The subject of Britney Spears’ conservatorship has been pieced apart by the justice system, various documentaries, social media and the public for more than a year now. Several claims, including some from the pop singer herself, suggest that she faced an unfair amount of control in the legal situation that bordered on abuse. Her father, Jamie, remains at the center of criticism for the supposed treatment, but he recently denied at least one major allegation leveled against him.
Jamie Spears acted as the lead conservator, overseeing Britney’s personal and financial well-being, for the majority of its 13-year duration. He ultimately stepped down from the role in August after intense backlash from the fanbase, citing “unjustified attacks” at the time. However, the former X Factor judge is still pursuing legal action against him. In the latest on that front, People obtained a sworn declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the 69-year-old, where he specifically refutes an insinuation made last year that he violated Britney’s right to privacy during the conservatorship. He wrote:
I am informed of the allegation by Britney's counsel that a listening device or 'bug' was placed [in] her bedroom as surveillance during the conservatorship. This allegation is false. I never conducted or authorized any surveillance of Britney's bedroom at any time, including during the conservatorship. I am not aware of any such surveillance having occurred.
The bedroom “bug” allegation came out during the New York Times’ follow-up documentary special called Controlling Britney Spears (which is still available to stream with a Hulu subscription). In it, a previous employee of the security firm Black Box stated that they had recorded private conversations that happened in the bedroom as well as all communications that took place via her cell phone. He also suggested that the recordings were sent directly to the patriarch of the Spears family.
According to different court docs obtained by People in June, there has seemingly been a lot of back and forth between the father and daughter (via their lawyers) over the issue of depositions. Apparently, Jamie Spears is requesting the 40-year-old former actress to do a deposition because he “has a right to prepare his case” against “unsupported claims.” (Supposedly, she asked for exemption from being deposed previously due to the “emotionally difficult topics” involved.) Similarly, though, Britney Spears’ legal team alleges that her father has failed to appear on eight different occasions to a deposition on his end, and they hinted that he “cannot forever hide” from his legal obligations.
Numerous other accusations against Jamie Spears have come from the Grammy winner herself. Prior to the judge ending the conservatorship entirely back in November, she made a powerful statement to the court, in which she likened the control to that faced by sex trafficking victims, saying that one of the restrictions was that she wasn’t allowed to get married or have kids with her longtime boyfriend, Sam Asghari. She stated that she even had an IUD implanted against her wishes. Britney Spears has also said that she felt “stripped” of her womanhood on the day her father told he was taking over her life.
Nonetheless, the mother of two has since been attempting to move on from the debacle of the conservatorship. She finally wed Sam Asghari in a truly fairytale-esque wedding ceremony on June 9, only a few weeks after they suffered the miscarriage of their first child together. But she still has time to set the record straight on her social media about how she really feels about sister Jamie Lynn Spears and mom Lynne’s supposed culpability in the troubles she had to face.
Alas, the family drama might be dragged out for some time more. The next hearing in the case against Jamie Spears is slated for July 13.
