Britney Spears’ dad, Jamie, agrees to step down as her conservator
Britney Spears’ father on Thursday agreed to step down as conservator of his daughter’s multimillion-dollar estate — a major win for the pop icon, who had been battling to boot her allegedly abusive dad from her affairs.
Even as he argued that there were no “actual grounds for suspending or removing” him from his daughter’s conservatorship, Jamie Spears acknowledged in a court filing it would be in her best interest for him to step down.
“Nevertheless, even as Mr. Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests,” the filing in Los Angeles Superior Court states.
“So, even though he must contest this unjustified Petition for his removal, Mr. Spears intends to work with the Court and his daughter’s new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator.”
Jamie Spears has controlled his daughter’s affairs since she suffered a mental health breakdown in 2008. At the time, Britney was not only “suffering mentally and emotionally, she was also being manipulated by predators and in financial distress,” Jamie claimed, adding he “came to his daughter’s rescue to protect her.”
The 39-year-old star, however, told the court in June that her dad loved to control her, detailing how she had been drugged, forced to use birth control and made to work against her will under the guardianship agreement.
“I’m not here to be anyone’s slave,” she said at the time.
The “Toxic” singer’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, on July 26 officially petitioned the court to kick Jamie out of the legal arrangement — so that Britney could be freed from the “kafkaesque nightmare” that her life had become while under her dad’s control.
Rosengart argued that not only had Britney repeatedly demanded her father be removed from the position — and even be arrested for conservator abuse — but that the star’s doctors, mother Lynne Spears and personal conservator Jodi Montgomery all showed support for James’ removal.
“We are pleased that Mr. Spears and his lawyer have today conceded in a filing that he must be removed,” Rosengart said in a statement Thursday.
“This is a major victory for Britney Spears and another step toward justice.”
In his filing Thursday, Jamie took aim at Lynne, saying that any statements she made on behalf of their daughter “must be questioned based on how little involvement she had” in Britney’s life over the last 13 years.
He also claimed that if the public knew “all the facts” of Britney’s life, “not only her highs but also her lows, all of the addiction and mental health issues that she has struggled with, and all of the challenges of the Conservatorship,” they would praise him instead of “vilify” him.
“Ultimately, the Court knows that what Mr. Spears is saying is true: He loves his daughter and he is acting (and has always acted) in only her best interest,” his attorneys wrote.
“Mr. Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court.”
The filing adds: “Regardless of his formal title, Mr. Spears will always be Ms. Spears’ father, he will always love her unconditionally, and he will always look out for her best interests.”
In his statement, Britney’s attorney said he and his client were “disappointed” by Jamie’s “ongoing shameful and reprehensible attacks” — and called on him to step down right away. “Rather than making false accusations and taking cheap shots at his own daughter, Mr. Spears should remain silent and step aside immediately,” Rosengart said.
In June, Britney announced her intention to remove her father as her conservator after describing her controlled life in a court hearing.
“Ma’am, my dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship, and my management, who played huge roles in punishing me when I said ‘no’ [to going on tour] — ma’am, they should be in jail,” Spears said at the time.
This past Friday, Britney’s father revealed he recently discussed whether to place his daughter back in a mental institution — as he rejected efforts to remove him as co-conservator of her multimillion-dollar estate.
Jamie Spears claimed in documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court that he wasn’t responsible for committing his daughter in 2019, a move that sparked the “#FreeBritney” movement.
Montgomery told the father that Britney was “spiraling out of control” around July 9, and was not taking her medication, Jamie Spears said in a court document. She allegedly brought up the possibility of a 5150 psychiatric hold, which, under California law, allows a person to be held for psychiatric evaluation if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. She later backtracked on the suggestion.
In court documents, Jamie claimed that beginning in 2018, he was not in control of Britney’s medical decisions, including her being committed to a mental facility the next year. When it surfaced that the former pop star had allegedly been involuntarily committed, fans took to social media to demand she be “freed.”
“Although I did not formally step down as Conservator of the Person until September 2019, I had not been in control of my daughter’s medical treatment since late 2018, when, due to my own personal health issues, I had to step back in this role,” the dad said in the filing.
According to documents, Jamie said Britney’s admittance to the facility in 2019 was a decision made by Montgomery, which she denies.
“It was Jodi Montgomery, along with the Conservatee’s former attorney Sam Ingham, who admitted Ms. Spears to a facility in early 2019, including but not limited to signing the admittance documents,” the court filing states.
But Montgomery’s rep fired back in a statement to The Post on Friday, “As Case Manager, Ms. Montgomery worked under the sole direction and control of Jamie Spears.”
Additional reporting by Eileen Reslen
