested somebody else entirely to take over conservatorship after her father, so perhaps the case could go in that direction next. The attorney for Jamie Spears reportedly objected, calling Zabel a "stranger" on the conservatorship case.
Jodi Montgomery, who has served as conservator of Britney Spears' person and therefore in control of her wellbeing and medical decisions, has not been suspended. Montgomery previously commented on claims regarding Spears' IUD and marriage freedom, with Montgomery denying that anything untoward happened while she was serving as a co-conservator. Whether or not the conservatorship will remain part of Britney Spears' life also has yet to be determined, with Spears' lawyer saying that it could be terminated in this fall within 45 days of the decision to suspend Jamie Spears from involvement.
The official suspension of Jamie Spears and possibility of the conservatorship being terminated in under two months are the biggest developments in the #FreeBritney cause of Britney Spears so far, although the case picked up steam quickly over the past year. What once seemed like a valiant but possibly vain effort from fans to spread awareness about Spears' lack of freedom under her conservatorship changed when Spears was able to hire her own lawyer, and her decision to speak up publicly back in June leveled some shocking claims about what she went through.
Public awareness continued to spread thanks to the releases of documentaries about her situation, although Britney Spears herself hasn't been a big fan of her story being told in such a way. Still, #FreeBritney was trending on Twitter for much of the day when the case was going before a judge to determine whether or not Jamie Spears would be immediately suspended, with fans celebrating Britney's big win after so long. The case isn't fully resolved, and it's possible that the conservatorship will continue with another person simply fulfilling that role.
At the time of writing, Britney Spears has not publicly commented about the big win, but she has used social media to share her reactions over the past year, so perhaps fans will get news from her there. She did recently announce that she was taking a break from social media to celebrate her engagement. And now she has even more to celebrate, after her months of effort to free herself from her dad's conservatorship control have paid off. Congratulations, Britney!
