Since April 2019, Britney Spears’ fans have been flooding social media with the hashtag #FreeBritney in hopes of uncovering the truth about the Princess of Pop’s conservatorship.
Spears was placed under the legal guardianship in February 2008 after she suffered a public breakdown amid her divorce from Kevin Federline, with whom she shares sons Preston and Jayden. Her father, Jamie Spears, has been the main conservator of Britney’s person and her estate, but attorney Andrew Wallet and licensed fiduciary Jodi Montgomery have also had roles in the case.
Wallet abruptly resigned as co-conservator in March 2019, two months after the “Toxic” singer announced that she was going on an indefinite work hiatus. Britney subsequently spent a month in a mental health facility. That September, Jamie temporarily relinquished his powers to Montgomery, citing “personal health reasons.” Wallet took legal steps to return to his role in August 2020 but ultimately was not brought back.
Montgomery’s stint is set to end in August 2021, but Britney stated in court documents in August 2020 that she is “strongly opposed to having [Jamie] return.” She asked that Montgomery continue as the conservator of her person and that a “qualified corporate fiduciary” replace her dad’s control of her estate.
“With Jodi in the mix, Britney’s been more driven and hopeful and continues to take steps in the right direction,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time, adding that the Grammy winner is “ready to take back control after 12 years.”
In September 2020, Britney publicly addressed the #FreeBritney campaign for the first time in a landmark court filing slamming Jamie’s request to close her conservatorship hearings to the public.
“Britney herself is vehemently opposed to this effort by her father to keep her legal struggle hidden away in the closet as a family secret,” her attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, said in court documents obtained by Us.
Ingham also blasted Jamie for saying in an August 2020 interview with Page Six that #FreeBritney is “a joke” made up by “all these conspiracy theorists.” In the same interview, the former building contractor denied stealing money from his daughter’s estate, saying, “I have to report every nickel and dime spent to the court every year.”
With the premiere of the “Framing Britney Spears” episode of FX and Hulu’s The New York Times Presents series in February 2021, countless celebrities took to social media to call for Britney to have more freedom and to publicly apologize for the way she was treated by the public in the mid-aughts.
