The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino joins Alicia Menendez to discuss her new reporting on Britney Spears’ situation as Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) call for federal oversight of conservatorships. Tolentino says, “if a woman as famous and successful as Britney Spears cannot have had the right to hire her own lawyer…it speaks to the extent to which this system is flawed and does need oversight.”
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Explosive New Yorker Investigation Details Britney Spears' 'Nightmare'
At first I thought this story sounded kind of crazy but the more I know about it the more horrified I am. I hope Britney can keep generating public awareness.
I’lll take care of her. She’s a big girl now. Let her do what she wants.
Leave Britney ALONE! (Sob) Seriously. Give her life and money back…
this is why citizens avoid seeking help..
You are correct about that.
This is exactly what has happened to me and idk wtf to do about it….
(I however have not made million$ for anyone)
Another example of the failures in our justice system and mental health system. The goal of mental health is to make one well again, not to keep one in bondage to it. And how is that children are afforded an attorney (aka guardian) ad litem by the court to work with the child in their own preferred best interest when involved in legal matters, but not in a conservatorship of an adult? How can such a disparity possibly be allowed in the legal system of a nation that supposedly cherishes individual freedom, and abolished slavery over 150 years ago? Moreover, while we may not know all the facts and particulars in this case involving Britney Spears, this still nevertheless casts serious doubt upon the competency and discernment of judges whose decisions have allowed such injustice to be perpetuated for so many years. Pointing to another problem, which is the lack of transparency involved in these conservatorships. It seems to me that the adult under conservatorship should have the right to release any privacy constraints at any time, allowing the process to become transparent if and when they should feel the conservatorship is no longer serving in their own best interest.
@Rebel SweetHeart Me too. I lost my son and family. And she did ask to terminate the conservatorship before or at least made it clear that was her desire to anyone who was remotely listening if I remember past news correctly.
Let’s all be real here. The dad just wants control of the money.
@Bill Sbac judges get paid off, go to Google you can find plenty of stories on corrupt judges….also, judges get it wrong! People get sentenced to jail for life for crimes they didn’t commit all the time! Hence the innocence project! Were the judges right in those cases? Again, her conservator is responsible for her mental health, how can he possibly argue that she has made no progress in 13 years? If she hasn’t, he isn’t doing his job! In the least she needs a new conservator. Also, you’re right, she wasn’t forced to do shows, but I find it hard to believe that a crazy, or incompetent person would be capable of doing said shows. Also, her line of work is extremely stressful, why wouldn’t he stop her from doing these stressful shows and performances to better serve her mental health. Also, go watch “Dirty Money” on Netflix there is an episode about conservatorship; that episode made me and my entire family cry. It will show you plenty of examples of phucked up conservatorships as well as dirty lawyers, judges, and people 🤦🏽♀️
@Bill Sbac She has been forced to perform against her will. Many times. And anyone who has been to her 2018 world tour can confirm that she clearly did not want to be there. Call her a liar if you want. I believe her when she says she is being abused and exploited.
She’s the cash cow. That’s why he works her so hard
@Bill Sbac he is not doing the right thing by her. She has a right not to work 7 days a week-10hrs. She has a right to take meds or not. She has a right to privacy. Those nurses don’t have to be in the room when she is changing or taking a shower. She has rights to days off. She has a right not to be followed around in her own house. She has a right to ALL HER MONEY. She has a right to her body if she wants that horrible IUD removed. She has a right to Hite her own people. She has a right to fire her father. She has a right to get pregnant or not. She has a right to handle her own affairs. She has a right to hire a lawyer on her behalf. She has a right to talk about whatever she wants. This is not the 1500s.
@Raivan Frampton she can get one. They will sue the estate for payment. She doesn’t need them to get a lawyer
This Conservatorship Is Bullying and Abuse Total Amount of ABUSE!
@Bill Sbac Her family was the reason she had that mental breakdown they have been exploiting her since she was a child
@G Webb
She is not doing any of that, all of these things are being run and managed by her record label, she is under contract to perform by the record label not her conservators, her conservators are merely making it possible for her to fulfill her contracts which she agreed to. She is not being abused or manipulated, the court is overseeing the whole thing. She is only making a living of sorts because others are facilitating it. She is not running anything she is a performer like any of the others. And let’s be real, all she is doing is singing and doing the same dances she did at 16 years old, how hard can that be? Also her psychiatrists and therapists have to okay her to do these things, so she must be okay enough to do it all. I mean what do you want her to do, sit home all day and dance on Instagram, she needs to have a life and she has one. The judge will decide the rest.
@Sunny 2
She has a team of professionals to help her that have been appointed by the court and they are responsible to the court as well. She has far more assistance than you would get. Take a kleenex tissue and stop crying already.
@Bill Sbac Regardless of your PATHETIC EXCUSES, she is an adult woman FREE to make errors AND TAKE THE PATH SHE EVER CHOOSES. HER FATHER DOESN’T HAVE THE RIGHTS TO KEEP THE GOOSE WHO LIES GOLDEN EGGS IN A CAGE FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE! Amy Whinehouse dies of an overdose. HER FATHER IS TOO BUSY PROFITING FROM HER TO KEEP AND CONTROL IF SHE IS TAKING DRUGS OR NOT!
@Bill Sbac yeah so for her well being they cleaned out her kids trust? GTFOH.
It’s still unbelievable that the judge won’t take her father out of the conservatorship. This is bigger than Britney… There are so many there out there who don’t have a voice, and being abuse way worse than Britney. This is all about money and that judge needs to be investigated.
@J. Michael Gunner
Britney made her statement in court last week, and within 48 hours the judge re-instated her father as one of the conservators of her estate… What does that tell you about the judge’s interpretation of her testimony? The judge knows if this girl is dealing in reality or fantasy or not. But unfortunately we have news outlets taking a very biased approach to this case, and approach that in itself has no basis of fact just to obtain “Likes” on Youtube and social media, all the while a simple man who has done nothing wrong sits alone somewhere trying to save his daughter… Not the ending to the movie her fans wanted, and ending with a tragic twist, but it is what it is as they say.
@Bill Sbac It tells me the judge is being paid off by the dad.
@Kenia Escudero it tells me that the judge and the father have issues with independent women. This also reeks of the time when a woman couldn’t own property, she had to be married. Sucks
@Bill Sbac who do you manage in a conservatorship? You’re too outspoken on this not to have chips in the game
This is human trafficking.
Britney’s father sounds like a horrid person! What kind of a father would treat his own daughter so disrespectfully? He clearly cares only to maintain his own lavish lifestyle. Can’t a judge see that?
“He May Have Been Your Father, But He Wasn’t Your Daddy.”
It’s like that Netflix movie “I Care A Lot” except its Brittany and not senior citizens.
Yes. Crazy!
We are learning a lot about the issue of conservatorship. The fact that she was not allowed to hire her own lawyer to seek proper information is a travesty in any scenario. I barely know anything about her situation, but it doesn’t seem fair or constitutional.
Seems to me that if you’re found not competent enough to handle your financial affairs, yet you’re forced to work to make millions, there is some BIG time abuse going on here! Obviously, if she’s competent enough to be bringing home the bacon, she’s competent enough to fry it up the way she wants to!
From what I can tell, her so-called father should be in prison for legally manipulating the courts to steal her freedom, money and dignity.
So they are using her own money to suppress her? What low lives.
Headline should be: “Speers Used As Lucrative Zoo Animal In Both Live World Stage and Private Merchandizing Lab”
Change the rules. This is disgusting. If she must be in a conservatorship she, or a judge, should be able to choose a qualified legal and accounting company — why is her father forced on her as an adult? If someone fights that hard they’ve got lots to lose. Perhaps time for a forensic audit of what they’ve been doing all these years. Truly disgusting.
As soon as she gets out of this criminal exploitation scam she needs to hire THE BEST forensic accountants on the planet to find out exactly what she has been paying for.
100% agree, I would do it for free if I had a CPA certification.
I’ve never been a big Britney fan, but this is insanity. The fact that she can’t even get into a car and go for a ride with her boyfriend is beyond controlling. None of us would put up with that nonsense for one moment. She shouldn’t have to either. Poor woman.
She’s wanted to get out from the conservatorship for how long? But she didn’t know she could file a motion to dissolve the conservatorship.
You can’t make stuff like this up!
People are getting paid while Britney is being treated like a workhorse. Her net worth is too low for the success she has had and the residencies she has done. What is happening to her money?
I don’t understand how she can only access $100k a year of her own money. Meanwhile, her lawyers get $500k and her father gets $120k. I don’t understand why she has been gagged from talking about the terms of the conservartorship. Something is very wrong.